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Re: Semantic Web Services

• To: "Bullard Claude L (Len)" <len.bullard@i...>
• Subject: Re: Semantic Web Services
• From: "Chiusano Joseph" <chiusano_joseph@b...>
• Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:56:11 -0400
• Cc: "'Joshua Allen'" <joshuaa@m...>, XML Developers List <xml-dev@l...>
• Organization: Booz Allen Hamilton
• References: <15725CF6AFE2F34DB8A5B4770B7334EE03F9F922@h...>

"Bullard, Claude L (Len)" wrote:
> 
> Describe the discovery behavior.

Sure - 
 
> a) For what reason is it initiated

Using a classic example: A travel agent Web Service needs to discover
one or more hotel Web Services - i.e. a Web Service that would be
offered by a hotel/hotel chain that has functionality required for
automatic (at least partial) reservation of a hotel room, and all of the
functions that are required by that (ability to search by specific
criteria, etc.)

> b) By what mechanism is it accomplished

One way, of multiple: The travel agent Web Service discovers (how it
discovers it will be orthogonal for this example) an e-business registry
- such as UDDI or ebXML Registry - and performs an automated search of
the registry contents. We can also assume for this example (not speaking
about any particular standard) that the search would be
"semantically-aware" - i.e. that it would involve concepts such as rich
metadata attributes in registries, classification of entities according
to ontologies, etc.

> c) What entity evolves as a result of
>    acquiring the behavior?

Several entities, among them: 

- A "record" (or "object" - using terms loosely) that represents a hotel
Web Service in the registry, along with its pertinent business (i.e.
organization information about the hotel/hotel chain) and technical
(e.g. supported transport protocols for Web Service) information.

- A Web Service description (e.g. WSDL document) that, if a particular
hotel is "accepted" in the search (i.e. it meets all stated criteria),
will be used to "connect" with the hotel's Web Service.

> d) How is a message type shared 

Through the WSDL document.

> and how
>    after it is shared is it discarded/forgotten
>    as a type (pruning the theory lattice)?

Not sure what you mean here - but this should be taken care of by the
stateless nature of the exchange (assuming that it is stateless - which
will change in the future with certain emerging standards).

> The realistic answer to c) is the client.

Ok - then I retract my answer from above (I was thinking along different
lines). :)

> In an ontologically endowed SOA, the client
> must be able to consume a service as a result
> of using the ontology (which itself can be
> delivered by a service), but it can also
> produce an ontology and return it as a
> theory to the emitter.   

Yes - perhaps the produced ontology is a result of the aggregation of
multiple ontologies that each represents a specific sub-domain (e.g.
specific "types" of hotels), that is then returned to the requester for
them to - perhaps - use the aggregated ontology for the current
(in-process) search, or for later searching.

> So discovery
> is a feedback-enabled behavior such that
> the act of using it improves it and
> evolves the system.  

Yes - Roger, are you there? :)

Kind Regards,
Joe Chiusano
Booz | Allen | Hamilton
Strategy and Technology Consultants to the World

> A model/theory/ontology
> submitted can then be shared and such
> sharing is the semantic equivalent of
> the Google PageRank.
> 
> SOAs are described as a framework of
> shared messages and it is the evolution
> of the message set that should be examined
> because this is the standardization behavior.
> 
> Multiple SOAs that are ontologically distinct
> but share overlapping message types are
> information ecosystems.   Such systems are
> not boundaryless.  In fact, the standardization
> behavior creates boundaries and these affect
> the survival and propagation of any member
> of a distinct information community.
> 
> Next, we must better understand the evolution
> of distinct situations which involve members
> of multiple information communities and how
> these affect the standardization behaviors
> over these messages.
> 
> len
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chiusano Joseph [mailto:chiusano_joseph@b...]
> 
> "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" wrote:
> >
> > A simple question, but one that could get to
> > the heart of whether or not we should expect
> > to see growth in the semantic web business:
> >
> > What are some services that SemWeb
> > applications could expose for discovery
> > and integration into web client applications
> > including mobile applications?  In other
> > words, how and where do the Sem Web and
> > Service Oriented Architectures meet?
> 
> This should be a good thread. I could go on and on about this, but at
> the most rudimentary level (being very simple with the language, and
> making some basic assumptions):
> 
> - A primary foundation of SOA is shared services
> 
> - Semantic Web services will be described in a semantically rich-enough
> manner so as to be efficiently discovered (by "efficiently", I mean both
> easily and according to the service discoverer's criteria such as QoS
> criteria)
> 
> - SOA + Semantic Web = More easily discovered services that are better
> tailored to a service discoverer's (human or machine) needs, thereby
> enabling service providers to broaden their reach, and service
> discoverers to have their processing needs more easily met (higher
> "service satisfaction") - which translates into better service for their
> customers (if a customer-oriented scenario).

-- 
Kind Regards,
Joseph Chiusano
Associate
Booz | Allen | Hamilton

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  • RE: Semantic Web Services
    • From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <len.bullard@i...>

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