UCL Discovery

Abstract

For the majority of front-end e-business systems, the assumption of a coherent and homogeneous set of interfaces is highly unrealistic. Problems start in the back-end, with systems characterised by heterogeneous mix of applications and business processes. Integration can be complex and expensive, as systems evolve more in accordance with business needs then with technical architectures. E-business systems are faced with the challenge to give a coherent image of a diversified reality. Web Services make business interfaces more efficient, but effectiveness is a business requirement of at least comparable importance.In this paper, we propose a technique for automatic reconciliation of the Web Service interfaces involved in inter-organisational business processes. The working assumption is that the Web Service front-end of each company, is represented by a set of WSDL and WSCL interfaces. The result of our reconciliation method is a common interface that all the parties can effectively enforce. Indications are also given on ways to adapt individual interfaces to the common one. The technique was embodied in a prototype that we also present.