Example research essay topic: Programming Languages Software Engineering - 1,943 words

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... to the much richer XML Schema. WSDL uses XML Schema to articulate the types of objects exchanged among Web services. Since January, Version 1. 2 of Suns JAXP (Java API for XML Processing) has included the Apache XML Projects Xerces 2 parser, which supports XML Schema. Confusingly, J 2 SE 1. 4 includes the older Crimson parser, which doesnt support XML Schema. (Likewise JAXB currently supports DTD only, not Schema. ) A further wrinkle is that the Java API for WSDL remains in the request phase of the Java Community Process, and isn't yet included in the JAX Pack. On the bright side, its encouraging to see Sun working more closely with the open-source community, which has delivered so much Java/XML innovation.

Now we are moving a little bit deeper into the advantages and the development of Web services. From the conceptual standpoint it is concluded that even as RPC-style Web services settle on a Schema-based type definition, a new document-oriented style is now emerging. In the latter case, the body of the SOAP message does not model the call / response semantics of conventional programming languages. Rather, it carries arbitrary XML documents, which can also be described in WSDL and validated using XML Schema.

The champion of this approach has been Microsoft, whose. Net toolkit prefers the document-oriented flavor of SOAP. Suns JAX Pack includes APIs geared for both approaches: JAX-RPC (Java API for XML-based RPC) for RPC-style Web services, and JAXM for document-style services. Developers facing these choices find themselves anxiously scanning use case matrices that describe when and why to favor one approach or the other.

The long-term trend is clear. RPC technology may or may not prove sufficiently robust at Internet scale, but the Web is proof that pure document exchange will. In a world of rapidly changing business alliances and technical infrastructures, large-scale distributed applications cannot depend on brittle RPC-style APIs that require all endpoints to evolve in lockstep. The more XML messages say about themselves, the less their senders and receivers need to know about one another's infrastructures. This loosely coupled approach can even make it possible to develop new application behavior in a declarative rather than procedural way.

Configure, dont code, says Metra Tech, a company whose Web services- based billing engine supports telecommunications service providers. With Metra Techs solution, a service aggregator who defines a new offering in conjunction with a partner doesn't code another interface, but accepts a stream of XML that defines how the new service works. By describing more of the system in a way the computer can understand, says Metra Techs CEO Jim Colbert, we can make the tools do a lot of what used to be rocket-science coding. (Article) Clearly there will be lots of ways to produce and consume SOAP services in Java. Too many, perhaps, but when youre bootstrapping its wise to accommodate a broad range of legacy systems and attitudes. The real question for Java developers, and indeed for all developers, is how to conceptualizes the use of those services. To that end, i Planets Stern argues for a thin waistline of core standards- just SOAP and WSDL and UDDI.

Then lets innovate on top of these to solve the assembly problem, he says. At this level, conventional programming languages fade into the woodwork. The focus shifts to languages that are today spoken, and protocols that are today enacted, by people. When a company signs a new supplier, Stern points out, lawyers gather in a room to negotiate terms and conditions, and all documents subsequently exchanged fall within the scope of that agreement. ebXML addresses this realm. So does IBMs WSFL (Web Services Flow Language), and Microsoft's XLANG, the orchestration dialect of BizTalk Server. (Article) Until basic Web services find their way into routine use, we wont be able to fully evaluate these approaches to composing systems based on them.

Java may have arrived late to the Web services party, but the music hasnt really started yet. When it does, nobody will remember who shipped what kind of XML parser for which programming language on what date. Well all be too busy figuring out how to piece together a much larger puzzle. The Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) Project is a cross-industry initiative designed to accelerate and broaden business-to-business integration and commerce on the Internet. It has been created by IBM, Microsoft and Ariba, who are among the major players of the industry. Adoption rates have not skyrocketed as some expected, prompting many to re-examine where UDDI will fit into the Web services puzzle.

The UDDI standard is intended to provide central directories where consumers of Web services can access various services, either within a companys firewall, via an extranet, or on the public Internet. Service providers can register them and make them available via UDDI, which is based on technologies such as XML, HTTP, and DNS. Companies can set up these registries internally and choose to extend access to partners. Microsoft, IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Systinet are among companies that offer, or plan to offer, UDDI products. There are also public UDDI registries deployed by Hewlett-Packard, SAP, and Microsoft. But experts say that adoption of UDDI has been slow-going, with users mired an in an educational mode and many still ramping up their UDDI and Web services efforts.

