Re: Binding

On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 03:23:15PM +0000, Miles Sabin wrote:
> I'd like you to explain _in_detail_ why these two conditions are less 
> demanding than the corresponding conditions for (2').

Ok, here goes ...

Here's what a RESTful client needs to know in order to get the data;

- URI
- HTTP GET

Here's what a Web services client needs to know in order to get the
data;

- URI
- what "getLastSharePriceOfIBM" means

After the data is retrieved, here's what a RESTful client learns;

- that the data represents the last share price of IBM
- the share price

And here's what a Web services client learns;
- the share price

That's textbook late vs. early binding.

There's a conservation principle at work here, that I might describe as
"a priori knowledge plus ex post facto knowledge = constant".  But by
lowering a priori knowledge requirements, you lower the cost of
coordination, which is a good (and I suggest *required*) thing for
coordination between untrusted parties.

MB
-- 
Mark Baker.   Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA.        http://www.markbaker.ca
Web architecture consulting, technical reports, evaluation & analysis