While the controversy over WS-Complexity (which
seems to have been catalyzed by Tim Bray's Loyal WS-Opposition
post; see these references
to Tim's post; see also my collection
of WS-Complexity references) seems to be dying down, I did want to add my
two cents to the debate.
In all the blog postings I've seen on the
subject, not one has compared the current WS-* processes for developing,
debating, and adopting Web Services and their output to the IETF standards
processes and their output.
Clearly, in terms of number of pages, the IETF specs far outweigh WS-*
specs, yet few would argue that the IETF process of "rough consensus and
working code" is a failure. Nobody complains that anyone can submit an RFC
draft at the drop of a hat. How is that different from MSFT, IBM, et al
announcing a proposed WS-* spec every week?
I believe that the "federated"
standards processes emerging around WS-* is a worthy successor to the IETF
approach. I characterize it as "federated" because WS-* related
standards are designed in different standards bodies and WS-I is emerging as the
"meta-standards body" that integrates and interop-certifies the
standards coming out of the other standards bodies.
I characterize the WS-* federated standards
processes as a "worthy successor" to the IETF, because the traditional
approach to standards is a dead as the dodo. Ever since the US federal
legislation enabling industry consortia in the 1990s, they have become the
standards center of gravity, for better or worse. Standards setting bodies and
their interactions has become the central domain of the emerging economic model
of co-opetition. It just so happens that the Web and WS-* are the first major
Guinea pigs of this new paradigm.
The point I'm trying to make is to suggest that
the current WS-* proliferation of WS-* specs is a sign of a vibrant,
decentralized innovative community. The same is true of the proliferation of XML
vocabularies across the board. This is a sign that this stuff is easy to design
with. Let's declare victory and move on. The wheat will be separated from the
chaff when such specs are put to use in the marketplace.
7:02:43 AM 
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