We have updated our semantic Web service mapping, discovery and composition
technology on alphaworks. The technology is now available as an Eclipse
plug-in that can be installed on IBM's WebSphere Integration Developer
(WID) 6.0.1.  We would be very interested in hearing your comments, and
receiving feedback on the technology. Please spread the word to as many
interested parties as possible.

Details are as follows:

Technology Title
Semantic Tools for Web Services

Technology Description

Semantic Tools for Web Services are semantics-based, semi-automatic Eclipse
plug-ins for Web service matching, discovery, and composition. Software
developers can use these tools to find and compose existing software
(represented as Web services) in order to implement new or changed business
processes. Internet technology (IT) consultants and developers can use them
to integrate new or legacy business applications that are represented as
Web services.

The tools are now available as an Eclipse plug-in that can be installed on
IBM's WebSphere® Integration Developer (WID) 6.0.1. Specific features of
these tools are as follows:

     Web Service Interface Matching: Using this feature, one can
     semi-automatically map the interfaces of two given Web services
     (WSDLs). For example. an IT consultant could use this feature to
     resolve the differences between the purchase order messages exchanged
     between two companies.
     Web Service Discovery: This feature is useful if one is searching for
     existing Web services that can match a request from among a large set
     of Web services in a registry or repository. For example, an IT
     consultant trying to implement an RFID checkout Web service for a new
     customer may want to find out if someone else in the organization has
     already implemented such a service for a different customer.
     Web Service Composition: This feature is similar to Web service
     discovery. In the case of Web Service discovery, the system finds
     single services that match a request (if they exist). The composition
     feature demonstrates how multiple services can be composed to match a
     given request. The results include both direct single service matches
     (if they exist) and compositions of services (output as BPEL flows).
     For example, a plain-text purchase order may have to be transformed
     into a digitally-signed and encrypted document before it can be sent
     to a supplier.

Business Objective
Customers are asking for quicker implementation of new and changed business
processes in business transformation projects. The ability to find and
reuse as much existing functionality as possible is key to efficiently
implementing and changing processes.  In SOA framework, this translates to
Web service discovery, interface mapping and composition. The tools that we
have released on alphaworks assist developers in mapping the interfaces of
chosen applications that need to be integrated and help retrieve and
compose suitable applications from a large repository of available services
(eg: asset management scenarios). Service registries and Web services
development platforms could be the consumers of this technology.

How does the technology work?
The technology combines information retrieval, semantic Web and AI planning
techniques to resolve the semantic ambiguities in the descriptions of Web
services (or more generally XML schemas). More details are available at:
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/wssem

Unique Characteristics
The technology combines information retrieval, semantic Web and AI planning
techniques in innovative ways to resolve semantic ambiguities in Web
services descriptions. In addition, the WSDL-S mechanism for annotating Web
services with semantics that is used in this technology is based on an
approach developed jointly by IBM and the University of Georgia. This
approach was submitted to W3C in 2005 and is now the basis for the work of
the new Semantic Annotations for WSDL (SAWSDL) Working Group.

External Impact

W3C Web Services Activity (ex: WSDL and SAWSDL specifications),  OAISIS Web
services working groups.

Technology author(s)
Research team: Rama Akkiraju, Anca-Andreea Ivan, Richard Goodwin, Sweefen
Goh, and Juhnyoung Lee are researchers at the IBM T. J. Watson Research
Center in Hawthorne, New York. Tanveer Syeda-Mahmood is a researcher at the
IBM Almaden Research Center in Almaden, California. Biplav Srivastava is a
researcher at the IBM India Research Lab in New Delhi, India.

Software team: Joel Farrell, Jim Hsu, and Merle Sterling are members of the
IBM Software Group Emerging Technology team in the U.S. Willi Urban, Ian
Shore, and Andrew Rutherford are members of an advanced technology team
associated with Enterprise Services Bus solutions in Germany and the U.K.

Technology Owner
IBM Research.
Contact(s): Richard Goodwin (rgoodwin@us.ibm.com), Rama Akkiraju
(akkiraju@us.ibm.com)

Additional Details
More details are available at: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/wssem

Thank you.

Regards
Rama Akkiraju

Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM)
Semantic e-business Middleware Group
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center
Hawthorne, NY

Ph: 914-784-7317 t/l 863-7317
FAX: 914-784-6920
e-mail: akkiraju@us.ibm.com