What Is A "Metaservice"?

["Chiusano Joseph" <chiusano_joseph@bah.com>]

This may potentially be pertinent for our Reference Architecture work:

 

In a recent entry[1] in his blog called "Focus on Repositories", David Linthicum mentions the term "metaservice". Quote (see end of [1]):

 

"Since data about data is called metadata, I call data about services metaservices. A term we may be hearing more about in the future, and what will exist in these repositories."

 

I differ with Dave on this, and see "metaservice" as being something different. Here's my comment on his blog:

 

<Comment>

On the following: "Since data about data is called metadata, I call data about services metaservices":

Since metadata is "data about data", I wonder if a metaservice should really be considered a "service about services"? If so, what would that really mean? Perhaps it's a service that "sits above" a number of other services and provides, well, services about (or for?) those services that, upon invocation, returns various details about those services, or perhaps performs services upon the services themselves (such as aggregating them at design time).

Just thinking out loud here...
</Comment>

 

Comments on my comment?

 

Joe

 

[1] http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/eai/cto/archives/007469.asp

 

Joseph Chiusano

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