Re: Counting noses on (The GCF is -5, Interoperability is the key, don't leave legacy systems out of the web service party)

I'm not sure that I follow your reasoning regarding legacy's inability to
support the SOAP processing model. I see no reason why a legacy system *is*
capable of writing and interpreting an XML message but *is not* capable of
processing a SOAP message. There are SOAP processors available for nearly
every language you can think of, supporting nearly every platform in
existence. The only fundamental requirement is the ability to communicate
using HTTP and XML. When these fundamental capabilities aren't available,
then you must use a gateway model -- but the gateway model would also be
necessary for simple XML processing.

Points of fact:
- Merrill Lynch developed S4ML (SOAP for Merrill Lynch), which is a
CICS-based SOAP dispatcher, providing SOAP access to more than 40,000 CICS
transactions.
- Software AG EntireX provides SOAP access to the 20 or 30 different legacy
systems that it supports.

Best regards,
Anne

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marco Adragna" <marco.adragna@kellogg.oxford.ac.uk>
To: <www-ws-arch@w3.org>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 6:39 AM
Subject: Re: Counting noses on (The GCF is -5, Interoperability is the key,
don't leave legacy systems out of the web service party)


>
> Ciao all,
> Interoperability is one of the key benefits of web services over competing
technologies and
> a fundamental factor for wide business adoption.
> Many businessman see web services as the first "new" technology that can
bring value,
> without requiring a big-bag highly-expensive approach.
> If web services are to succeed, we should encourage this belief.
> Legacy IT infrastructure shouldn't be left out from the party.
> Legacy systems are typically unable to support SOAP/WSDL, but capable of
writing an xml text  message.
> Look for the answer in the greatest common factor, definitely -5
>
> Have a nice week
> Marco Adragna (Oxford Uni)
>

Received on Monday, 9 June 2003 07:33:39 UTC