Web Services for Integration

Finally, we are talking Integration as the primary use of Web Services. All the inital hype and hoopla about it being the panacea for diverse applications so that you can discover and use any application that suits your query is giving way to more sensible uses like integrating diverse systems.

SOA is becoming a huge buzzword. Although, Web Services are a way to achieve SOA, it is today considered almost synonymous. BEA is talking about SOA along the lines of integration too.

[BEA's QuickSilver project one implementation of this vision. While no shipdate has been announced, the BEA vision is to provide J2EE developers a console-driven suite of integration software built around Web services protocols, the purpose is to enable them to transport data and business rules between Java and non-Java systems with as little coding as possible, using abstractions and an integration-enabled container (tied into the development/deployment console).]

BEA is also criticizing J2EE 1.4 lagging behind the actual Web Services capabilities which is true because Web Services users have been asking for QoS features that are provided by other frameworks in that space. Today, a variety of WS specifications are covering this very important ground and J2EE is lagging behind. BEA is asking developers to "look out of the container" which could be more out of necessity because the spec is not up to date with what we want rather than following "their" advice.