Web services can simplify Web apps

By David Weller
Network World, 11/05/01

Think of Web services as the middleware system you've always wanted. By using a standardized way to find and use your services (Web Services Description Language), you eliminate the need to write new interfaces each time you integrate with another middleware system.

However, the benefits don't stop there. By using a common protocol such as Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), you eliminate the need for the old "one adapter per protocol" mechanism. And by standardizing on a common way to find and use enterprise services (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration [UDDI]), you do away with manual point-to-point interfaces.

Eventually, you'll be able to use a form of "flow language" - that is, Web Services Flow Language - to describe your business processes in a software model, using nothing but Web services technologies.

How it works
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Let's imagine that HugeTelco has a customer that wants a new feature, such as telemarketer blocking, added to a service. At the most basic level, the service request would be sent via a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) interface into a C application that processed all requests. Then the C application would transmit three messages:

One to the telemarketer-blocking activation system, which would communicate through proprietary XML messages with a commercial middleware system.

Another message to a billing system, which would be a Powerbuilder system that required electronic data interchange-formatted messages.

A third to an auditing system, which would be a Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application that only accepted Java-based messages (so the C application would have to send CORBA messages to a Java intermediary, which would create Java-based messages).

Even in this simplistic example, there would be five systems in play, each with special interfaces to the other. Magnify this example by the hundreds, possibly thousands, of interfacing points maintained by most IT departments, and you will begin to understand the advantages of Web services.

Integrating Web services technologies, such as WSDL, SOAP and UDDI, into your IT infrastructure will let you take advantage of existing technology investments by simply "publishing" a standard interface for each application, which could be used by other departments and companies, and "subscribing" to the other applications in the company that are required to address a specific business issue or problem.

With flow languages, companies will be able to equip business architects with the tools to design how applications work, sending data behind the scenes to and from enterprise legacy applications and middleware products seamlessly.

By using Web services technologies, you can improve IT efficiency. To achieve a successful migration, start by migrating small systems that involve minimal cost and risk. And that will help executive management gain trust in the functionality of Web services technologies. Meanwhile, more delicate issues, such as deeply nested transactions, can continue to be evaluated. Finally, your IT development staff will spend less time maintaining multiple interfaces and protocols, letting them gain a more business-centric focus.

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Weller, a managing consultant with Valtech in Addison, Texas, has extensive experience implementing Web services using J2EE and .Net technologies. He can be reached at david.weller@valtech.com.

Web Services Description Language overview
By OASIS.

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