Application of Web Services in Data Sharing
Abstract
Current approaches in distributed computing are not sufficient to completely meet the
needs for cross-platform application-to-application integration. The present trend is
moving away from tightly coupled monolithic systems towards systems of loosely
coupled components.
The new Web Services concept was designed to meet these' requirements of businessto-
business application interaction. Web Services are based on a set of open, platform
independent standards to reach a high level of acceptance.
Organizations have policies which govern their operations. These operations may be a
duplication of other organizations efforts thereby wasting resources. A method is
desired which enables similar organizations to benefit from each other or improve their
operations. Sharing their data is one move in this direction. Data sharing involves
letting others access your databases which is definitely risky.
This study describes the possibilities for development of Web Services for data sharing
and/or exchange between disparate systems.
A case study demonstrates tasks related with Web Services development, and its
invocation at runtime. A data synchronization web service is used to report on loan
defaulters places of work after a comparative search is performed between HELB and
NHIF databases.
The case study is implemented on two different database platforms showing a concept
of heterogeneity and platform independence which is web services strong case. SOAP
Message delivery is secured by encryption and decryption while a login mechanism keep off intruders.
Citation
Master of Science in Information Systems,University of Nairobi, 2008.Publisher
University of Nairobi Institute of Computer Science
Collections
- Faculty of Education (FEd) [5964]