Large Scale Systems Integration

Recommended Prerequisites

Programming

Computer networks

Distributed systems

Databases

Teaching Methods

Theoretical classes, using audiovisual means, with exposition of fundamental concepts, principles, and theories, and with the resolution of complementary practical exercises that demonstrate the application of the contents to real situations. Practical-laboratory classes, where the teacher should support the students in carrying out exercises that integrate multiple knowledge and in practical assignments. The evaluation consists of a final exam and practical assignments. In the exam, mostly theoretical questions will be posed, in which students will have to demonstrate their understanding of the subjects covered in the course unit.

Learning Outcomes

This course aims to provide students with advanced knowledge and competences to integrate and connect applications and systems with particular attention to the following cases:

- Interconnection of different modules of the same large application, with particular emphasis on aspects such as performance, security, and monitoring.

- Integration of computer applications from different sources, within the same organization.

- Integration of computer applications between different organizations.

Unfortunately, many of the real systems tend to use ad hoc solutions that are extremely fragile and ill-prepared to evolve. To solve these problems, students should learn how to integrate systems in a structured way. This course has a strong emphasis on integration with middleware systems, in particular, using approaches such as Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), MOM (Message Oriented Middleware), or Enterprise Service Buses (ESB).

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

- Integration Challenges, Styles, and Standard Solutions for System Integration

- Data Integration

* XML Technologies (XML, XSL, XSLT, XQUERY, etc.), JSON

- Functional Integration

* First- and Second-Generation SOAP Web Services, and REST Services

* Remote Procedure Call Technologies

* Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

* Microservices Architectures

- System Integration through Message-Oriented Middleware

- Storange and Transactions. Distributed Transactions, Long Transactions, Business Activities

- Legacy Systems Integration

* Integration with Different Types of Applications

* Types of Integration (Interface, Business Methods, APIs, Data)

- Dependability

* Basic Concepts

* Techniques for Developing and Integrating Dependable Systems

- Security

* Basic Concepts

* Techniques for Developing and Integrating Secure Systems

Head Lecturer(s)

Carlos Nuno Bizarro e Silva Laranjeiro

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 50.0%
Project: 50.0%

Bibliography

- Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolf. Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc., USA, 2003.

- Jeff Friesen. Java XML and JSON: Document Processing for Java SE. Apress, New York, 2nd edition, 2019. Service-Oriented Architecture: A Field Guide to Integrating XML and Web Services, by Thomas Erl, Prentice Hall PTR.

- Sam Newman. Building Microservices: Designing Fine-Grained Systems. O’Reilly Media, 2nd edition, 2021.

- Philip A. Bernstein and Eric Newcomer. Principles of Transaction Processing. Morgan Kaufmann, 2nd edition, 2009.

- Heather Adkins, Betsy Beyer, Paul Blankinship, Piotr Lewandowski, Ana Oprea and Adam Stubblefield. Building Secure and Reliable Systems: Best Practices for Designing, Implementing, and Maintaining Systems. O’Reilly Media, Beijing China ; Boston [MA], 1st edition, 2020.

- Oracle. Jakarta EE Tutorial, 2024.