Methods and apparatus for defining parameters for web based applications
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsWilliam Gibson, Azmat Pasha
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for defining a contract for a web service. The contract may be defined, for example, in Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) or SOAP Service Description Language (SSDL) format. According to one embodiment of the invention, a software application is provided which implements one or more rules or assumptions to limit the functionality of a web service which the contract defines, such that a user interface provided by the application is less visually confusing to the user than conventional interfaces and the user may define the contract in a more intuitive manner.
Claims20
A computer-implemented method of facilitating a definition of a contract for a web service, the contract defining an operation performed by the web service and a format of a message used for communication with the web service, the method comprising:
- (A) implementing at least one rule related to features of the web service, the at least one rule limiting the features of the web service to a subset of features, the subset of features comprising a portion of the features which could characterize the web service;
- and
- (B) presenting an interface to a user which enables the user to define the contract for the web service, the contract reflecting the features of the web service, wherein the interface enables the user to select features to be reflected in the contract from among the subset of features.
A computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon, which instructions, when executed by a computer, perform a method of facilitating a definition of a contract for a web service, the contract defining an operation performed by the web service and a format of a message used for communication with the web service, the method comprising:
- (A) implementing at least one rule related to features of the web service, the at least one rule limiting the features of the web service to a subset of features, the subset of features comprising a portion of the features which could characterize the web service;
- and
- (B) presenting an interface to a user which enables the user to define the contract for the web service, the contract reflecting the features of the web service, wherein the interface enables the user to select features to be reflected in the contract from among the subset of features.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.