Together with HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) (Gourley &
Totty, 2002) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) (Mitra, 2001) as protocols, we
face an enormous opportunity to bring together previously-separated building blocks for
the next generation Internet. XML is the unifying data representation standard that could be
used to basically encode any kind of information. HTTP and SOAP are simple yet flexible
protocols that allow a system-independent communication between heterogeneous systems.
More generally, the basic notion of application-level protocols is very important to be able
to conceptualize a working architecture for a true Web of Services. While it currently is
very difficult to connect different Web-based systems, future interfaces could greatly benefit
from these standards (e.g., when trying to combine a flight information system and a hotel
booking system).
While theoretically already very strong in practice, many Web Services standards are not
yet available. The specifications currently evolve at a much faster pace than the implementations,
and many of the core technologies (e.g., distributed transactions and security) are
still in a state of continuing change. These movements will stabilize eventually, but in the
meantime the permanent flux of changes creates investment risks which cause many commercial
endeavors to use as little as possible of the new technologies.
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