Transformations as web services

• US 20040111533A1
• Filed: 03/03/2003
• Published: 06/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Seto, Norman K.W., Beisiegel, Michael, Przybylski, Piotr, Seelemann, Ilene Ruth
• Application Number:
  US10/378,380
• Publication Number:
  US 20040111533A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/986 Document structures and storage, e.g. HTML extensions

Abstract

A transformation Web service description describes a Web service capable of receiving a message having a format compatible with a format of a message associated with a first Web service and transforming the message to a transformed message compatible with an input message format for a second Web service. The Web service description may be expressed in the Web services Description Language (WSDL). The Web service description includes a transformation description describing the transformation to be performed. The transformation description may be a programming language and platform neutral description such as an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) stylesheet and may be included within a transformer binding which extends WSDL. To support transformations involving multiple inputs and outputs, multiple input and/or output messages may be aggregated into a single multi-part input or output message, where each part has an attribute which references one of the multiple messages to be aggregated.

Claims

1. A method of providing a Web service, comprising:

receiving a message having a format compatible with a format of a message associated with a first Web service; and

transforming said message to a transformed message compatible with an input message format for a second Web service.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending said transformed message to said second Web service.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said transformed message contains at least some message data contained in said message.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said message is an input message of said first Web service.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said message is an output message of said first Web service.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein at least one of said message and said transformed message comprises a plurality of aggregated messages.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said at least one of said message and said transformed message is a multi-part message and each said aggregated message comprises one part.

8. A computing device comprising a processor and persistent storage memory in communication with said processor storing processor readable instructions for directing said device to undertake the method of any of claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer program product having media including computer programmed instructions for directing a computing device to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 7.

10. A computer program product having media storing a Web service description describing a Web service capable of:

receiving a message having a format compatible with a format of a message associated with a first Web service; and

transforming said message to a transformed message compatible with an input message format for a second Web service.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein said Web service description comprises a transformation description which describes said transforming.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 wherein said transformation description is programming language and platform neutral.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 wherein said transformation description is an extensible Stylesheet Language Transform (XSLT) stylesheet.

14. The computer program product of claim 10 wherein said Web service description comprises Web services Description Language (WSDL).

15. The computer program product of claim 14 wherein said WSDL description includes a transformer binding comprising a transformation description describing said transformation, said transformer binding comprising WSDL or an extension of WSDL.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein said transformation description is programming language and platform neutral.

17. The computer program product of claim 16 wherein said transformation description is an XSLT stylesheet.

18. A computer program product storing a Web service description comprising an aggregate message definition having a plurality of part elements, each said part element including a reference to a message to be aggregated.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 wherein each said reference comprises an attribute identifying said message to be aggregated.