Understanding web services: The platform technology for next-generation computing systems

Abstract

Web Services is the latest approach to Service Oriented Computing (SOC), an advanced form of Web application development, a sub domain of distributed computing and the technological driver of an emerging discipline – Services Science. This technology though becoming the platform technology for next-generation computing systems, with remarkable real life successes is yet to be appreciated and embraced in many African countries, including Nigeria. In its simplest form, Web Services systems are made up of the Soap Router, Backend Processes and WSDL document. Web services are well-defined end-to-end software functionalities that must be publishable, discoverable, accessible, deliverable, consumable and composable. This paper explicates the concept of Web Services and exposes how it works.

Keywords: Web services, services oriented computing, web services solution, services science

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, 6(4): 382 - 390, 2010