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Web Services Activity Statement

Web services provide a standard means of interoperating between different software applications, running on a variety of platforms and/or frameworks. Web services are characterized by their great interoperability and extensibility, as well as their machine-processable descriptions thanks to the use of XML. They can be combined in a loosely coupled way in order to achieve complex operations. Programs providing simple services can interact with each other in order to deliver sophisticated added-value services.

The W3C Web Services Activity is designing the infrastructure, defining the architecture and creating the core technologies for Web services. The SOAP 1.2 XML-based messaging framework became a W3C Recommendation in June 2003 and the SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM) in January 2005.

Here is a comprehensive list of Recommendations pertaining to the W3C Web Services Activity:

XML Protocol Working Group:
SOAP Version 1.2 Part 0: Primer (Second Edition)
SOAP Version 1.2 Part 1: Messaging Framework (Second Edition)
SOAP Version 1.2 Part 2: Adjuncts (Second Edition)
SOAP Version 1.2 Specification Assertions and Test Collection (Second Edition)
XML-binary Optimized Packaging
SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism
Resource Representation SOAP Header Block
Web Services Description Working Group:
Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 0: Primer
Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 1: Core Language
Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 2: Adjuncts
Web Services Addressing Working Group:
Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Core
Web Services Addressing 1.0 - SOAP Binding
Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Metadata
Semantic Annotations for WSDL Working Group:
Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema
Web Services Policy Working Group:
Web Services Policy 1.5 - Framework
Web Services Policy 1.5 - Attachment
Web Services Resource Access Working Group:
Web Services Enumeration
Web Services Event Descriptions
Web Services Eventing
Web Services Fragment
Web Services Metadata Exchange
Web Services SOAP Assertions
Web Services Transfer
SOAP-JMS Binding Working Group
SOAP over Java Message Service 1.0

Highlights Since the Previous Advisory Committee Meeting

Since the last Advisory Committee Meeting, eight new W3C Recommendations were published.

The Web Services Resource Access Working Group advanced seven documents to Recommendations:

The SOAP-JMS Binding Working Group advanced one document to Recommendation:

W3C organized a workshop on Data and Services Integration . It was held October 20-21 2011 in Bedford, MA, hosted by MITRE. See the Workshop Report.

Upcoming Activity Highlights

Most Working Groups are now in "maintenance mode", ie: lower activity, but monitoring issue reports.

At this time, no new Working Groups are planned within this Activity, but new work based on the experience gathered during the development of Web Services is likely, though it may happen in another Activity.

Summary of Activity Structure

GroupChairTeam ContactCharter
Web Services Coordination Group
(participants)
Yves LafonYves LafonChartered until 30 September 2010
SOAP-JMS Binding Working Group
(participants)
Eric JohnsonYves LafonChartered until 30 June 2012
Web Services Policy Working Group
(participants)
Paul Cotton, Christopher FerrisNoneChartered until 31 December 2008
Web Services Resource Access Working Group
(participants)
Bob FreundYves LafonChartered until 30 June 2012

This Activity Statement was prepared for AC 2013 per section 5 of the W3C Process Document. Generated from group data.

Yves Lafon, Web Services Activity Lead

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