proposed resolution for issue 536

[Ken Laskey <klaskey@mitre.org>]

Issue:

Points came up during discussions that can elaborate and clarify concept of execution context.  We are a bit too terse for a new concept introduced by the RM. 

Proposed resolution:

Suggest incorporating extra description for execution context by adding to lines 662-669 as follows:

The execution context of a service interaction is the set of infrastructure elements, process entities, policy assertions and agreements that are identified as part of an instantiated service interaction, and thus forms a path between those with needs and those with capabilities.

As discussed in previous sections of this document, the service description (and a corresponding description associated with the service consumer and its needs) contains information that can include preferred protocols, semantics, policies and other conditions and assumptions that describe how a service can and may be used.  The participants (providers, consumers, and any third parties as noted below) must agree and acknowledge a consistent set of agreements in order to have a successful service interaction, i.e. realizing the described real world effects.  The execution context is the collection of this consistent set of agreements.

The consumer and provider can be envisioned as separate places on a map and, for a service to actually be invoked, a path must be established between those two places.  This path is the execution context.  As with a path between places, it can be a temporary connection (e.g. a tenuous footbridge of an ad hoc exchange) or a well-defined coordination (e.g. a super highway) that can be easily reused in the future.

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Ken Laskey

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