| Sumario: | Within the past few years a new paradigm for software organization and intercommunication has emerged - SOA, or Service-Oriented Architecture. This article explores the relevance of this approach to automation and control of laboratory devices and examines some of the excellent open-source software tools, libraries, and frameworks available to implement software according to SOA principles. Not only can the open-source packages described here serve as the basis for practical laboratory automation systems, they also can serve an educational role to illustrate the principles and advantages of an SOA approach. Open-source software represents a significant opportunity for leveraging the skills and budgets of small automation development groups to produce very sophisticated and reliable software systems that would otherwise be out of reach for such small teams. An added benefit is that because of the standardized protocols involved, opportunities for interoperation with other systems that are following a similar approach becomes a realistic possibility. Although intellectual property and licensing issues may represent a barrier to the open-source approach for commercial developers seeking to market their solutions, it may be the ideal approach for many in-house projects and for standardized elements within commercial packages.
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