OT: Proposal for Describing Web Services that Refer to Other Web Services: R085

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Baker [mailto:distobj@acm.org]
> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2003 11:53 AM
> To: www-ws-desc@w3.org
> Subject: Re: Proposal for Describing Web Services that Refer to Other
> Web Services: R085
> 

[Off topic, but hey it's Friday!]

> 
> Consider the telephone system.  I only need an identifier 
> (phone number) and a client (phone), and I can call someone.  

Oh really? You need to know not only the phone number, but the rules for
parsing the number into its component parts (e.g. country code, area code,
local number).  Then you have to figure out the steps needed in your current
location for a) getting an outside line b) whether or not an area code is
needed (this may be a North Americanism); c) figuring out whether the call
is international or not, and if it is you need to know the local convention
for initiating an international call as well as the country code that you
may have parsed out of the phone number. 

Let's look at a concrete example.  Software AG's main number on our homepage
is listed as  +49 6151 92-0  To actually call the receptionist there from a
random spot in the world, you need more information than just the phone
number. From my cellphone, I can actually enter +49 6151 92 0 . From my
home, I would dial 0114961510.  From most businesses in the US, one would
dial 9011496151920  From most places in Germany (as best I understand the
system!) one would dial 06151920.  From within the building, you would just
dial 0.  From a random hotel in Paris, or Hong Kong, I have NO IDEA!
There's usually a little booklet next to the phone that explains the local
conventions.

Worse, one often needs to know the "after the answer" protocol for dialing
an specified extension, conference access code, or whatever.  As a practical
matter, many of us also need to know the local access numbers for our
calling card providers and the local convention for using it (for example, I
can attest that the order in which you dial the account code and the desired
number is different for MCI in the US and in Germany).  And if you  using a
modem, you have the additional problem that physical dial tone signals are
different in different countries, and you may have to pause dialing at
various points to make sure that the phone network is ready for the next
digit. I've spent long hours in hotels trying to figure out how to call an
ISP to get email; I guarantee you I did not "only need an identifier"! 

Web services seem simple by comparison :-)

Received on Friday, 25 April 2003 16:22:26 UTC