A collection of self-contained services that communicate to form a complete software application is referred to as?

The correct answer, which identifies a collection of self-contained services that communicate to form a complete software application, is Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA is an architectural pattern that allows different services to operate independently yet work together by using standard communication protocols. Each service in SOA encapsulates specific business functions or processes, allowing developers to create applications that are modular, scalable, and easier to maintain.

By leveraging SOA, organizations can integrate various services and components, regardless of the technology stack they use. This approach enhances flexibility and reusability, as services can be reused across different applications. As business needs change, new services can be added or existing ones modified without disrupting the overall system.

In contrast, web services are a specific implementation that can be a part of SOA, but they do not inherently define the architecture. EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) focuses on connecting different enterprise systems rather than building modular services. SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol used for exchanging structured information in web services but does not encompass the broader concept of service-oriented architecture itself.