This activity proposal is public.
This proposal contains an extension of the scope of the existing Web Services activity to include work on the foundations for frameworks for semantics in Web Services. It targets a narrow and short-time focus as outlined in the scope of the proposed charter of the Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group. It also proposes to re-charter the Semantic Web Services Interest Group, refocusing this Group exclusively towards integration of semantics into the ongoing Web Services work at W3C.
Due to the lack of involvement on the RDF Mapping for WSDL 2.0, this proposal includes a new Web Services Description Working Group Charter which removes the mapping from the W3C Recommendation track and plans for it to become a W3C Working Group Note instead.
W3C launched the Web Services Activity at the beginning of 2002,
following a W3C Workshop on Web services,
with the goal (see previous Web
Services activity proposal) to ensure development of a Web services
architecture based on XML, fitting into the
Web architecture
.
Since that time, the Web Services Working Groups has produced 7 W3C Recommendations, 6 W3C Candidate Recommendations, 10 Working Drafts, and 14 Working Group Notes. Web Services goes beyond the requirements of the Web Architecture of the World Wide Web, Volume One, allowing different identification and interaction mechanisms. The Web Architecture may be updated in the future to reflect Web Services identifications and interactions.
In 2003, W3C created a Semantic Web Services Interest Group as a forum to investigate future ways of using Web Services, including semantically rich communications.
In 2004 and 2005, W3C held two Workshops on constraints and capabilities for Web Services and on frameworks for semantics in Web Services. This proposal addresses one aspect of conclusions from the second Workshop. We may propose additional changes to the Web Services Activity in the future to address other conclusions from both Workshops.
The active community around Semantic Web Services has approached W3C on several occasions over the past few years to express its willingness to start work in this area. In general, the Semantic Web Services community and the European Commission have supported W3C's work in this area.
The W3C Workshop on frameworks for semantics in Web Services recommended two concrete pre-standardization proposals:
This Activity proposal focuses on the second proposal, with a narrow and short time-frame. A separate proposal may be issued for pre-standardization work (see also the draft for Semantics for Web Services Characterization Group).
Several specifications have been submitted to W3C in the domain of frameworks for Semantics in Web Services: OWL Web Ontology Language for Services (OWL-S), Web Service Modeling Ontology (WSMO), Semantic Web Services Framework (SWSF), and Web Service Semantics - WSDL-S. Those who develop extensions for the description of Web Services are interested in this area: from Semantic Web Services to Grid.
Half of the audience at the Workshop indicated interest in “low-hanging” fruit that is common to all of their approaches. While this Activity proposal does not address all the proposals discussed at the Workshop, we believe that a subpart of the “low-hanging” fruit is ready for standardization. This effort will also lead to the foundations for future developments on a framework for semantics.
Yes. A large part of the participation at the W3C Workshop are already involved in W3C. See also the accepted position papers at the Workshop.
We expect a sufficient but reasonable level of participation in this effort to make it successful and efficient.
There are currently various effort in the area of Semantics for Web Services, as outlined by the number of specifications submitted to W3C.
OASIS created a technical committee on Semantic
Execution Environment to provide guidelines, justifications
and implementation directions for an execution environment for
Semantic Web services
. This Activity proposal focuses on narrow
foundation parts of Semantic Web Services and does not address the
characterization effort.
We believe that the scope of the work has been sufficiently reduced to address a mature section of the foundations of semantic annotations, without overlapping with constraints and capabilities.
Some of the specifications that have been submitted to W3C have corresponding prototypes or implementations.
In addition to the existing Web Services Working Groups, the scope of the work is outlined in the charter of the Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group.
In addition to the existing timetables of the Web Services Working Groups, the timetable of the work is outlined in the charter of the Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group.
Yes. The W3C has been asked to move in this area several times, despite the lack of clear momentum at present towards a W3C recommendation track in this area. The proposal is not intended to address the concrete challenges and requirements from the commercial Web Services community since such work isn't ready for standardization and the domain of constraints and capabilities is higher on the Web Services Activity priority list. However, work is ongoing and the foundations need to be stabilized as soon as possible.
Yes. This proposal introduced the Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group in the Web Services Activity.
The Web Services community expects to coordinate with the Semantic Web Activity when necessary.
The other Groups in the Web Services Activity are not addressed by this proposal.
It is proposed that the Web Services Activity last through the end of February 2008. See also the summary of the Web Services Activity table below for details per Working/Interest Groups.
The resources for the Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group and the Semantic Web Services Interest Group are being provided as part of the Web Services and Semantics (WS2) Project, a specific support action (SSA) in IST's FP6, financed by European Commission's IST Programme.
| Group | Chair | Team Contact | Charter |
|---|---|---|---|
| XML Protocol Working Group | Michael Mahan | Yves Lafon | until 31 December 2006 |
| Web Services Addressing Working Group | Robert Freund, Mark Nottingham | Hugo Haas, Philippe Le Hégaret | until 30 September 2006 |
| Web Services Description Working Group | Jonathan Marsh, Tony Rogers | Hugo Haas | Proposed until 31 January 2007 |
| Web Services Choreography Working Group | Martin Chapman, Steve Ross-Talbot | Yves Lafon | until 31 December 2006 |
| XML Schema Patterns for Databinding Working Group | Paul Downey | Yves Lafon | until 30 September 2007 |
| Web Services Coordination Group | Philippe Le Hégaret | Hugo Haas | until 30 September 2007 |
| Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group | Jacek Kopecky | Carine Bournez, Eric Prud'hommeaux | Proposed until 30 June 2007 |
| Semantic Web Services Interest Group | Bijan Parsia | Carine Bournez | Proposed until end of February 2008 |