Providing an invocable composite network service based on multiple other invocable constituent network services

• US 7,797,198 B1
• Filed: 08/17/2005
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kakulapati, Gunavardhan, McCann, James R. III, Frederick, Robert, Agrawal, Ashish
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Amee A
• Application Number:
  US11/207,179
• Time in Patent Office: 1,854 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

Techniques are described for assisting users in dynamically creating and using composite services that are based on other constituent services. In some situations, each constituent service is a Web service (“WS”), and each composite service is a new WS whose execution involves dynamically invoking multiple specified constituent WSes in a specified manner. Such techniques may be used, for example, in conjunction with an electronic WS marketplace via which third-party WS providers make their WSes available to third-party WS consumers who locate and purchase access to those WSes, such as to allow a user to dynamically create a new composite WS that is based on one or more WSes available from other WS providers and that reflects any constraints of the WS marketplace, with the composite WS available for use by other WS consumers. This abstract is not intended for use in interpreting or limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing an invocable composite network service that is based on multiple other invocable constituent network services, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of an invocation of a composite network service on behalf of a user that is performed to obtain a capability provided by the composite network service, the composite network service being based on multiple other constituent network services, one or more of the multiple constituent network services each being accessible based on use of a subscription to that constituent network service;

determining provision information for the composite network service that includes an order for invoking the multiple constituent network services to provide the composite network service capability, the order being based at least in part on inter-relationships between parameters of the multiple constituent network services that represent related types of information;

determining use information for the composite network service that indicates one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service, the restrictions being based at least in part on restrictions on use of the multiple constituent network services;

automatically determining whether the indicated restrictions are satisfied by the composite network service invocation, the automatic determining being performed by one or more configured computing systems; and

if the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the composite network service invocation, automatically responding by the one or more configured computing systems to the invocation by,

for each of the one or more constituent network services, automatically obtaining a subscription for the user to the constituent network service;

invoking the multiple constituent network services in the indicated order to access capabilities of those constituent network services related to the composite network service capability, the invoking of the one or more of the multiple constituent network services being based in part on the obtained subscriptions; and

providing response information that is generated based on response information from the invoking of at least some of the multiple constituent network services.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service include that payment is made available for a use price associated with the composite network service.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service include that the user has access rights to perform the invoking.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the access rights of the user to perform the invoking are based at least in part on the user having a valid subscription for the composite network service.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service include that an access quota that restricts availability of the composite network service is not exceeded by the invoking of the composite network service.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the provision information includes dynamically determining the order for invoking the multiple constituent network services after the invocation of the composite network service.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the provision information includes obtaining information related to dependencies between constituent network services, and wherein the order is further based at least in part on the dependencies.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the provision information includes calculating the order for invoking the multiple constituent network services based at least in part on executing logic associated with the composite network service.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the logic includes an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (“

XSLT”

) document.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the logic includes an eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) document.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the executing of the logic includes using XML Path Language (“

XPath”

).

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the provision information for the composite network service includes retrieving previously specified provision information for the composite network service.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the previously specified provision information for the composite network service is cached to enable the retrieving to be performed rapidly.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent network services using a first protocol and automatically supplying at least some of the output information as input information to another of the constituent network services using a distinct second protocol.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein one of the first and second protocols uses Simple Object Access Protocol (“

SOAP”

) messages for information being exchanged and the other of the first and second protocols uses documents for information being exchanged that are based on eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) and that are sent using HyperText Transport Protocol (“

HTTP”

).

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent network services and automatically modifying at least some of the output information before supplying the modified information as input information to another of the constituent network services.

17. The method of claim 1 including obtaining information that specifies a manner of generating the response information for the composite network service, and including generating the response information for the composite network service based at least in part on that obtained information.

18. The method of claim 1 including generating the response information for the composite network service in such a manner as to obfuscate information related to the multiple constituent network services.

