RE: WS Definition

In all the discussions I read I could not see this definition (apologies
if I missed it): a web service is a network endpoint capable of
exchanging (consuming &| producing) messages with other network
endpoints using standard internet transport, routing and packaging
technologies. A message is a collection of bytes that can be transported
and routed over the internet to a web service provider and requestor or
subscriber. Web services can be stateless or stateful (the message
exchange depends on prior message exchanges).

 

Looks like this definition is applicable to any existing "web site",
hence it is a generalization of existing web concepts, we can easily
build specialized layers on top of this definition that describe the
structure of the message exchange (format, transaction, choreography,
interface/API.). Two equivalence relationship (from other network
endpoint point of views) could be easily derived by specifying that a) 2
services are "equivalent" is they are able to perform the same message
type exchange, b) 2 services are "strongly equivalent" if the data
content of the messages is identical (Could be useful for certain
services that must guaranty they would return the same information if
ask the same request).

 

The definition also seem to fit Eric's diagram (WSA Stack) by describing
the lowest part of it. 

 

SOAP, WSDL,  and UDDI seem to fit on top of the definition but are just
one possibility. 

 

JJ- 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: www-ws-arch-request@w3.org [mailto:www-ws-arch-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Cutler, Roger (RogerCutler)
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 1:29 PM
To: www-ws-arch@w3.org
Subject: WS Definition

 

I just came across a definition of Web services in the documentation of
a commercial product that I think is pretty good.  It is more or less
along the lines of our current definition and at least some of the
recent discussion.  It seems to me that there may be some degree of
emerging consensus in the greater world about what the term means.  I
quote it as a point of information.

"An XML Web services is a unit of application logic providing data and
services to other applications.  Applications access XML Web services
via ubiquitous Web protocols and data formats such as HTTP, XML and
SOAP."