Standards
Things
are heating up on the standards front again.
This time, we’re pleased to note, much of the news is all
about cooperation.
For
instance, BEA, IBM, Microsoft, SAP and Sun Microsystems have
submitted an updated version of the WS-Addressing Specification To
W3C for Standardization. This
standard defines:
-
How
message headers direct messages to a service or agent, agent
-
Provides
an XML format for exchanging endpoint references
-
Defines
mechanisms to direct replies or faults to a specific
location.
-
Provides
a standard way to express where a message should be delivered
within a Web services network, so developers are able to
simplify Web services communication and development and avoid
the need to develop costly, ad hoc solutions.
The
submission results from collaboration between BEA, IBM, Microsoft,
SAP and Sun and reflects a collective commitment to open
standards. Backed by significant industry support, this submission
to the W3C is part of a longer-term effort to provide a
standards-based foundation for the development of secure,
transacted, asynchronous, and reliable Web services.
It continues a long line of successful collaborations that
have resulted in XML, XSD, SOAP, XML-Signature, XML-Encryption,
WSDL, UDDI, BPEL, and most recently WS-Security.
The
co-authors will not charge royalties in conjunction with
WS-Addressing.
IBM,
Sun, and Computer Associates have joined BEA, Microsoft, and Tibco
Software to support a Web Services Event Specification.
The
vendors hope that supporting a common specification will enhance
interoperability between their software products and permit, for
example, extending information along a supply chain or a workflow.
IBM
has a similar specification, WS
-BaseNotification
that they intend to continue to support via OASIS.
IBM would simply support both standards, hoping they might
eventually converge.
The
collaborators have not yet submitted WS-Eventing to a standards
body, but are expected to do so when the proposal is
complete.
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