Web Services Research and Practices

Citation

Fourie, I. (2009), "Web Services Research and Practices", Online Information Review, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 394-395. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520910951339

Web Services Research and Practices is, according to the publisher and editors, aimed at researchers, scholars and practitioners in a variety of web service settings, with the intention of providing them with the most current research. With the increasing need for intelligent systems being able to adapt to changes in the physical, sociological, emotional and sensory environment, a publication exploring various facets of the theory and research findings concerning adaptive systems seems very timely. One's expectation would therefore be that such a publication will not only meet the needs and interests of the moment, but also pave the way for future research and applications, and that it would (considering the research focus) offer substantial reference to the latest research literature concerning the various themes. This, however, is lacking with practically no references for 2007‐2008, and only the odd 2006 reference. References to 2005 publications also do not feature strongly.

Although some chapters make a stronger case for further research (e.g. Chapter 6 dealing with efficient transport bindings for web service messages), the concluding remarks for other chapters seem very basic for a publication aimed at the serious researcher. Chapter 1, for example, concludes as follows:

All in all SOAP compression is a field with a lot of open problems. We think that it is possible to improve compression rates if we take the step from generic XML compressors to language‐specific ones. As shown in this chapter, the step from generic text compressors to XML‐aware encoders has already considerably improved compression results.

An interesting variety of topics is explored in the ten chapters, covering: efficient encodings of web service messages; NAM – a networked adaptable middleware to enhance response time of web services; the reliability analysis of top‐down web service composition specifications; efficient transport bindings for web service messages; a framework supporting context‐aware multimedia web services delivery; adaptive search‐ and learning‐based approaches for automatic web service composition; providing multi‐page data extraction services XWRAPComposer; an SLA‐based auction pricing method supporting web services provisioning; dynamic, flow control‐based information management for web services; model‐driven semantic web services. Despite the relevance of such themes, there is little that distinguishes these chapters from articles in a theme‐specific subject journal. It would have added much value if the content were more up‐to‐date, and if the editors included more guidelines on how researchers, and especially practitioners, can benefit from the publication and use it to explore new research options, implementation in praxis, etc.

Although Web Services Research and Practices can be of use to researchers, the less‐than‐up‐to‐date references supporting the content will be a drawback. Since there is no further specific value added by the editors to contextualise the various contributions apart from the brief summaries in the introductory section, I would be hesitant to recommend the publication for students, apart from those working on research projects. Practitioners may also find Web Services Research and Practices too theoretical, and not sufficiently up‐to‐date with the latest developments by the time the publication reaches their desks.

The work concludes with a very disappointing index that hardly covers two pages. Such a basic index really limits the value of a publication of this nature, aimed at promoting research and spreading awareness of the latest developments.