XGrotto Platform and Directory Helps Users Find New Web Services While
Assisting Developers to Integrate SOAP, WSDL and XML-based Web Services
Without Need for Programming
BOSTON, (SD East Conference & Expo), Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- OGIS
International, Inc. a leading provider of Java, UML, and Web Services
solutions, today announced the availability of its XGrotto Web Services
Integration Platform and Directory. Using the XGrotto Integration Platform,
users can quickly and easily find and invoke dynamic online Web Services. The
XGrotto platform enables companies to define their own business processes and
integrate different Web Services, without any programming required, so that
customers and other end-users can seamlessly find and conduct multiple,
related transactions online. A key component of the OGIS offering is its
XGrotto directory, http://www.xgrotto.com, a standards-based repository of Web
Services that provides automatic client generation and workflow-driven support
of business processes.
OGIS will showcase its new XGrotto Web Services platform and directory at
the SD East Conference & Expo, taking place at the Hynes Convention Center in
Boston on November 19, 2002. Web service providers interested in being listed
in XGrotto's directory can visit the company in the Web Services Pavilion at
the SD Conference & Expo or go to http://www.ogis-international.com .
With the advent of the Internet, anyone with access to a Web browser can
pull up Web-based content. While such information is typically presented in
the form of static Web pages, dynamic Web Services that enable users to
conduct specific tasks and transactions have become increasingly common over
the last few years. However, unlike a regular Web page, these Web Services do
not always appear in a readable interface such as HTML. Both developers and
businesses have a compelling need to search online for such Web-based services
and integrate them into business models in order to improve internal workflow,
build new applications and better meet customer needs.
Current UDDI Directory Overwhelming With Bevy of Standards
While static Web pages are easy to locate using traditional search
engines, there is no simple way for businesses to successfully locate Web
Services online. Currently, searches for available Web Services are typically
done using UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration), a
directory that locates them with simple interfaces. However, this option is
limited in that users can search for services primarily by name only, making
it difficult to pull up a truly comprehensive list of services. In addition,
UDDI searches cannot screen out services based on quality and other criteria.
Even when companies and users can locate the Web Services they want, they
often need specialized programming skills to integrate these various Web
Services into tailored, turnkey applications that meet their interests and
needs. Because Web Services are often built using a range of different
protocols and programming languages, these services are often unable to work
together. And while open standard messaging protocols such as SOAP (Simple
Object Access Protocol), and interface definition languages such as WSDL (Web
Services Description Language) can be used to integrate different services,
integration may still be complicated, time-consuming and costly.
Planning a business trip provides a useful example of how the XGrotto
platform can enable users to seamlessly connect to multiple Web services
according to pre-defined workflows. In this example, a traveler could provide
their desired itinerary to an online travel agency whose Web Service would
then connect online with airlines, rental car companies and hotels. Using the
criteria of its choice (price, brand, availability, etc.), the travel agency
could automatically select the most appropriate vendors and through those
respective Web services, coordinate flight, rental car and hotel reservations.
With XGrotto's platform, travelers could more conveniently make travel plans,
travel agencies could better serve their customers and companies offering Web
services could generate additional business.
XGrotto Web Services Integration Platform 1.0
With the XGrotto Web Services Integration Platform 1.0, developers and
non-technologists alike can quickly, easily and economically find, integrate
and implement Web Services without any programming required. Using XGrotto,
developers can integrate various Web-based services so that end-users can
conduct multiple transactions by initiating just one event. Because XGrotto's
integrated search engine understands different layers of Web Services
standards such as XML, SOAP and WSDL, it enables users to quickly search for
Web Services regardless of the APIs or specific application development
environment of these services. Similar to a search engine for a Web page,
XGrotto provides rich, functional interfaces that enable companies to search
for Web Services using keywords, service quality ratings and other criteria.
Web Services that are integrated using the XGrotto platform can be run from
the desktop with a standard Web browser.
Free of charge, XGrotto is initially intended for use by the developer
community and will be rolled out to other audiences over time. The XGrotto
Web Services Integration Platform 1.0 offers the following features:
-- Integrated Web Services Directory
100% Web-based platform easily finds, integrates and invokes Web
Services.
-- Standard-based service specific registry
XGrotto supports standard technologies including WSDL, SOAP, UDDI and
XML.
-- Automatic client generation
With the simple addition of the WSDL for any particular Web Service,
XGrotto analyzes and invokes an automatic client generation, enabling
one to simply enter input data (such as an itinerary for a trip) to the
Web Service and view its result through a browser. No further
programming, software downloads or add-ons are necessary.
-- Workflow-based service integration
Using a standard browser, the XGrotto platform automatically integrates
multiple services according to pre-defined workflows.
-- Broad platform support
With XGrotto, Web Services be implemented and rendered on various
platforms including IBM WebSphere, Microsoft .NET, Sun ONE as well as
open source tools like Apache Axis. The data structure of XGrotto can
also be handled as a UDDI registry.
XGrotto Web Services Directory
The XGrotto directory comes with a keyword search to help users easily
find specific Web Services. It also provides a service semantics framework
for Web Services, allowing Web Service providers to drop in additional content
and descriptions while informing users of what each Web Service can actually
accomplish. By giving vendors a way to publicize their services, XGrotto's
directory -- which focuses on Web Services built using SOAP and WSDL protocols
-- also encourages vendors to provide new Web Services and helps developers
decide which ones they'd like to integrate into their own applications.
Stated Dr. Suzuki, Research Scholar and noted expert in object-oriented
technology at the University of California, Irvine, "The XGrotto platform and
directory enables users to easily find and test out existing Web Services,
while keeping developers abreast of newly available ones. OGIS is taking a
visionary and leadership role in providing their platform and directory to the
community free-of-charge in order to encourage and accelerate the pace of Web
Services adoption and proliferation."
Added Katsuya Oba, General Manager of OGIS International, "We believe that
Web Services will be the cornerstone for the next wave of Internet-based
business innovation. OGIS foresees the proliferation of Web Services, where
tens of thousands of services dynamically appear, disappear, connect with each
other, seamlessly transact, and then separate from one after another. We
anticipate that XGrotto can play an important role in bridging together
disparate Web Services to support successful, seamless business transactions."
About OGIS International, Inc.
OGIS International is a leading provider of Java, UML, and Web Services
solutions. In October 2000, it was established as a US-based 100% subsidiary
of OGIS-RI (Osaka Gas Information System Research Institute Co., Ltd.) in
Japan. OGIS-RI has provided professional services based on the object-oriented
technology expertise for various industries for more than one decade. Based on
such experiences, OGIS International keeps providing solutions worldwide with
cutting edge technologies.
SOURCE OGIS International, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.ogis-international.com
CONTACT:
Elizabeth Muse of Ignite Public Relations,
+1-415-282-9625, or elizabeth@ignitepr.com, for OGIS
International, Inc.
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