Semantic
Web Services Initiative
Architecture Committee (SWSA)
Work Plan
Objectives
- To identify, through use case analysis, a set of key functional
elements needed to enable semantic web service capabilities, such as dynamic
interoperability and compositionality, and to enumerate
requirements for the implementation of these functions in different architectural
environments.
- To develop abstract protocols for interaction with the middleware
functions delineated in (1) to support semantic web services. These protocols
should be realizable in the specification language(s) developed by the SWSI
Language committee.
Major Tasks
- Identify common functionalities required to support semantic web
services. These functions may be provided as parts of clients, servers,
or middleware in support of activities including the following:
- Invocation of and response interpretation for semantically described
services
- Service process constraint and protocol interpretation
- semantic translation (message content and service process mediation)
- candidate service identification (matchmaking) and selection
- process composition
- process mediation
- service request status tracking (for task management)
- ontology management
- security (including identification, authentication, delegation
and policy-based authorization)
- reputation services
- service failure handling and compensation
- negotiation and contracting
- server process management (service factories, instantiation, migration)
- Develop use cases in different operational environments that identify
protocol requirements and alternative software architectures for distributing
the support functions described in (1).
Environments to be considered include:
a. Web Services extended to work in a Semantic
Web environment.
b. Large-scale B2B services operating on
their own networks
c. Grid computing for scientific communities
d. Pervasive computing (wireless local
service discovery & use)
e. Traditional Agent-based computing environments
(e.g. FIPA, JADE, RETSINA, OAA, CoABS GRID)
- Develop abstract protocols for the identified support functions.
Work with the SWSL committee to represent these protocols in the language(s)
they develop.
- Determine the feasibility of implementing these service support
functions as extensions of the W3C WS reference architecture.
- Develop small exploratory prototypes to validate the concepts developed.
Deliverables
- Use Cases and Requirements Document: Identify functional elements
to be included and provides examples of their role in different architectural
environments.
- Specification of a formal model of the protocols from Task 3 and
examples of its application to the domains of the use cases developed
in Task 2 above.
- Provide on our public website:
- Use Cases/Requirements document
- Formal specification of the abstract protocol and semantics
for each supported function
- Status document
- Rationale / issues document
- Submission of architecture proposal document to W3C (or other appropriate
venue)
- Publications in forums such as WWW Conference, ISWC, etc.
Milestones
- Working draft of document covering requirements and 4 key Use Cases
by November 2003.
- Development of a coordinated SWSI submission to W3C by January,
2005.
Measures of success
- Timely production of deliverables
- Substantive use in research projects
- Mentions in publications
- Contributions of use cases, examples, tools
- Uptake by other researchers
- Uptake by industry
- Adoption as basis for standardization effort at W3C (or other appropriate
venue)