A [composite application|http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/woolf?entry=composite_application] is one whose functionality is implemented by invoking services. Because multiple applications can use the same service, multiple composite applications may share some of the same parts.
Composite application captures what I came to call [The Two Parts of an SOA Application|http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/woolf?entry=the_two_parts_of_an]:
* Service provider
* Service coordinator
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[!http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/ws-mocks/fig1.gif!|http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/ws-mocks/|Personal finance application and services]
*Personal finance application and services*
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This idea evolved into the techniques documented in [Streamline SOA development using service mocks|http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/woolf?entry=streamline_soa_development_using_service].
The SOA application head is the service coordinator, which invokes multiple services and combines their results. The coordinator might be a [business process] performing a planned service orchestration, or it could be a GUI invoking services [ad hoc|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc] as directed by the user.
The SOA application head is the service coordinator, which invokes multiple services and combines their results. The coordinator might be a [business process] performing a planned service orchestration, or it could be a GUI invoking services [ad hoc|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc] as directed by the user.
So is the composite application just the head/coordinator, or is it that plus all of the services it uses (and thus potentially all of their providers)? Yes, the term seems to be used both ways.
