Extended web services framework to meet non-functional requirements

Abstract

Non-functional requirements/characteristics are important for providing effectively every kind of services including web services. A realistic web service must meet both functional and non-functional requirements of its consumers. Therefore, it is important that a web services framework is augmented so that non-functional characteristics of a web service can be determined at run-time and consumers are bound to a service that best meet their functional as well as non-functional requirements. In this paper, we propose an extension of the existing web services framework that enables a collection of functional and non-functional service characteristics at run-time, and usage of the collected data in discovery, binding, and execution of web services. Descriptions of new and enhanced components of the proposed framework are also presented. Typical publishing and usage scenarios in the proposed framework are also described.