Business Process Execution Language (BPEL)
Different services on the web can correspond to each other, and often linking these services was a difficult task, as there could be a numerous contradictory conditions to choose from. This is where BPEL comes in. It acts like a glue to bind Web services. It was not an easy task for the Programmers to write in a language that would be compatible with most of the other languages. BPEL made this easy, now programmers have a common language that is compatible with other languages, therefore saving time and money.
“BPEL is an XML-based language, written by developers from BEA systems, IBM and Microsoft and was designed to enable task-sharing for a distributed computing environment, across multiple organizations using a combination of web services” (1). In simpler words BPEL is the program that helps integrate proper internet language in order for different programs to run effectively.
In my opinion, BPEL encourages perfect competition by avoiding “technology lock-in”. In my opinion, technology lock-in is predatory if not illegal and it is definitely not fair to the customer. Technology lock-in is where a company deliberately designs a product where certain features are incorporated within the design, simply to coerce the customers and force them to buy or make additional investments in the products by the same firm. BPEL was developed by different companies to be able to communicate effectively with more than one language on the Web. This way customer is not forced into buying more products from the same company. BPEL will make companies compete for the market share by brining out more innovative products.
I recently experienced, what I think was a “technology lock-in”. My brother-in-law bought a new laptop which had Windows Vista on it. Since I help him in Accounting, I had install Quickbooks 2006, which I already had. I was unable to install it because
Web service according to Wikipedia is "a software system designed to support interoperable Machine to Machine interaction over a network" (3). In simpler words, Web service is mainly used as for businesses to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other’s IT system even when they are behind the firewall. It incorporates Web based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI open standards over the Internet. Each application works in a different way.
- XML is used to tag the data.
- SOAP is used to transfer the data.
- WSDL is used for describing the services available.
- UDDI is used for listing of what services are available.
Today BPEL is the most popular language simply because it is the common standard on how to publish multiple services. Efficiency and effectiveness is increased for businesses that are connected to the Web service applications via BPEL. It is an excellent way of implementing trading partner integration using the Internet. BPEL provides the ability for a company to quickly adapt or create new business processes, both internally and externally.
1) http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci845110,00.html
2) http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/library/ws-bpelcol1/
3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_service
4) http://webservices.xml.com/pub/a/ws/2001/04/04/webservices/index.html
1 comment:
I had a similar experience as you have just described “The sales man at the store tried to sell different Accounting software to go with Windows Vista. This I believe was the perfect example of “technology lock-in”.” I think the personal level of an experience is a great way to get your message across, as opposed to technical terms and redundant examples, and for me in this case it hit very close to home. It is great to see a competitive market so that lock-in can become obsolete and give the consumer the right to choose.
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