19. The method of claim 1 including generating the response information for the composite network service based at least in part on previously specified processing to be performed on information received from invoking one or more of the constituent network services.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the previously specified processing includes an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (“

XSLT”

) specification for use in producing the response information.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving of the indicated invocation of the composite network service includes receiving input values for each of one or more input parameters of the composite network service, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services includes supplying at least one of the input values to a distinct input parameter of one of the constituent network services.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the method is performed by the one or more configured computing systems on behalf of an organization that provides multiple network services to others, wherein at least one of the input parameters of the composite network service is for use by the organization in a manner other than for the invoking of the multiple constituent network services, and wherein the method further comprises using the received input values for the at least one input parameters to facilitate providing the composite network service.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the using of the received input values for the at least one input parameters includes determining whether to provide the composite network service in response to the invocation based at least in part on those received input values.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicated invocation of the composite network service is performed using one of multiple distinct interfaces provided for use in accessing the composite network service.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the multiple distinct interfaces are based on use of multiple distinct communication protocols.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the multiple distinct interfaces include at least one interface that uses Simple Object Access Protocol (“

SOAP”

) messages for information being exchanged and at least one interface that uses documents for information being exchanged that are based on eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) and that are sent using HyperText Transport Protocol (“

HTTP”

).

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the multiple distinct interfaces are based on use of multiple distinct input data formats.

28. The method of claim 24 further comprising receiving indications of multiple invocations of the composite network service on behalf of multiple users, the multiple invocations performed using the multiple distinct interfaces and performed in such a manner that a user on whose behalf an invocation is performed controls which of the multiple distinct interfaces is used for the invocation.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein multiple of the invocations are performed on behalf of a single user and are performed using each of the multiple distinct interfaces.

30. The method of claim 1 wherein the automatic responding to the invocation includes executing logic associated with the composite network service.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the logic includes an eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (“

XSLT”

) document.

32. The method of claim 30 wherein the logic includes an eXtensible Markup Language (“

XML”

) document.

33. The method of claim 30 wherein the executing of the logic includes using XML Path Language (“

XPath”

).

34. The method of claim 1 including providing a network endpoint for the composite network service, and wherein the composite network service invocation is performed via the provided network endpoint.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the network endpoint for the composite network service is provided in a manner to obfuscate at least some of the multiple constituent network services from users who invoke the composite network service, and wherein the providing of the generated response information is performed in a manner to obfuscate at least some of the multiple constituent network services from the users.

36. The method of claim 11 wherein the method is performed by the one or more configured computing systems on behalf of a first electronic marketplace that provides multiple network services to others, wherein one of the multiple constituent network services is registered at another electronic marketplace that is unaffiliated with the first electronic marketplace, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services includes invoking the one constituent network service from the another electronic marketplace.

37. The method of claim 11 wherein the determined use information includes one or more use conditions such that use of the composite network service is restricted to uses for which at least some of the use conditions are satisfied, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the indicated restrictions are satisfied by the composite network service invocation includes evaluating at least some of the use conditions.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein the composite network service invocation is performed by a remote executing program, and wherein the evaluating of at least some of the use conditions is based at least in part on determining whether the remote executing program satisfies those use conditions.

39. The method of claim 37 wherein the evaluating of at least some of the use conditions is based at least in part on determining whether the user satisfies those use conditions.

40. The method of claim 37 wherein the composite network service invocation is performed to assist in providing a type of functionality, and wherein the evaluating of at least some of the use conditions is based at least in part on determining whether the type of functionality satisfies those use conditions.

41. The method of claim 37 wherein the obtained use information includes multiple use conditions, and wherein the automatic determining of whether the indicated restrictions are satisfied by the composite network service invocation includes determining whether all the use conditions are satisfied.

42. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the use information for the composite network service includes retrieving use information for the multiple constituent network services and automatically generating the use information for the composite network service based at least in part on the retrieved use information.

43. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more of the constituent network services are provided by one or more other computing systems that are remote from the one or more configured computing systems.

44. The method of claim 1 wherein the composite network service invocation is performed by a consumer, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services is performed on behalf of the consumer.

45. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtained subscription provides the user with access to the one or more constituent network services for a specified amount of time, and wherein the invoking of the one or more of the multiple constituent network services based in part on the obtained subscriptions occurs during the specified amount of time.

46. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtained subscription provides the user with access to each of the one or more constituent network services for a specified number of uses, and wherein the invoking of each of the one or more of the multiple constituent network services based in part on the obtained subscriptions is one of the specified number of uses.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the specified number of uses is an indicated quantity of one or more uses.

48. The method of claim 1 wherein the obtained subscriptions are created for the user in exchange for at least one access fee from the user.

49. A computing system configured to provide an invocable composite network service that is based on multiple other invocable constituent services, comprising:

one or more processors;

a first module configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, receive an indication of an invocation of a composite network service by a user to obtain a capability provided by the composite network service, the composite network service using multiple other constituent services to provide the capability, one or more of the multiple other constituent services each being accessible based on use of a subscription to that other constituent service;

a second module configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, automatically determine whether to invoke the composite network service by;

determining use information for the composite network service that indicates one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service, the restrictions being based at least in part on restrictions for the multiple constituent services;

determining whether the indicated restrictions are satisfied for the invocation of the composite network service; and

a third module configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, automatically provide the capability of the composite network service by;

determining information for providing the composite network service that includes an order for invoking the multiple constituent services, the order being based at least in part on inter-relationships between parameters of the multiple constituent services that represent related types of information;

for each of the one or more other constituent services, automatically obtaining a subscription for use by the user to the other constituent service;

if the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, invoking the multiple constituent services in the indicated order to access capabilities of those constituent services, the invoking of the one or more other constituent services of the multiple constituent services being based in part on the obtained subscriptions; and

providing response information to the user that is generated based on information received from the invoking of at least one of the multiple constituent services.

50. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the indicated one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service include at least one of payment being made available for a use price associated with the composite network service, and of the user having access rights to perform the invoking.

51. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the constituent services are constituent network services that are available from one or more other computing systems distinct from the configured computing system, wherein the determining of the information for providing the composite network service is automatically performed by the configured computing system and includes obtaining information related to dependencies between constituent network services, and wherein the order is further based at least in part on the dependencies.

52. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent services includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent services using a first protocol and automatically supplying at least some of the output information as input information to another of the constituent services using a distinct second protocol.

53. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent services includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent services and automatically modifying at least some of the output information before supplying the modified information as input information to another of the constituent services.

54. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the user sends a request for the indicated invocation to the configured computing system, the sent request including input values for each of one or more input parameters of the composite network service, wherein the receiving of the indicated invocation of the composite network service includes receiving the sent request, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent services includes supplying at least one of the input values to a distinct input parameter of one of the constituent services.

55. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the indicated invocation of the composite network service is performed by the user using one of multiple distinct interfaces that are provided for use in accessing the composite network service and that are based on use of multiple distinct communication protocols.

56. The computing system of claim 49 further comprising one or more modules configured to provide a network endpoint for the composite network service, wherein the indication of the composite network service invocation is received via the provided network endpoint, wherein the network endpoint for the composite network service obfuscates at least some of the multiple constituent services from users who invoke the composite network service, and wherein the providing of the generated response information is performed to obfuscate at least some of the multiple constituent services from the user.

57. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the first, second and third modules include software instructions for execution by the at least one processor of the computing system.

58. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the first module consists of a means for the receiving of the indication of the invocation of the composite network service by the user to obtain the capability provided by the composite network service, wherein the second module consists of a means for the automatic determining of whether to invoke the composite network service, and wherein the third module consists of a means for the automatic providing of the capability of the composite network service.

59. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the obtained subscriptions provide the user with access to the one or more other constituent services for a specified amount of time, and wherein the invoking of the one or more other constituent services of the multiple constituent services based in part on the obtained subscriptions occurs during the specified amount of time.

60. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the obtained subscriptions provide the user with access to each of the one or more other constituent services for a specified number of uses, and wherein the invoking of each of the one or more other constituent services of the multiple constituent services based in part on the obtained subscriptions is one of the specified number of uses.

61. The computing system of claim 60 wherein the specified number of uses is an indicated quantity of one or more uses, and wherein the obtained subscriptions are created for the user in exchange for at least one access fee from the user.

