Web Services Design Methodologies
(In conjunction with the NSW ACS Web Services SIG)
Current best practice in Web Services is to view services as autonomous entities that use explicit message-passing to exchange information (as exemplified in leading platforms such as WSE, Indigo, and Axis). In a message-oriented system, super-loose coupling is the norm and consistency requirements must be relaxed - both of which can be perplexing for architects coming from a distributed object world where coupling is generally tight and consistency guaranteed.
However once these concepts are accepted, they enable the development of applications which are highly scalable in terms of load, adaptive in terms of re-use, and highly robust in the face of change. This talk will introduce the architectural concepts underpinning message-oriented Web Services at the individual service and network of service levels of abstraction. Building on that foundation, the discussion will move into the realms of architecting Web Services to best exploit some of the WS-* protocols to attain true enterprise-grade quality of service for Web Services-based applications.
Dr Jim Webber
Dr. Jim Webber is a senior consultant with ThoughtWorks Australia specialising in Web Services and SOA. Jim was formerly a senior researcher with Newcastle University where he developed strategies for aligning Grid computing with Web Services practices and architectural patterns for dependable Service-Oriented computing. Jim has extensive Web Services architecture and development experience as an architect with Arjuna Technologies and was the lead developer with Hewlett-Packard on the industry's first Web Services Transaction solution. Jim is an active speaker in the Web Services space and is co-author of the book "Developing Enterprise Web Services - An Architect's Guide." His blog is located at http://jim.webber.name