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Web services (sometimes called application services)
are services (usually including some combination of programming and
data, but possibly including human resources as well) that are made
available from a business's Web server for Web users or other Web-connected programs. Providers of Web services are generally known as application service providers. Web services range from such major services as storage management and customer relationship management (CRM)
down to much more limited services such as the furnishing of a stock
quote and the checking of bids for an auction item. The accelerating
creation and availability of these services is a major Web trend.
Users can access some Web services through a peer-to-peer
arrangement rather than by going to a central server. Some services can
communicate with other services and this exchange of procedures and
data is generally enabled by a class of software known as middleware. Services previously possible only with the older standardized service known as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
increasingly are likely to become Web services. Besides the
standardization and wide availability to users and businesses of the
Internet itself, Web services are also increasingly enabled by the use
of the Extensible Markup Language (XML)
as a means of standardizing data formats and exchanging data. XML is
the foundation for the Web Services Description Language (WSDL).
As Web services proliferate, concerns include the overall demands on
network bandwidth and, for any particular service, the effect on
performance as demands for that service rise. A number of new products
have emerged that enable software developers to create or modify
existing applications that can be "published" (made known and
potentially accessible) as Web services.
>> Find white papers, products and vendors related to Web services.
Last updated on: Nov 12, 2001
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