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Subject: Re: [soa-rm] Definition of "Service Consumer"
OK, I stand to get shot for shoddy vocabulary, but here's my €0.02... Surely the only entity that binds with the service at "run time" (an instance of the service being provided) is an "agent", not the "end-user"? The user "binds" with a contract for the delivery of a service, and is not partiucularly interested with the technology of the service invocation or technological "instantiation" of that service. This distinction would fit with the two-level model we discussed on call User* ------- Contract ------- Service Agent ------ Invocation ----- Service instance * user in the UML sense, any human or other "actor" with an interface to a system. Peter ___________________________________ On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 12:21:35 -0400 Don Flinn <flinn@alum.mit.edu> wrote: > Greg > >Following the concept in the "Web Services Architecture" >specification > we should should separate the owner (human), from the >agent that is > defined in that spec as software. This is implied in >your definition 2. > The spec further divides the owner and agent into a >requester and > provider. > > Putting those pieces together: > > An Agent is a software program acting on behalf of an >owner. > (Note that there can be indirection in the control by >the owner. For > example, the owner might control the agent by means of >policy, directly > invoke the agent, put control directly into the agent >code, etc.) > > A Service Consumer is an agent that wishes to interact >with a service. > > I would lean more to the former spec's use of Requester >Agent rather > than Service Consumer since the request might not be >successful and thus > not consumed. > > Symmetry seem to demand similar constructs on the >service side. > > Don > > On Thu, 2005-04-07 at 16:23 +0200, Gregory A. Kohring >wrote: >> Matthew, >> >> OK, here a fewer other choices which might be deemed >>more >> "respectful"... >> >> Service Consumer: >> >> 1) End-user of a service. >> >> 2) An agent which, acting on behalf of its owner, uses a >>service. >> >> 3) An entity which utilizes a service >> >> 4) An entity which consumes the product or information >>produced by a >> service. >> >> >> Note all of these definitions depend upon the definition >>of the >> term "service". Have we agreed on this already? Perhaps >>we should >> start there first... >> >> >> -- Greg >> >> >> >> Matthew MacKenzie wrote: >> > I think services deserve respect, lets try not to >>exploit them :-) >> > >> > Gregory A. Kohring wrote: >> > >> >> Thomas, >> >> >> >> Perhaps one should use a somewhat broader definition >>which captures >> >> the human user as well: >> >> >> >> Service Consumer: An entity which exploits a service. >> >> >> >> >> >> -- Greg >> >> >> >> >> >> Thomas Erl wrote: >> >> >> >>> Now that we've decided on the term "service >>consumer" it may be >> >>> useful to formally define it. The term "consumer" is >>used by the WS-I >> >>> Basic Profile wherein it is simply defined as >>"Software that invokes >> >>> an instance." >> >>> >> >>> Thomas >> >>> >> >> >> >> >> > >> >> > -- > Don Flinn > President, Flint Security LLC > Tel: 781-856-7230 >Fax: 781-631-7693 > e-mail: flinn@alum.mit.edu > http://flintsecurity.com >
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