In July 2003 a consortium of Web services vendors released the Web services Composite Application Framework (WS-CAF) to the community. WS-CAF is comprised of three specifications that together provide a means of reliably composing individual Web services into larger aggregate applicati...

When dealing with application integration, as you know by now, we are dealing with much complexity. The notion of ontologies helps the application integration architect prepare generalizations that make the problem domain more understandable.

There has been much debate lately on what exactly WSDL's purpose is, and much of that debate has focused on whether WSDL is an interface definition language (IDL), or whether WSDL is better used to specify message-level contracts (without any associated operational semantics).

Over the past couple of years, several technology vendors have defined a comprehensive set of specifications that, when complete, will provide an infrastructure for enterprise-class Web services interoperability. The names of these specifications generally begin with 'WS-', so the grou...

As more enterprises move toward an e-business strategy, the communication and integration of disparate, heterogeneous applications and systems is key. Businesses must be able to securely connect and communicate with customers and trading partners alike.

Web services has the potential to solve some of the most difficult technology and integration problems that have plagued IT departments for decades. Isolated systems, redundant code, extended development cycles, and vendor dependence have essentially been accepted as inherent side effe...

Web services hold the promise to revolutionize the way architects build systems and how software is delivered and sold. While the full realization of these advances will take years to play out, most of these benefits are rooted in technologies that are available today. This article wil...

In the past two years, we have witnessed an explosion of Web services and XML communication technologies. While WSDL , SOAP, and UDDI have become the accepted bases of Web services, there are even more standards in the making.

Web services has the potential to transform e-business into a plug-and-play affair. Not only will Web services simplify how businesses interconnect, they will also enable businesses to find each other.