Service Oriented Desktop

Use of SOA-based web services in alternate client interfaces.

New Ideas Forum

Stephen Anthony, January 12, 2006

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Overview

• Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

• Web Services

• Desktop Space

• Examples/Demo

• Discussion

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Service Oriented Architecture

• A different way of thinking about technology – a style of planning and implementing enterprise systems.

• Simply: Think about the business services to provide in conjunction with the applications, systems, components, client interfaces.

• Lends to designing systems around business services instead of monolithic products/applications/systems.

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Service/SOA Definition

“A service is a function that is well-defined, self-contained, and does not depend on the context or state of other services.”

“A service-oriented architecture is essentially a collection of services. These services communicate with each other. The communication can involve either simple data passing or it could involve two or more services coordinating some activity.“

http://www.service-architecture.com/web-services/articles/service-oriented_architecture_soa_definition.html

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Web Services

• “The technology of Web Services is the most likely connection technology of service-oriented architectures.“

--http://www.service-architecture.com/web-services/articles/service-oriented_architecture_soa_definition.html

• “Web Services refers to the technologies that allow for making connections. Services are what you connect together using Web Services.”

-- http://www.service-architecture.com/web-services/articles/service-oriented_architecture_soa_definition.html

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Why Services?

• Build once – use many.

• De facto standard means for machine-machine business communication.

• Facilitates many good practices (e.g: Loose coupling, well-defined interfaces, information hiding…)

• Because of some of these best practices, they provide opportunities for reuse, often beyond the original concept and design.

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SOA plans

• CSI is the initiative to build a set of outward-facing web services, in the SOA context, to provide library services.

• Examples of potential CISTI services include:– Get document– Order document– Retrieve alert– Determine Holdings– Search Metadata (title/article)– Request loan status– Request order status– Deposit data…..

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OK, so what’s the idea?

• Web services will provide a means to reach the client at a different level than was previously feasible.

• The “desktop space” has become the new battleground.

• We can achieve different and deeper levels of integration than was previously reasonable.

• Desktops, client applications, research/learning tool integration

• Deeper integration into the clients space.• http://digicmb.blogspot

.com/2006/01/library-search-gadgets-into-users.html

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CISTI Widget Demo

• CISTI Widget 0.1• CISTI Widget 0.2 (“Web Services” enabled

version).• Technologies:

– Konfabulator/Yahoo Widget• Lot’s of JavaScript

– Shrew 0.1– Innopac– Innovative XML Server (… well, should

be), along with Shrew 0.2 (XSLT transform).

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Imagine

• A good suite of CISTI/Library web services.• A completed Widget/Gadget/Extensions capable of:

– Alerting users when a document is available/delivered.– Alerting users when information of interest arrives (alerts: citation,

keyword, author).– Searching title/articles.– Integrating with office suites/research tools for paper writing.

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In reality

• Widgets are one example of the power of services:– novel channel to provide services.– demonstration of potential for different kinds of client

interaction.– demonstration of the flexibility of a web service enabled

library.– May be useful in specific “dashboard” scenarios,

particularly for marketing/usage/finance stats.

• We are getting lighter-weight standards based ways of getting at information.

• The return of push.• Bi-directional.

• Lightweight, realitively easy ways to get at (changing) information, as compared with full-fledged apps, or the traditional web.

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Similar client-side technologies

• Yahoo Widgets– http://widgets.yahoo.com/

• Google Sidebar Plugins– http://desktop.google.ca/en/

• Microsoft Gadgets– http://microsoftgadgets.com/

• Firefox Extensions– https://addons.mozilla.org/

• (Also DesktopX, AveDesk, Samurize, Kapsules)

• General: http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Widgets

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Resources

• SOA Resources: http://collab.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/archibliki/space/ServiceOrientedArchitecture• Web Service Resources: http://collab.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/archibliki/space/Web-Services• The “Desktop Space”:

– Library focused: http://digicmb.blogspot.com/2006/01/library-search-gadgets-into-users.html– “Widget Wars” http://frogboy.joeuser.com/index.asp?c=1&AID=27014– “The Widget/Gadget Battle” http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?

article=articles/archive/c0512/44c12/44c12.asp&source=1359

• Some local examples: http://lab.cisti-icist.nrc.gc.ca/

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Questions/Discussion