Abstract: A system for providing granular functionality called web services to commercial customers includes a web server configured to accept service requests from software application clients, functional implementations of the services, and a means of accounting for usage. The service grid architecture makes practical a reliable commercial provider of web services in the face of unreliable sources of functional implementations. This is accomplished through the commoditization of multiple implementation sources per service, standard forms for each service to which a plurality of sources is adapted, and a rules based approach to source selection per service call.

Abstract: A system for providing granular functionality called web services to commercial customers includes among other things a client to issue service requests and receive responses, a web server configured to accept and process service requests, and a means of accounting for usage. The current art specifies standards for functional interactions between web service clients and servers. A set of commercial extensions are defined herein to enable maintenance interactions. This “maintenance protocol” includes operations such as client software that is self-updating in response to server changes and the capability of reconciling client usage logs with service provider invoicing.

Abstract: A system for providing granular functionality called web services to commercial customers includes a web server configured to accept service requests from software application clients, functional implementations of the services, and a means of accounting for usage. The service grid architecture makes practical a reliable commercial provider of web services in the face of unreliable sources of functional implementations. This is accomplished through the commoditization of multiple implementation sources per service, standard forms for each service to which a plurality of sources is adapted, and a rules based approach to source selection per service call.

Abstract: A system for providing granular functionality called web services to commercial customers includes among other things a client to issue service requests and receive responses, a web server configured to accept and process service requests, and a means of accounting for usage. The current art specifies standards for functional interactions between web service clients and servers. A set of commercial extensions are defined herein to enable maintenance interactions. This “maintenance protocol” includes operations such as client software that is self-updating in response to server changes and the capability of reconciling client usage logs with service provider invoicing.