Service-Oriented Computing: Semantics, Processes, Agents

by Michael N. Huhns and Munindar P. Singh

This comprehensive text explains the principles and practice of Web services and relates all concepts to practical examples and emerging standards. Its discussions include: Ontologies Semantic web technologies Peer-to-peer service discovery Service selection Web structure and link analysis Distributed transactions Process modelling Consistency management.

The application of these technologies is clearly explained within the context of planning,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470091487
• ISBN13: 9780470091487
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 2.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.9" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive Coverage of Standards

The authors cover a myriad of standards that support web services. The text and associated website provide useful examples. The bibliography is extensive and shows the amount of research that went into developing this extremely helpful text. I would recommend the book for technologists as well as instructors.

Review of Service-Oriented Computing

This book is an extensive and scholarly work covering the full scope of service oriented architectures and computing. It begins with a thorough review of the technology involved and then works through the challenges and application of this emerging paradigm. Be warned - this is not "Semantic Web for Dummies". This is a serious book for people who need to go beyond the basics. As a researcher in software agent technologies, this book has helped me to better understand the issues involved in creating service based solutions. This book is useful as both a reference and as study in these exciting and emerging technologies that will be essential for anyone involved in creating the next phase of internet computing.

Book achieves it's purpose

I really think the book achieve's the purpose that the authors intended. I am actually taking a graduate course centered on service oriented computing taught by one of the authors Dr. Singh. While I have not read the entire text in length(And who of us end up reading a full tech book anyway) I think I can safeley say that for the first edition of the text the authors have done a super job. Personally I think the text attempts and does a pretty good job of providing at least more than a basic level of understanding and comfort with service oriented computing. The authors note that an effective understanding of SOC (or anything in my opinion) can not come from studying the underlining standards alone. Justification points to the ever increasing abtraction of technology. This unique approach to learning a technical subject is quite different and unique from what I have been used to. I think the text really offers a different viewpoint of the subject. I gave the book 5 stars because of that reason. This might not be the only book I would recommend for learning web services but in technology, diversity can go a long way.

unclear whether this can give the Semantic Web

The book certainly has ambitious scope. It is essentially trying to devise what Tim Berners-Lee has famously called the Semantic Web. The means is by the implementation of service oriented computing. Not surprisingly, the book spends a lot of necessary space on explaining the various Web Services standards that underpin Service Oriented Architecture. Like ebXML and Business Process (Execution) Language. The book does this with commendable rigour. That is the easy part. Far harder is where the authors delve into the fuzzier subjects of modelling and ontology. Thus we go into the Resource Description Framework and OWL. While we are shown the potential power of these, the text also points out that OWL has limitations, as in how it does not allow for constraint reasoning. But more generally, there will be different ontologies used by different groups on the Internet. With expected inconsistencies. Which gives problems to such goals as more intelligent searching by the various search engines. All these are very difficult issues that touch on the heart of artificial intelligence. It is unclear whether SOC will see us through this morass.