Method and System to Automatically Adapt Web Services from One Protocol/Idiom to Another Protocol/Idiom

• US 20110161477A1
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BMC Software Incorporated (KKR & Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: BMC Software Incorporated (KKR & Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Kowalski, Vincent Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 8,473,595 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A method and system to convert an existing web service from a first web services implantation type to a second web services implementation type. Example implementation types include SOAP and Representational State Transfer (REST). This conversion is achieved by recognizing and classifying available information from each of the distinct implementation types. After proper recognition and classification as disclosed herein, a deterministic process may be utilized to assist in converting or translating the exposed interface; thereby assisting in developing an interface, based on a different interface type than the one already exposed, may be provided.

Claims

1. A method of providing a web services interface, the method comprising:

obtaining information about an exposed Representational State Transfer (RESTful) web services interface on a first web server computer;

parsing, with a processing device configured to parse web services interface information, the RESTful web services interface information to classify an idiom of the RESTful web services interface;

if classification is possible, automatically generating a WADL description of the RESTful web services interface;

if classification is not possible, creating a hand-coded Web Application Description Language (WADL) description of the RESTful web service interface;

applying an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT) to the WADL description to produce a Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) description of the RESTful web services interface; and

exposing a SOAP-based web services interface on a second web server computer using the WSDL description.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second web server computer are the same computer.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the RESTful web service is classified as belonging to a group selected from the groups of true REST, REST/RPC hybrids and traditional REST.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein parsing the RESTful web services interface further comprises parsing to identify an operation and any associated parameters of a web services request.

7. A computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions stored thereon to cause a processing device to perform the method of claim 1.

9. A computer network comprising:

a plurality of processing units communicatively coupled to a computer network;

a first processing unit configured to perform at least a portion of the method of claim 1 wherein the entire method of claim 1 is performed collectively by the plurality of processing units.

10. A computer network comprising:

a plurality of processing units communicatively coupled to a computer network;

a first processing unit configured to perform at least a portion of the method of claim 1 wherein the entire method of claim 5 is performed collectively by the plurality of processing units.

5. A method of providing a web services interface, the method comprising:

obtaining information about an exposed SOAP web services interface on a first web server computer;

applying, with a processing device configured to transform web services description files, an XSLT transformation to a WSDL description to produce a WADL description of the SOAP web services interface;

generating a RESTful web services interface using the WADL description; and

exposing the RESTful web services interface on a second web server computer.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the first and second web server computer are the same computer.

8. A computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions stored thereon to cause a processing device to perform the method of claim 5.