WSDL Embellishment via Cross-Reference Retrieval
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Web service client developers face challenges in understanding the purpose of elements and operations in WSDL files due to lack of narrative documentation, leading to additional investigative work to derive meaning from other sources.
Innovation Solution
A method to generate embellished web service interface descriptions by parsing WSDL files, retrieving cross-reference data with human-readable narrative information, and modifying the files to include this information while maintaining the integrity of the original machine-readable descriptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If WSDL files use machine-readable descriptions with programmatically assigned names, then the interface description is precise and unambiguous for machines, but the descriptions become meaningless or difficult for humans to understand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that automatically retrieves and integrates cross-reference data from external sources into WSDL files. This mediator bridges the gap between machine-readable precision and human-readable meaning by fetching contextual information from data sources and embedding it within the technical interface description, allowing both machines and humans to understand the same file without loss of precision or meaning.
2Loss of information
If developers manually investigate external sources to understand WSDL element meanings, then they can obtain narrative information, but this process consumes additional time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by automatically retrieving and embedding cross-reference data from external sources into the WSDL files during file generation or update processes. This preliminary retrieval eliminates the need for developers to perform subsequent investigative work, as all necessary narrative information is already integrated into the interface description before the developer encounters it.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically fetching and integrating the information that developers would otherwise need to manually search for. The WSDL file generation process itself performs the investigative work by querying external data sources and incorporating the results, making the information retrieval process automatic and eliminating manual time investment.
3Ease of operation
If WSDL files include extensive narrative documentation, then human understanding improves, but the files become more complex and harder to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediary system automatically manages the integration of narrative documentation by fetching data from external sources and structuring it within the WSDL framework. This automated mediation ensures that narrative information is consistently formatted and integrated without requiring manual complexity management, allowing extensive documentation to be maintained systematically through automated processes rather than manual intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for generating narrative interface descriptions, a file including a machine-readable description of a computing interface is parsed to identify an element therein based on a property thereof. Cross-reference data including human-readable narrative information corresponding to the element is retrieved from a data source, and an embellished file is generated in which the element is modified to include the cross-reference data. Related methods, systems, and computer program products are also discussed.