Introduction

The following document represents an initial review of the literature addressing web service
applications. The purpose of the review is to provide the reader with an insight and
understanding as to the main issues concerning the topic in question and therefore the
literature review is intended to gradually build up the reader’s knowledge of the topic. As a
result, this document will analyse the literature in order to provide an understanding as to the
research context and the current thinking prevalent within it. The overall purpose of the
literature review is to sufficiently acquaint the author with the research topic as to be able to
identify and develop an area for further research.

The Rise of Web Services

Web services are predicated upon the development and proliferation of Web 2.0
(Schneckenberg 2009), such that the advent of Web 2.0 has transformed the manner in which
society engage with the services provided over the Internet (Schneckenberg 2009). Web 2.0
has become the ‘buzz word’ of Internet based development (Shuen 2008) and encompasses
applications which have today become part of our daily lives such as social networking sites
(Facebook, Bebo, Myspace), blogs and video sharing sites (YouTube) (Solomon and Schrum
2007). In light of this, commentators in a number of quarters agree to the advances and
changes heralded by Web 2.0, Shuen (2008) is of the opinion that

“It’s the biggest change in the organisation of the corporation in a century…in short, Web.20
is powering up the knowledge and network economy, starting with users, consumers, and
digital natives, and accelerating as it transforms knowledge workers and businesses
globally” (Shuen 2008).

In light of this, Web 2.0 has facilitated the sharing of information and online collaboration
through a wide range of technologies, user interfaces and software applications (Joint 2010).

Application Programming Interfaces

An Application Programming Interface (API) is responsible for facilitating the interactions

between software programs (Orenstein 2000). A common analogy is one which compares the
role of API to that of user interfaces which enhance and facilitate the interaction between
computers and humans (Joshi et al 2004). In this respect, Agell (2009) provides clarity to the
role of API in his succinct definition in which he states “API serves as a platform for web
applications to interact and share information with other applications, they can be used to
access valuable data or Web Services, allowing other developers to integrate and reuse
them” (Agell 2009). In this respect, the term API is somewhat misleading as an API can be
or represent a number of different things and technologies (Wu 2004). At its most basic an
API can consist of a specific interface designed and developed to serve as a solution for a
particular problem. Alternatively an API can also be ‘language dependent’ such that they are
created and developed using a specific language, the benefits of which being efficiency and
convenience (Wu 2004).

That said however, Agell (2009) places emphasis upon API technology which is commonly
integrated within e-commerce websites as the author suggests it “serves as a platform for
web applications to interact and share information with other applications” (Agell 2009). In
this respect, as far as web applications are concerned, API’s can therefore be used to “access
valuable data or Web Services, allowing other developers to integrate and reuse them”
(Agell 2009). As a result, the use of API’s affords e-commerce websites the ability to create
applications which allows them with a greater access to customers (Agell 2009). As such,
Agell (2009) refers to this process as a ‘mash-up’ in that ‘mash-ups’ use a given company’s
data as a means of gaining new customers, an assertion which Popa et al (2008) attest to in
their definition “a mash-up is an Internet technology that combines data and services from
more than one source into a single web application…thereby increasing efficiency and
richness of data” (Popa et al 2008). To this extent, API’s have been established as a common
paradigm for web developers as they “are integrating Web Services to create added-value
applications” (Agell 2009). Building upon this, Agell (2009) justifies his assertion in which
he states that API’s offer e-commerce websites benefits as he cites a few of the benefits
being, access to new distribution channels, market reach, and innovation and synergies (Agell
2009).

The review of literature has so far concentrated on the actual integration of API’s within
websites, specifically e-commerce websites. That said however, API when applied to web
development centres on web technologies such as extensible mark-up language (XML),
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Java Script (Benslimane et al 2008). This
assertion is seconded by Joshi et al (2004) who state “Web services are based on XML
standards and facilitates writing these software services using any programming language
and over any platform” (Joshi et al 2004). As far as communication is concerned, web
services make use of communication protocols such as the Simple Object Access Protocol
(SOAP) as it allows effective communication without the need to rely upon custom binaries
and runtime libraries (Benslimane 2008). As such, Joshi et al (2004) provide an insight into
the need to adopt SOAP in that “SOAP messaging runs over HTTP, which makes it globally
acceptable as most operating systems support HTTP” (Joshi et al 2004). Through the use of
protocols such as SOAP, applications are able to share data with other remote applications,
therefore Joshi et al (2004) state that in doing so the “process is potentially expected to be
much more transparent and easy to integrate in an heterogeneous environment” (Joshi et al
2004)
The application of web service application programming

Having determined the nature and dimension of web service application the question arises as
to how such services are applied. In this respect, web service based application programming
is of particular importance or relevance in the era of software as a service (SaaS) applications
(Turner et al 2003). Such services are referred to by Dubey and Wagle (2007) as the long
standing 'dream' of vendors, given that the delivery of online software (Dubey and Wagle
2007) potentially has the ability to change the software development paradigm (Turner et al
2003, Sommerville 2009). The importance of web application programming within such a
context centres on the delivery and distribution of such services, given that “platforms for
software as a service require vendors to establish and evangelize a set of application
programming interfaces (APIs) and standards for data exchange among applications”(Dubey
and Wagle 2007).

A further clarification as to the role of web service programming in the delivery of software
as a service is provided by Hai and Sakoda (2009), in that the provision of SaaS requires the
integration of “web service application programming interfaces (APIs). All data integration
is executed though these APIs over the Internet, enabling SaaS solution providers to
continuously provide upgrades to functionality without breaking existing integrations” (Hai
and Sakoda 2009). Web service application programming is central to the ultimate success of
a service based model (Sommerville 2010), whereby “software construction, use and
ownership. Hence our service-based model is one in which one or more services are
configured to meet a specific set of requirements at a point in time, executed and disengaged”
(Turner et al 2003). In this respect, the role of the programmer is to develop a means by
which the customer can access a vendor's provisions through everyday tools such as a web
browser. Dubey and Wagle (2007) allude to the role of the web service application
programmer when attempting to explain the SaaS process such that as “With software as a
service, a customer contracts to use an application, such as ERP or CRM, hosted by a third
party, rather than buying a software license and installing the application on its own
machines. Just as consumers can check e-mail or use mapping programs with their Web
browsers, so too can enterprise customers access business applications over the Internet”
(Dubey and Wagle 2007).

In providing this simple explanation as to SaaS, the authors are also inadvertently alluding to
the mechanisms by which such transactions and interactions between service provide and
customer take place. As such, if SaaS is to become the dominant method by which software
is provided to customers and organisations, and therefore the predominant approach by which
it is developed (Sommerville 2010), web service application programming will be underpin
this process.
Conclusion

This document has attempted to provide the reader with an insight into the nature and
application web service application programming, the importance of which has increased in
the era of software as a service and other web 2.0 services. The findings of this document
can be used as a basis upon which to conduct a further analysis of the literature and therefore
ultimately services as a means by which to identify a gap or niche within the literature. By
examining the literature in order to determine a gap, the author is therefore in a position to
begin formulating a research strategy my means of which to address this gap.
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Benslimane, D., Dustdar, S., and Sheth, A.(2008) Services Mashups: The New Generation of
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Dubey, A., and Wagle, D. (2007), Delivering Software as a Service, The Mckinsley
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Hai, H. and Sakoda, S. (2009), SaaS and Integration Best Practice, Fujitsu Scientific and
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