The concept of UDDI is still maturing, according to Joel Munter, a senior software engineer at Intel and the companys lead representative to the industry's UDDI effort. Things are ramping, and theyre ramping as the industry drives it and as the industry matures in its run-time use models, Munter said in an interview late last month. Munter added that tens of thousands of services are accessible in public registries. However, loftier expectations in some circles had been for hundreds of thousands to millions of accessible services. UDDI enables services such as allowing a frequent flyer of an airline to access that airlines support services in a registry via devices such as a laptop, PDA, or cell phone, Munter said. In mid- 2004, youre going to see an awful lot more Web services in use, but the next 12 to 18 months will continue to serve as an adoption phase, Munter said.

UDDI adoption will likely pick up as Web services deployment does. Version 1 of the UDDI specification was announced in September 2000 and Version 2 followed in June 2001. Other versions were developed further on having the security issues addressed. Miller acknowledged that enterprises are currently focusing on internal deployment of Web services before extending access externally. Customers see huge opportunities for using the public registry, but the first thing is to get their house in order, Miller said.

Microsoft will release its Enterprise UDDI Services software, for deploying private UDDI registries, as part of the Windows. Net Server operating system due within a year, according to Miller. IBMs Bob Sutor, director of e-business standards strategy for the Somers, N. Y. -based company, referred to UDDI as a chicken and egg situation: Its growth depends on development of Web services.

Companies are deploying UDDI within firewalls first; extending beyond that will occur as enterprises start using UDDI for integration, Sutor concurred. IBM included support of private UDDI registries in its recently announced WebSphere 5. 0 application server. Suns upcoming UDDI offering will be based on its Sun ONE (Open Net Environment) Directory Server, and will enable setting up of private registries for publishing Web services, company officials said. Novell also planned to update and resubmit in late May a specification entitled LDAP schema for UDDI, originally submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in February. The spec defines a standard format for representing UDDI data types in an Ldap 3 directory. The company is looking to highlight the similarities between UDDI registries and directories as repositories for Web services, as well as the authentication and security features of directories that could supplement UDDI registry security.

Systinet has offered a UDDI server called WASP (Web Application and Services Platform) UDDI since October 2002. The product is available free for download and testing. The company has seen the interest level in WASP UDDI fluctuate over time. We had very little interest until about January, then we had a remarkable uptake in downloads, said Anne Thomas Manes, CTO of Cambridge, Mass. -based Systinet. The spike occurred, Manes said, because Web services have begun to reach critical mass, which may bode well for future adoption of UDDI. In the long run, Uddi's evolution may well absorb LDAP into a new standard for directory services.

At least, that appears to be the aim of Suns efforts. Whether or not anyone nibbles at Sun ONE (Open Net Environment) remains to be seen, but its clear that the lines are already being drawn. Ultimately, customers will vote with their dollars. Sometimes we hear complaints that public services arent available. Of course businesses are starting with internal UDDI registries -because if your own house isnt in order, how can you expect your partners to be? The idea that there will be one master registry is foolish.

Federation is the magic word here: UDDI will succeed only through voluntary association of businesses exposing their registries for public consumption. Businesses arent ignoring UDDI, they are merely figuring out how best to take advantage of it. Even if the number of available services is a tenth of what we thought it would be back in 2000, that explosive growth will still happen. It may simply take a little longer, thats all. Anyone complaining because a technology takes more than two years to go from an initial standard to widespread use needs to learn the virtues of patience. Personally, Id rather see businesses take their time, do UDDI right the first time and move on, than see a repeat of the ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM disasters that too often absorb an IT departments entire attention.

To summarize the research given we may state that Web services changed and continue changing the whole worlds environment including the businesses and social lives of people as well. I think it is not too bad because it is an obvious progress that we have considering this age of technology and innovation. Web services will continue to develop and grow as long as the computer industry will exist in the world. The World Wide Web Consortium's one of main purposes is to give assistance to the forming of the Web. They support the development of new languages and tools to improve the Web. They are funded by members donations and grants.

Thus we may state that thay will continue their job and the Web services will be developing and improving in the future. Companies such as Microsoft and Netscape also have to do much for the improvement of Web services. This is because 99 % of internet users use their browsers to surf the Web. They will continue supporting the development of Web services because it is part of their corporate activities and moreover it is their money.

Bibliography: Bumfray F. , Derenzo O. , XML, the New Perspectives in WWW. Stanford: Q-Press, 2000. Lawson S. , W 3 C builds on standards work - Interoperability and Web Services Flow Language are the focus in Hong Kong. Business wire, 2001. April C. , Coalition unites on workflow - Microsoft, IBM, BEA push Web services agenda with new workflow standard. Computer World, 2002.

Udell J. , Bootstrapping the next-generation Web. Software Engineering, 2003. Krill P. , UDDI seeks its place - Slow to get rolling, UDDI evolution depends on Web services uptake. (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration). Software engineering, 2002.

Research essay sample on Programming Languages Software Engineering