Coordination platform and method for dynamic aggregation of web services

• US 7,441,038 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2003
• Issued: 10/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SBC Properties, L.P. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gorti, Sreenivasa R., Arellano, Javler B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; David Y
• Application Number:
  US10/352,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20040148334A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,093 Days
• Field of Search: 709/230, 709/223, 709/200
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A platform for dynamic aggregation of user services includes an agent coordination logic module. The agent coordination logic module determines whether the implementation of an independent web service can be coordinated with the implementation of another independent web service to provide an enhanced web service. The agent coordination logic module dynamically coordinates implementation of the web service by an agent with the implementation of another web service by another agent according to ontological descriptions of the web service and the other web service.

Claims

1. A communications platform, comprising:

a first device having a first agent, for implementing a first independent web service, broadcasting a request for help, when a user instruction cannot be completed by the first independent web service;

a second device having a second agent, for implementing a second independent web service, responding to the broadcast for help;

a module for providing ontological descriptions of the web services to be implemented on the first and second devices;

an agent coordination platform, responsive to the module for providing ontological descriptions, and configured to determine whether the implementation of the first independent web service can be coordinated with an implementation of the second independent web service, the agent coordination platform being further configured to dynamically coordinate the implementation of the first independent web service by the first agent with the implementation of the second independent web service by the second agent according to an ontological description of the first independent web service and an ontological description of the second independent web service;

wherein the agent coordination platform obtains assistance from the second agent and the second independent web service to complete the user instruction on the second device.

2. The communications platform of claim 1,

wherein the agent coordination platform is configured to make the determination by comparing the ontological description of the first independent web service with the ontological description of the second independent web service.

3. The communications platform of claim 1,

wherein the communications platform is implemented on an apparatus with one of the first agent and the second agent.

4. The communications platform of claim 1, wherein the agent coordination platform dynamically coordinates the independent web services by subjecting the independent web services to at least one module selected from a group consisting of a domain module, registration module and agent coordination logic module.

5. The communications platform of claim 4,

the registration module configured to register the first independent web service when the communications platform determines that the first agent implementing the first independent web service is in the same domain as the communications platform.

6. The communications platform of claim 5,

wherein the registration module is further configured to register the second independent web service when the communications platform determines that the second agent implementing the second independent web service is in the same domain as the communications platform.

7. The communications platform of claim 6,

wherein the first independent web service and the second independent web service are coordinated only when they are both registered.

8. The communications platform of claim 1,

wherein the onto logical description of the first independent web service and the ontological description of the second independent web service are each encoded according to a shared ontology using ontological descriptors of characteristics of the first independent web service and the second independent web service respectively.

9. A method of coordinating web services, the method comprising:

obtaining an onto logical description of a first independent web service implemented by a first agent;

obtaining an onto logical description of a second independent web service implemented by a second agent;

determining whether the implementation of the first independent web service can be coordinated with the implementation of the second independent web service; and

dynamically coordinating the implementation of the first independent web service with the implementation of the second independent web service according to the ontological description of the first independent web service and the ontological description of the second independent web service;

wherein when a user instruction cannot be completed by the first independent web service, the first agent broadcasts a request for help; and

the second agent responds to the request for help; and

assistance is obtained from the second agent and the second independent web service to complete the user instruction.

10. The method of coordinating web services claim 9, wherein the dynamic coordination of the independent web services is implemented by subjecting the independent web services to at least one module selected from a group consisting of a domain module, registration module and agent coordination logic module.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

associating the agent coordination logic module with the first agent; and

associating the agent coordination logic module with the second agent.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining whether the first independent web service can be supplemented with the second independent web service.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining whether the first independent web service and the second independent web service can be used to provide an enhanced web service.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

registering the first independent web service with the registration module.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a notification related to the implementation of the second independent web service from the second agent.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

registering the second independent web service with the registration module.

17. The method of claim 9,

wherein the dynamic coordination occurs independent of a user instruction.

18. A computer readable medium for storing a computer program when executed by a computer instructs to execute a method for coordinating web services, comprising:

obtaining an ontological description of a first independent web service implemented by a first agent;

obtaining an ontological description of a second independent web service implemented by a second agent;

determining whether the implementation of the first independent web service can be coordinated with the implementation of the second independent web service; and

dynamically coordinating the implementation of the first independent web service with the implementation of the second independent web service according to the determined obtained ontological description of the first independent web service and the determined obtained ontological description of the second independent web service;

wherein when a user instruction cannot be completed by the first independent web service, the first agent broadcasts a request for help; and

the second agent responds to the request for help; and

the code segment for dynamically coordinating the implementation of the web services obtains assistance from the second agent and the second independent web service to complete the user instruction.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:

associating an agent coordination logic module with the first agent and with the second agent.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:

determining whether the first independent web service can be supplemented with the second independent web service.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:

defining at least one descriptive language used to describe the first independent web service and the second independent web service.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving the ontological description of the first independent web service from a shared ontology module.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 18,

wherein the ontological description of the first independent web service and the ontological description of the second independent web service are determined according to a shared ontology.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 18,

wherein the dynamic coordination of the independent web services is implemented by subjecting the independent web services to at least one module selected from a group consisting of a domain module, registration module and agent coordination logic module.