State of the Art in Web Services

This Chapter introduces the current state-of-the-art in Web Services in the form of various standard proposals that are being worked on currently or that are already implemented in software products. It starts with a brief introduction into the history of Web Services in Section 9.1 and continues with the description of traditional Web Services in Section 9.2. Section 9.3 provides an overview of the standards activities that are ongoing in the area as well as already achieved standards. Web Service composition, as a specifically important area, is called out separately in Chapter 10.