WS-Kernel

HP did some pretty interesting research on building a unix kernel based on service-oriented design. their "MicroKernel...generalizes the principles of REST...and applies them down to the finest granularity of service-based software composition."

I have wondered if something like this were going on, but my initial assumption was that XML processing load made it impractical for low-level system operations. at kernel level, things need to happen fast, and the vast majority of the time (especially in Linux), it's possible, or even easy, to write system components that speak directly to the kernel.

I think the initiative is great, though - the more software projects out there, the better. the area I see service-oriented architecture providing the biggest benefit is to business processes that span multiple disparate systems. I have never thought of an OS as fitting that description at all. however, there may be some killer ideas out there that were waiting on this technology.