62. The computing system of claim 49 wherein the third module is further configured to automatically provide the capability of the composite network service to multiple other users, the providing of the capability of the composite network service to the multiple other users including invoking the multiple constituent services in the indicated order to access capabilities of those constituent services, the invoking of the one or more other constituent services of the multiple constituent services being based in part on the obtained subscriptions.

63. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium whose stored contents include instructions that when executed configure a computing system to provide an invocable composite network service that is based on multiple other invocable constituent network services, by performing a method comprising:

receiving an indication of an invocation of a composite network service by a requester to obtain a capability provided by the composite network service, the composite network service using multiple other network services as constituents to provide the capability, one or more of the multiple other network services each being accessible based on use of a subscription to that other network service;

determining information for providing the composite network service that includes an order for invoking the multiple constituent network services, the order being based at least in part on inter-relationships between parameters of the multiple constituent network services that represent related types of information;

determining use information for the composite network service that indicates one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service, the restrictions being based at least in part on restrictions for the multiple constituent network services;

automatically determining whether the indicated restrictions are satisfied for the invocation of the composite network service, the automatic determining being performed by the configured computing system; and

if the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, automatically responding by,

for each of the one or more other network services, automatically obtaining a subscription for use by the user to the other network service;

invoking the multiple constituent network services in the indicated order to access capabilities of those constituent network services, the invoking of the one or more other network services of the multiple constituent network services being based in part on the obtained subscriptions; and

providing response information to the requester that is generated based on information received from the invoking of at least one of the multiple constituent network services.

64. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the indicated one or more restrictions on use of the composite network service include at least one of payment being made available for a use price associated with the composite network service, and of the requester having access rights to perform the invoking.

65. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the determining of the information for providing the composite network service is performed automatically by the configured computing system and includes dynamically determining the order for invoking the multiple constituent network services after the invocation of the composite network service.

66. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the determining of the information for providing the composite network service is automatically performed by the configured computing system and includes obtaining information related to dependencies between constituent network services, and wherein the order is further based at least in part on the dependencies.

67. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services is automatically performed by the configured computing system and includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent network services using a first protocol and automatically supplying at least some of the output information as input information to another of the constituent network services using a distinct second protocol.

68. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the indicated restrictions are determined to be satisfied by the invocation of the composite network service, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services is automatically performed by the configured computing system and includes obtaining output information from one of the constituent network services and automatically modifying at least some of the output information before supplying the modified information as input information to another of the constituent network services.

69. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the requester is a remote executing program that sends a request for the indicated invocation to the configured computing system over one or more networks, the sent request including input values for each of one or more input parameters of the composite network service, wherein the receiving of the indicated invocation of the composite network service includes receiving the sent request, and wherein the invoking of the multiple constituent network services includes supplying at least one of the input values to a distinct input parameter of one of the constituent network services.

70. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the indicated invocation of the composite network service is performed by the requester using one of multiple distinct interfaces that are provided for use in accessing the composite network service and that are based on use of multiple distinct communication protocols.

71. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the method further comprises providing a network endpoint for the composite network service, wherein the indication of the composite network service invocation is received via the provided network endpoint, wherein the network endpoint for the composite network service obfuscates at least some of the multiple constituent network services from requesters who invoke the composite network service, and wherein the providing of the generated response information is performed to obfuscate at least some of the multiple constituent network services from the requester.

72. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computing system.

73. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the obtained subscriptions provide the requester with access to the one or more other network services for a specified amount of time, and wherein the invoking of the one or more other network services of the multiple constituent network services based in part on the obtained subscriptions occurs during the specified amount of time.

74. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the obtained subscriptions provide the requester with access to the one or more other network services for a specified number of uses, and wherein the invoking of the one or more other network services of the multiple constituent network services based in part on the obtained subscriptions is one of the specified number of uses.

75. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 74 wherein the specified number of uses is an indicated quantity of one or more uses.

76. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 63 wherein the obtained subscriptions are created for the requester in exchange for at least one access fee from the requester.