Microsoft Corp. presented an architecture for XML Web services and published four specifications supporting that architecture. The Global XML Web Services Architecture provides a set of principles and guidelines for advancing the protocols and file formats of today’s XML Web services to more complex and sophisticated tasks. The four specifications — WS-Security, WS-License, WS-Routing and WS-Referral — build on XML Web services technologies such as SOAP. As with previous XML Web services specifications, these four will be available for a review period and then submitted to appropriate standards bodies. The four specifications provide standard ways to implement and enhance two key XML Web services capabilities — security and routing. These specifications adhere to the road map outlined by Microsoft and IBM Corp. at the W3C Web Services Workshop in April 2001 and represent a first step toward a comprehensive Global XML Web Services Architecture. The security specifications are WS-Security, which outlines how to use the W3C specifications XML Signature and XML Encryption, and WS-License, which, along with WS-Security, outlines how existing digital credentials and their associated trust semantics can be securely associated with SOAP messages. The routing specifications are WS-Routing (formerly SOAP-RP), which describes how to place message addresses in the SOAP message header and enables SOAP messages to travel serially to multiple destinations along a message path, and WS-Referral, which enables the routing between SOAP nodes on a message path to be dynamically configured. Each of these specifications provides extension and composition mechanisms that enable future specifications to be incorporated into a complete solution. They are available for download from msdn.microsoft.com
Day: October 22, 2001
Enfish Inc. and KnowledgeTrack Corporation have formed Enfish Corporation. The two companies formed the new company to provide a solution that simplifies access and use of both personal and corporate information in a common working environment. Enfish Corporation is now shipping Enfish Enterprise. A portal solution that integrates a user’s personal computer with a portal, Enfish Enterprise allows for the indexing, cross-referencing and display of corporate content in context with knowledge workers’ content – in a common environment. Enfish Enterprise enables the personalized and collaborative use of knowledge among employees, customers and vendors. www.enfish.com
Documentum announced its support of the Sun ONE software product architecture with the intention to certify Documentum eContent Services within the Sun ONE architecture. Documentum eContent Services will allow content management capabilities to be available through portal interfaces and enable the creation of customized content-rich services. By exposing content management functionality within the Sun ONE
architecture, joint customers will have the ability to control the creation, production, and delivery of their company’s content assets through a variety of applications and devices. www.documentum.com/products/webservices, www.sun.com/sunone
West Group and NextPage Inc. announced a strategic alliance that will enable NextPage users to retrieve and display Westlaw content and services within the NextPage framework and associated Web-based applications. Through the West Group/NextPage alliance, researchers can retrieve documents from across their enterprise – and related content from Westlaw all in one operation. The NextPage framework provides access to a wide array of sources, such as local and remote firm document collections in Microsoft Office, PDF, Lotus Notes or other formats, as well as third party content such as publishers, partners, supplier or customers. When NextPage users access Westlaw from within this peer-to-peer architecture results will be displayed in an integrated fashion with those from their other content sources. This alliance will also allow users in the UK to access the same functionality when they use Westlaw UK from Sweet and Maxwell. www.west.thomson.com, www.nextpage.com
