Re: Web service definition
Geoff Arnold <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.web.services.ws-arch |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
On Monday, August 12, 2002, at 07:22 AM, Christopher B Ferris wrote: > Definition: A Web service is a software application > identified by a > URI, whose interfaces and bindings are defined and described > using XML artifacts. This definition can be discovered by > other software > applications which may then interact with the Web service, > through > the exchange of XML based messages via internet protocols, in a > manner prescribed by its definition. In my last email I wondered if we ought to say *something* about the nature of the interface to a Web Service. The original stipulated that interaction (actually "direct interaction") took place "using XML based messages via internet-based protocols". However the latest iterations have specified only how service discovery takes places, If we plug the interaction model back in, we get: "A Web service is a software application identified by a URI, whose interfaces and bindings are defined using XML artifacts. Its definition can be discovered by other software applications by the exchange of XML-based messages transferred by internet protocols. These applications may then interact with the Web service in a manner prescribed by its definition, using XML-based messages transferred by internet protocols." This is wordy, and repetitive, but quite unambiguous. One can factor out the common technology, thus: "A Web service is a software application identified by a URI, whose interfaces and bindings are defined using XML artifacts. Its definition can be discovered by other software applications, which may then interact with the Web service in a manner prescribed by its definition. All interactions, including service discovery, use XML-based messages transferred by internet protocols." This feels right. It avoid the "generic" trap, and makes a strong statement about the relationship to web technologies. (Indeed the last sentence provides a convenient hook to hang other conformance assertions.) Geoff Arnold Sun Microsystems Laboratories