SOAP, WSDL and the Paradox of Homogeneity
Back in the days when SOAP was being worked out, the goal was to build “plumbing that produced and consumed XML-based messages instead of the various binary message formats favored by each technology” (see Tim Ewald’s 2002 article on MSDN titled The Argument Against SOAP). In a sense, the goal was to bring in homogeneity across non-homogeneous technologies so that they can talk to each other. Looking back, there is an interesting consequence to this exercice. There are a number of WS-* specifications, some already dead but some alive, that assume that all applications are homogeneously described by WSDL, which IMO, gave rise to esoteric ideas like choreography, orchestration and so on. By its very nature, in general, homogeneity is limiting and hampers creativity. So, is the very motivation behind homogeneity of distributed software via SOAP and WSDL limiting creativity? This thought lead me to do a quick search 
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And, here is what I discovered.
The result was a book titled “Understanding Organization Through Culture and Structure - Relational and Other Lessons from the African American Organization” which quotes a 2001 paper referring to “Paradox of Homogeneity” as
The most striking aspect of this discussion is that homogeneity is limiting. This is like coffee at Starbucks. The emphasis at Starbucks is on uniformity and not on serving the finest coffees, and so it sucks. As Bill Bryson notes in his Notes from a Big Country, “people have grown so used to uniformity that they have become, as it were, hypnotized by it”. Once you are used to homogeneity, you stop asking probing questions and avoid seeking alternative solutions. Well, that is what one gets for asking for Starbucks!
I find it interesting to see the same qualities in some of the “REST does not work because …” arguments.
The original goal of SOAP to provide some common framework for heterogeneous applications to coexist is good, and a solution was needed. I think where things went wrong was when people started demanding that “everything shall speak SOAP and wear a WSDL mask” and start creating a homogeneous application landscape. I am glad that this demand is not working.
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