N-GEN Communications Web-based Seminars ©NGCS

Seminar - An Overview of Communications Technologies

Module 6 - Internet, Intranet, Extranet, e-Commerce and Web Services                                      Slide 60 of 70 _________________                                                                                  __________

                                         What are the Web Services?

                                     A form of Applications

                                     Can be Published, Located and Invoked on the Web

                                     The Web Services are Requested on the Web

                                     The Web Services will Change the Way we Build Our
                                       Websites

_________________                                                                                  __________

A Web Service is a collection of functions that are packaged as a single entity and published on the Web for use by other programs. It represents discrete units of business, application, or system functionality. Web Services are applicable to any type of web environment: Internet, Intranet, or Extranet. Each Web Service can be accessed from and deployed on any web-site on the Internet. Multiple Web Services can be combined or assembled to deliver business functionality. Web Services support business-to-consumer, business-to-business, peer-to-peer and department-to-department interactions. A Web Service user can access the service through a desktop or wireless browser. A business can develop a new service by assembling various Web Services to support a new business venture.

A Web Service is an application or information source that can be accessed by using standard Web protocol. A Web Service may support the following applications:

Web Service #1: A credit checking service that returns credit information when given a person's social insurance number.

Web Service #2: A stock quote service that returns the stock price associated with a ticket symbol.

Web Services #3: A purchasing service that allows computer systems to buy office supplies when given an item code and a quantity.

Web Services #4: A weather report service that allows to obtain the day's weather.

The Web Services will be heart of the next generation of distributed systems.