Web Services Technology (based on OCLC's 2003 Environmental Scan)

In the future, developers and end users will license software in pieces—some from traditional application and systems software vendors and others from companies specializing in particular business functions. Open-source applications will become part of the mix. Companies will also write their own modules for activities in which they already enjoy a distinct advantage and combine them with the increasing number of standard, easily available components. These changes will help to eliminate the painful and unsatisfying make-or-buy dichotomy of today’s technology environment.

In a component-based environment, information technology professionals will have the ability to manage components independently, making modifications far simpler, faster and potentially cheaper. Patrons and customers will benefit by access to information and services on more devices and at multiple, distributed points of service.

One of the dominant enabling technologies in this field is Web services. Using Web services, small software modules located anywhere on the Web are able to interact with each other using standard protocols, making it possible to quickly link together computer systems across organizations worldwide.

The basic Web services platform is XML plus HTTP, which consists of three elements: SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) and WSDL (Web Services Description Language). To know more about this technology, you may want to read the following articles too.

Dale, T. Sign Me Up For Web Services. AIIM E-Doc Magazine v. 18 no. 2 (March/April 2004) p. 72

W3School.com, Learn Web Services

Digital Libraries: What To Know About Web Services (Roy Tennant)

An Introduction to Web Services (Tracy Gardner)

World Wide Web Consortium - Web Services Activity

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