Re: Snapshot of Web Services Glossary

>
> This seems close enough for our immediate purposes.  Truly precise
> definitions will not be nailed down EVER, because the meanings will change
> as the world around us changes.

Come on now, Mike, that's dodging the task.

>
> http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213080,00.html
>
> "2) In program-to-program communication, synchronous communication
requires
> that each end of an exchange of communication respond in turn without
> initiating a new communication. A typical activity that might use a
> synchronous protocol would be a transmission of files from one point to
> another. As each transmission is received, a response is returned
indicating
> success or the need to resend. Each successive transmission of data
requires
> a response to the previous transmission before a new one can be initiated.
> Synchronous program communication is contrasted with asynchronous program
> communication. "

I've been waiting to hear Arkin's objection.  By this definition, TCP can't
be considered synchronous, nor could any sliding window protocol.


>
> " In computer programs, asynchronous operation means that a process
operates
> independently of other processes, whereas synchronous operation means that
> the process runs only as a result of some other process being completed or
> handing off operation. A typical activity that might use a synchronous
> protocol would be a transmission of files from one point to another. As
each
> transmission is received, a response is returned indicating success or the
> need to resend. Each successive transmission of data requires a response
to
> the previous transmission before a new one can be initiated. "
>

I'd be surprised if the above helped anyone understand the architecture
document or the usage scenarios, but what do I know?  The first part
begs a definition of "independently of other processes".  Clearly, one thing
that communicating processes do is synchronize.  Where does that leave
us?

WM