In recent years, WS-BPEL has become a de facto standard language for the orchestration of Web services. However, there are still some well-known difficulties that make programming in WS-BPEL a tricky task. In this paper, we first point out major loose points of the WS-BPEL specification by means of many examples, some of which are also exploited to test and compare the behaviour of three of the best-known freely available WS-BPEL engines. We show that, in fact, these engines implement different semantics, which undermines the portability of WS-BPEL programs over different platforms. Then we introduce View the MathML source , a prototypical orchestration language equipped with a formal operational semantics, which is closely inspired by, but simpler than, WS-BPEL. Indeed, View the MathML source is designed around some of WS-BPEL’s distinctive features such as partner links, process termination, message correlation, long-running business transactions, and compensation handlers. Finally, we present View the MathML source , a software tool supporting a rapid and easy development of WS-BPEL applications via the translation of service orchestrations written in View the MathML source into executable WS-BPEL programs. We illustrate our approach by means of a running example borrowed from the official specification of WS-BPEL.

Using formal methods to develop WS-BPEL applications

TIEZZI, Francesco
2012-01-01

Abstract

In recent years, WS-BPEL has become a de facto standard language for the orchestration of Web services. However, there are still some well-known difficulties that make programming in WS-BPEL a tricky task. In this paper, we first point out major loose points of the WS-BPEL specification by means of many examples, some of which are also exploited to test and compare the behaviour of three of the best-known freely available WS-BPEL engines. We show that, in fact, these engines implement different semantics, which undermines the portability of WS-BPEL programs over different platforms. Then we introduce View the MathML source , a prototypical orchestration language equipped with a formal operational semantics, which is closely inspired by, but simpler than, WS-BPEL. Indeed, View the MathML source is designed around some of WS-BPEL’s distinctive features such as partner links, process termination, message correlation, long-running business transactions, and compensation handlers. Finally, we present View the MathML source , a software tool supporting a rapid and easy development of WS-BPEL applications via the translation of service orchestrations written in View the MathML source into executable WS-BPEL programs. We illustrate our approach by means of a running example borrowed from the official specification of WS-BPEL.
2012
262
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11581/362991
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