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does. For instance, if services use different XML tags to annotate their opera-
tions/messages, then it is not possible to find out that two operations offered
by different services in different WSDLs actually have the same function.
Similarly, keyword-based search in natural-language descriptions in a
repository, as provided by UDDI, might well be insu
cient in such realis-
tic scenarios. The XML message formats used by different services might still
be syntactically incompatible, leaving the integration effort to a human pro-
grammer.
Finally, we have outlined the potential of combining the ideas of the Se-
mantic Web and Web services. The two are complementary trends that are
about to transform the Web from being for humans only into a network that
involves automated communication between computers. These advances will
provide support for human interaction at a much higher level than what is
possible with current Web technologies:
•
The Semantic Web adds machine-processable semantics to data.
•
Web services promise to provide smooth and painless integration of arbi-
trary applications.
Eventually, the combination of these two trends in what is called “Semantic
Web services” promises a fully mechanized Web for computer interaction,
where humans organize their collaboration and their business relationships.
So, what we really need are provisional metadata annotations about the
semantics of services, using formal languages with an agreed meaning. Reflect-
ing what we have already learned in Chapter 3, this is just what Semantic
Web technologies are about. The tempting challenge that this topic is aiming
at is to combine these two cornerstones, the Semantic Web and Web services.
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