Model Driven Legacy Integration™ (MDLI™) is MDA applied to integration as implemented by SCORE Adaptive Bridges. As the name suggests, the focus is on the implementation of MDA as applied to the integration of legacy applications.

As discussed in the Business View, today’s business imperative is to multiply the value of existing applications and data stores, delivering new solutions and services to meet the diverse needs of stakeholders. Adaptive Services are introduced as the way of modeling the required connectivity.

MDLI is the methodology that you use to build adaptive services using SCORE Adaptive Bridges implementing the MDA concepts of PIMs, PSMs and the Transformation Pattern with its use of pattern-based generators. The concepts of compositions and choreographies are taken from the OMG Enterprise Distributed Object Computing (EDOC) standard and its key components Enterprise Collaboration Architecture (ECA) and Component Collaboration Architecture (CCA).

A good way of understanding what happens with MDLI is to look at an example. But before we do that, however, we need clarify some terminology. When talking about integration it often helps to think in terms of the “direction” of integration:

• Vertical Integration – Building adaptive services to connect existing applications and data stores with new applications, new platforms, or new services. For example, making an insurance quotation system available as Web services, adding a new GUI or making an existing application available to Web users.
• Horizontal Integration – Building adaptive services to connect existing applications and data stores. For example, connecting a resource planning system with an accounting system. Horizontal integration is the requirement traditionally supported by Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools.

Naturally in the real world things are never quite this well differentiated and projects tend to have a mixture of vertical and horizontal integration aspects.

Where to Go Next?

SCORE Adaptive Bridges and Model Driven Legacy Integration are focused on integrating what you have already built with what you will build. Read on for a detailed example of Vertical Integration and the steps that you follow to create and deploy your adaptive services.