Dynamic extensible lightweight access to web services for pervasive devices

• US 20060190580A1
• Filed: 02/23/2005
• Published: 08/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shu, Chen, Meulen, Michael Van Der
• Granted Patent: US 8,499,028 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• 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 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A Generic Mobile Web Services (GMWS) manager provides mobile clients with access to Web Services. The GMWS manager provides an interface between Web Services and mobile clients (hand held PDAs for example). The GMWS manager maintains a registry of supported Web Services and metadata attributes about the Web Services and the mobile client. Information is transferred between a client and a registered web service by way of the GMWS manager based on attributes available to the GMWS manager.

Claims

1. A method for providing Web Services to clients by way of a Mobile Web Services manager, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a registered indication of one or more selected Web Services in a local registry of the mobile web service manager, the registered indication identifying the one or more selected Web Services supported by the mobile web service manager;

storing attributes of corresponding registered one or more selected Web Services, the attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the selected web service;

selecting a first web service of the one or more selected Web Services;

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first client request to a form compatible with the first web service of the one or more selected Web Services; and

forwarding the transformed client request to the first web service.

2. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further steps of:

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first web service response received from the first web service to a form compatible with the first client; and

forwarding the transformed first web service response to the first client.

3. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further step of sending a list of registered Web Services of the one or more selected Web Services and corresponding attributes to the first client.

4. The method according to claim 3 comprising the further step of presenting a representation of the list of registered Web Services at the client.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

via a client GUI interface, a user at the first client, selecting the first web service from the presented representation; and

responsive to the user selection, the first client requesting the first web service from the Web Services manager.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

the first client creating a Fast Path form client request, the Fast Path form comprising first web service selection information; and

sending the first client request in a Fast Path to the Web Services Manager.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the selecting step comprising the further steps of:

interpreting a natural language formatted request received from the first client; and

selecting the first web service based the results of the interpreting step.

8. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further steps of:

authorizing the first client permission to access the first web service using first client credentials;

saving an indication of the first client authorization; and

authorizing subsequent first client access to the first web services using the saved indication of the first client authorization.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the client request consists of any one of voice, natural language text, digital data or Fast Path text.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the attributes consist of one or more attributes taken from the list of a name of the first web service, a category of the web service, an endpoint of the web service, an operation of the web service, a template for Fast Path command parsing, a description of the first web service, a security requirement of the first web service, one or more keywords of the first web service, a client name of the input field, a client type of the input field, a client default value of the input field and a client flag to indicate the field should be displayed.

11. The method according to claim 1 comprising the further steps of:

storing client attributes received from the first client, the client attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the first client; and

responsive to client requests, providing stored client attributes to the first client.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the Mobile web service manager transforms a natural language form of the first client request to a Fast Path form client request.

13. A computer program product for providing Web Services to clients by way of a Mobile Web Services manager, the computer program product comprising:

a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

storing a registered indication of one or more selected Web Services in a local registry of the mobile web service manager, the registered indication identifying the one or more selected Web Services supported by the mobile web service manager;

storing attributes of corresponding registered one or more selected Web Services, the attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the selected web service;

selecting a first web service of the one or more selected Web Services;

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first client request to a form compatible with the first web service of the one or more selected web Services; and

forwarding the transformed client request to the first web service.

14. The computer program product according to claim 13 comprising the further steps of:

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first web service response received from the first web service to a form compatible with the first client; and

forwarding the transformed first web service response to the first client.

15. The computer program product according to claim 13 comprising the further step of sending a list of registered Web Services of the one or more selected Web Services and corresponding attributes to the first client.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15 comprising the further step of presenting a representation of the list of registered Web Services at the client.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

via a client GUI interface, a user at the first client, selecting the first web service from the presented representation; and

responsive to the user selection, the first client requesting the first web service from the Web Services manager.

18. The computer program product according to claim 13 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

the first client creating a Fast Path form client request, the Fast Path form comprising first web service selection information; and

sending the first client request in a Fast Path to the Web Services Manager.

