Discovery A client application needing access to a Web service’s exposed features requires a way to address the remote service location. This is done by a method commonly called exploration. As well as by more ad hoc approaches, Exploration can be facilitated through a centralised directory. In DCOM, discovery services are provided by the Service Control Manager (SCM). Have a look at Standout Web Services.
Definition After the end point for a specific Web service has been resolved, the consumer needs adequate information to deal with it properly. The definition of a Web service includes standardised interface metadata intended for use by a client application, as well as written Web service documentation, including examples of use. Via a form library, a DCOM component exposes structured metadata about its interfaces (typelib). The metadata is stored in a proprietary binary format inside a component typelib and accessed via a proprietary programming interface application (API). Just before it really takes off, it is always fun to get a glimpse of a new revolutionary technology. Semantic Web Services is one of the more promising Web opportunities.
Online Services are now self-contained, self-described, component applications that can be posted, found, and accessed within the Web. Web Services offer a common means of interoperating on a number of platforms between different software applications. The extensibility and language neutrality offered by eXtensibleMarkup Language (XML) is the key to Web Services’ standard-based interoperability. They perform functions that can involve anything from basic question answers to complex company processes. When a web service is implemented, it can be discovered and invoked by other applications. Currently, for recognition and execution, Web services involve human interaction.
The Web inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, has proposed that the combination of Web Services and Semantic Web technologies could provide Web applications with major performance improvements. Integration may combine the business logic of web services with the meaningful content of the Semantic Web. There are many fields in which the two could function together well. For example, an ontology (Application Ontology Language, OWL) could be used by current discovery technologies (Universal Definition, Discovery and Integration, UDDI), binding (Web Services Description Language, WSDL) and messaging (Simple Object Access Protocol, SOAP) to provide automatic Semantic Web Services to facilitate quick interaction with the engines of Web business rules.