Giacomo Piccinelli
HP Labs Bristol
Filton Road, Stoke Gifford,
Bristol BS34 8QZ, UK
Wolfgang Emmerich
University College London
Gower Street,
London WC1E 6BT, UK
Christian Zirpins and Kevin Schuett
Unviversity of Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Abstract:
For the majority of front-end e-business systems, the assumption of a
coherent and homogeneous set of interfaces is highly
unrealistic. Problems start in the back-end, with systems
characterised by heterogeneous mix of applications and business
processes. Integration can be complex and expensive, as systems evolve
more in accordance with business needs then with technical
architectures. E-business systems are faced with the challenge to give
a coherent image of a diversified reality. Web Services make business
interfaces more efficient, but effectiveness is a business requirement
of at least comparable importance.
In this paper, we propose a technique for automatic reconciliation of
the Web Service interfaces involved in inter-organisational business
processes. The working assumption is that the Web Service front-end of
each company is represented by a set of WSDL and WSCL interfaces. The
result of our reconciliation method is a common interface that all the
parties can effectively enforce. Indications are also given on ways to
adapt individual interfaces to the common one. The technique was
embodied in a prototype that we also present.
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Updated on: 19/05/2002
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