Foreword by Steve MillsWeb services are about enabling complete business-level interoperability across vendor middleware platforms. Starting with the first baby stepsin the form of SOAPmore than five years ago, I have seen the industry moving steadily toward this integration platform with the introduction of one key component after another. While we are not completely there yet, I am confident that a solid technical foundation has been laid and that now the community building process is under way.This book is about that technical foundation. Starting with an explanation of some of the motivating factors driving customers toward full, in-depth integration of middleware platforms, the authors take you through the entire Web services platform and give you an understanding of why this platform effectively solves the integration problem. Two case studies, one in a business-to-business setting and the other in an enterprise application integration setting, illustrate how the Web services platform can be effectively applied to meet all the integration requirements. Finally, the authors provide an outlook of what is still coming down the pipe, in terms of both the short-term and long-term evolution of the integration space.While there are dozens of books out there about Web services, this book is unique for two critical reasons: it is the first book to provide comprehensive coverage of the entire Web services platform; and, rather than providing an unguided explanation of a plethora of "WS-*" specifications, the authors make subjective judgment calls on which specifications are core to the platform and which are not. Their bold assertions of what is core to the platform makes it clear that the Web services platform has a clear underlying architecture and that it is not just a collection of specifications, as is commonly held.The second reason above hints at a key reason for why this book is extremely unique: the authors are in fact the very same people who have been involved with defining all of the specifications that comprise the Web services platform. This is as "from the horse's mouth" as it can ever get!Given the importance of true interoperability across vendor platforms, no one can afford to not fully understand Web services. I suspect this book will be a key milestone in your travels down the Web services roads.Steve Mills Senior VP and Group Executive IBM Software Group December 2004 |
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