Method and apparatus of automatic method signature adaptation for dynamic web service invocation

Abstract

A method (and apparatus) for adapting an input parameter,for dynamically invoke the target Web services, and for adapting output results, the method including: receiving an invocation request including an input parameter in a first format; retrieving MetaWSDL (Meta Web Service Description Language), wherein said MetaWSDL includes a universal XML (eXtended Markup Language) representation which includes semantic information of a Web service method signature; invoking a MetaWSDL processor to adapt the input parameter to a second format using the retrieved MetaWSDL; dynamically invoking the target Web services using the adapted parameter in the second format; and adapting the output result in a first format to a second format using the MetaWSDL.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for adapting an input parameter, the method comprising: 
 receiving an invocation request including an input parameter in a first format;    retrieving MetaWSDL (Meta Web Service Development Language), wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML (eXtended Markup Language) representation which includes semantic information of a Web service method signature; and    invoking a MetaWSDL processor to adapt the input parameter to a second format using the retrieved MetaWSDL.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said retrieving MetaWSDL comprises retrieving a WSIL (Web Service Inspection Language) document from a Web server.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said retrieving MetaWSDL comprises invoking a MetaClient library API (Application Programming Interface).  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising parsing the input parameter based on MetaObjects in the MetaWSDL after retrieving the MetaWSDL.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MetaWSDL processor adapts the input parameter by referencing a MetaObject library.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the MetaObject library includes at least one of a simple MetaObject and a complex MetaObject.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the MetaObject library includes user-defined MetaObjects.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the MetaObject library defines MetaObjects in a configuration file.  
     
     
         9 . A method for adapting a Web service output parameter, comprising: 
 receiving an output parameter in a first format;    retrieving MetaWSDL, wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML representation which includes semantic information of a Web service method signature providing the output parameter; and    invoking a MetaWSDL processor to adapt the output parameter to a second format using the retrieved MetaWSDL.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said retrieving MetaWSDL comprises invoking an API similar to those in a MetaClient library API.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising parsing the output parameter based on MetaObjects in the MetaWSDL after retrieving the MetaWSDL.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein said retrieving MetaWSDL comprises retrieving a WSIL document from a Web server.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the MetaWSDL processor adapts the output parameter by referencing a MetaObject library.  
     
     
         14 . A method for method signature adapting an input parameter, the method comprising: 
 parsing the input parameter using MetaData;    using MetaData as specified in MetaWSDL; and    using MetaWSDL to adapt the input parameter.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said MetaData comprises semantic information.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML representation to define MetaData.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising invoking a Web service on a Web server using the adapted input parameter.  
     
     
         18 . A method for generating a MetaClient preference file in a MetaClient library for storing information regarding a preferred set of Web services, comprising: 
 looking up UDDI registries for each preferred Web service; and    storing the location of each preferred Web service and associated method names in a MetaClient library.    
     
     
         19 . An apparatus for method signature adaptation, the apparatus comprising: 
 a MetaObject library including self-describing objects defined in MetaWSDL;    a MetaClient library including a preferred library of Web services; and    a MetaWSDL processor adapted to process MetaWSDL, to adapt parameters and to invoke Web services dynamically, wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML representation which includes semantic information of Web services method signatures.    
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein said self-describing objects comprise at least one of a basic MetaObject and a complex/pluggable MetaObject.  
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein said MetaObject represents one of a measurement unit, a monetary unit, a zipcode, and a State name.  
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein said MetaObject library includes specifications for input parameter adaptation and specifications for output result adaptation.  
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein said basic MetaObject handles a simple unit conversion.  
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein said complex/pluggable MetaObject comprises an extensible MetaObject which is customizable and pluggable.  
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the MetaObject library comprises a MetaObject library configuration file.  
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the MetaClient library comprises APIs to invoke a UDDI search engine to retrieve a preferred set of Web services.  
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the MetaClient library stores the location of WSDLs and Web service names.  
     
     
         28 . A MetaWSDL for automatic method signature adaptation, comprising semantic information of Web services method signatures.  
     
     
         29 . A computer readable medium storing instructions for adapting an input parameter which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform: 
 receiving an invocation request including an input parameter in a first format;    retrieving MetaWSDL, wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML representation which includes semantic information of a Web service method signature; and    invoking a MetaWSDL processor to adapt the input parameter to a second format using the retrieved MetaWSDL.    
     
     
         30 . A computer readable medium storing instructions for adapting an output parameter which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform: 
 receiving an output parameter in a first format;    retrieving MetaWSDL, wherein said MetaWSDL comprises a universal XML representation which includes semantic information of a Web service method signature providing the output parameter; and    invoking a MetaWSDL processor to adapt the output parameter to a second format using the retrieved MetaWSDL.    
     
     
         31 . A computer readable medium storing instructions for adapting an input parameter which when executed by at least one processor, causes the processor to perform: 
 parsing the input parameter using MetaData    using MetaData as specified in MetaWSDL; and    using MetaWSDL to adapt the input parameter.    
     
     
         32 . A computer readable medium storing instructions for generating a MetaClient preference file in a MetaClient library for storing information regarding a preferred set of Web services which when executed by one or more processors, causes the processors to perform: 
 looking up UDDI registries for each preferred Web service; and    storing the location of each preferred Web service and associated method names in a MetaClient library.    
     
     
         33 . A computer readable medium storing MetaData for describing semantic information for Web service complementary to an SDL.  
     
     
         34 . A MetaWSDL Processor for adapting an input parameter, the MetaWSDL processor comprising: 
 an input adaptation device which adapts and input parameter in a first format to a second format; and    a dynamic invocation device for invoking a Web service by providing said input parameter in said second format.    
     
     
         35 . A MetaWSDL processor for adapting an output parameter, the MetaWSDL processor comprising: 
 a dynamic invocation device for receiving an output parameter in a first parameter from a Web service; and    an output adaptation device for adapting said output parameter from said first parameter to a second parameter.