19. The computer program product according to claim 13 wherein the selecting step comprising the further steps of:

interpreting a natural language formatted request received from the first client; and

selecting the first web service based the results of the interpreting step.

20. The computer program product according to claim 13 comprising the further steps of:

authorizing the first client permission to access the first web service using first client credentials;

saving an indication of the first client authorization; and

authorizing subsequent first client access to the first web services using the saved indication of the first client authorization.

21. The computer program product according to claim 13 wherein the client request consists of any one of voice, natural language text, digital data or Fast Path text.

22. The computer program product according to claim 13 wherein the attributes consist of one or more attributes taken from the list of a name of the first web service, a category of the web service, an endpoint of the web service, an operation of the web service, a template for Fast Path command parsing, a description of the first web service, a security requirement of the first web service, one or more keywords of the first web service, a client name of the input field, a client type of the input field, a client default value of the input field and a client flag to indicate the field should be displayed.

23. The computer program product according to claim 13 comprising the further steps of:

storing client attributes received from the first client, the client attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the first client; and

responsive to client requests, providing stored client attributes to the first client.

24. The computer program product according to claim 13 wherein the Mobile web service manager transforms a natural language form of the first client request to a Fast Path form client request.

25. A system for providing Web Services to clients by way of a Mobile Web Services manager, the system comprising:

one or more networks;

one or more mobile client computers systems in network communication with networks of the one or more networks;

one or more Web Service computer systems in network communication with networks of the one or more networks;

a mobile web service manager computer system in communication with the one or more Web Service computer system by way of a network of the one or more networks, the mobile web service manager computer system further in network communication with the one or more mobile client computer systems, wherein a mobile web service manager of the mobile web service manager computer system includes instructions to execute a method comprising;

storing a registered indication of one or more selected Web Services in a local registry of the mobile web service manager, the registered indication identifying the one or more selected Web Services supported by the mobile web service manager;

storing attributes of corresponding registered one or more selected Web Services, the attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the selected web service;

selecting a first web service of the one or more selected Web Services;

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first client request to a form compatible with the first web service of the one or more selected Web Services; and

forwarding the transformed client request to the first web service.

26. The system according to claim 25 comprising the further steps of:

based on the stored attributes, transforming a first web service response received from the first web service to a form compatible with the first client; and

forwarding the transformed first web service response to the first client.

27. The system according to claim 25 comprising the further step of sending a list of registered Web Services of the one or more selected Web Services and corresponding attributes to the first client.

28. The system according to claim 27 comprising the further step of presenting a representation of the list of registered Web Services at the client.

29. The system according to claim 28 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

via a client GUI interface, a user at the first client, selecting the first web service from the presented representation; and

responsive to the user selection, the first client requesting the first web service from the Web Services manager.

30. The system according to claim 25 wherein the selecting step comprises the further steps of:

the first client creating a Fast Path form client request, the Fast Path form comprising first web service selection information; and

sending the first client request in a Fast Path to the Web Services Manager.

31. The system according to claim 25 wherein the selecting step comprising the further steps of:

interpreting a natural language formatted request received from the first client; and

selecting the first web service based the results of the interpreting step.

32. The system according to claim 25 comprising the further steps of:

authorizing the first client permission to access the first web service using first client credentials;

saving an indication of the first client authorization; and

authorizing subsequent first client access to the first web services using the saved indication of the first client authorization.

33. The system according to claim 25 wherein the client request consists of any one of voice, natural language text, digital data or Fast Path text.

34. The system according to claim 25 wherein the attributes consist of one or more attributes taken from the list of a name of the first web service, a category of the web service, an endpoint of the web service, an operation of the web service, a template for Fast Path command parsing, a description of the first web service, a security requirement of the first web service, one or more keywords of the first web service, a client name of the input field, a client type of the input field, a client default value of the input field and a client flag to indicate the field should be displayed.

35. The system according to claim 25 comprising the further steps of:

storing client attributes received from the first client, the client attributes comprising information describing interfaces of the first client; and

responsive to client requests, providing stored client attributes to the first client.

36. The system according to claim 25 wherein the Mobile web service manager transforms a natural language form of the first client request to a Fast Path form client request.