Re: [wsrm] WS-Reliability and ebMS

[Ng Chi Yuen <cyng@csis.hku.hk>]

Hi,

> I think just comparing ebXML MS and SOAP with WS-R
> might not be appropriate to make a decision which you should choose.

         I get what you mean. It may be like comparing an apple to an 
orange. But why I quote WS-Reliability and  ebMS together is due to the 
following ideas.

> I think the ebXML is comprehensive framework
> for B2B, and it is including necessary functions
> for B2B like Reliable Messaging and Security.
> And it is going to be used in various industries
> and various governments for their B2B infrastructure.

         Totally agree. It is also the design rationale behind ebXML. The 
key point is business *across* business, which seems to consider a broader 
system scope instead of talking about a traditional back-end system behind a 
web service.

> On the other hand, WS-Reliability will be used
> for Web Services in general. Since the current
> SOAP doesn't provide reliability. WS-Reliability
> is created from Reliable Messaging in ebXML MS,
> to make it usable with SOAP, without requiring
> other portion of ebXML.

         IBM also defines a specification on WS-ReliableMessaging, as quoted 
in a message archive before. Then, how would WS-Reliability position itself? 
Would it finally "merge" with those similar specifications?

> So if you want to have an infrastructure for B2B,
> I would recommend to use ebXML, since it has
> not only messaging, but also BPSS and other
> useful functions works together.
> But if you want to use SOAP, WSDL and potentially
> UDDI as an infrastructure for Web Services,
> WS-Reliability might be better.

         Now, it comes to the point. ebXML provides ebMS for messaging, BPSS 
for BP governing, CC for document defintion, Registry for information 
exploration, etc. Then, there are now WS-Reliability for reliable messaging, 
BPEL4WS (IBM) for orchestrating WS (and there may be other WS-BP language in 
OASIS soon), UDDI for exploring WS, etc.

         Then, as the functionality of WS becomes more mature, it is quite 
interesting to see that the solutions of ebXML and WS in the corresponding 
protocol stacks seem to be quite similar, i.e., WS-Reliability protocol is 
quite similar to ebMS protocol with just different packaging format.

> WS-Reliability will be able to use with attachments with the version
> we are working on. So there would be no distinction
> regarding attachment capability.

         I am sorry that my discussion may be out of the scope of 
WS-Reliability. But these are just the interesting observation or facts. One 
may still think WS and ebXML are two different things and it is not the kind 
of choice between the two (just driven by what you must use in order to do 
business). Well, I am just seeking advice of how WS people would use WS in 
business and how they vision their future work.

Regards,
CY

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Ng Chi Yuen, CY.       cyng@cecid.hku.hk       http://www.cecid.hku.hk/
Technology Officer,
Centre for E-Commerce Infrastructure Development,
The University of Hong Kong
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