JP2008003689A - Information processing system and information processing method for web service - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology allowing for convenience for both of a client using Web service and a server side for providing the service. <P>SOLUTION: If a client device (20) transmits (S1) a request for execution of processing by synchronous communication to a server device (10), the server device sends back (S2) information for terminating the synchronous communication as a response. The server device executes requested processing (S3) and generates (S4) metadata representing the execution state of the processing. The client device makes an inquiry about the execution state of the processing to the server device, and the server device transmits (S6, S10) the metadata for the inquiry. The client device, upon recognition (S11) of the completion of the requested processing by the metadata, transmits (S12) a request for notification of the processing execution result to the server device. The server device sends back (S13) the execution result as a response to the request for notification from the client device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a Web service technology using a communication protocol for synchronous communication such as HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) / HTTPS (HTTP Security).

  FIG. 9 schematically shows a form of a general Web service. Between the server 1 that provides the Web service and the client 2 that requests the service from the server 1, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is used as a communication protocol for acquiring data in another computer.

  The server 1 and the client 2 that use SOAP exchange, for example, an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) -based SOAP message created according to a format called WSDL (Web Services Description Language) by HTTP / HTTPS. Such a communication mode in which SOAP is applied to HTTP / HTTPS is called “SOAP over HTTP / HTTPS” and is widely used for Web services.

  By the way, communication by HTTP / HTTPS is synchronous communication based on sending a response within a predetermined period when a server receives a request from a client. Therefore, HTTP / HTTPS is difficult to deal with, for example, a client that desires asynchronous communication, such as a client whose use is limited in communication bandwidth and time.

  On the other hand, SOAP itself is applicable to protocols other than HTTP / HTTPS because the base communication protocol is not specified. Therefore, in order to meet the needs of asynchronous communication, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a protocol such as POP (Post Office Protocol) / SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) or JMS (Java (registered trademark) Message Service) is used. Use with SOAP.

  In the communication mode shown in FIG. 10, the client 4 communicates with a server 3 dedicated to POP / SMTP and JMS, which is provided separately from the server 1 that communicates with HTTP / HTTPS. Then, data is acquired from the server 1 based on HTTP / HTTPS via the dedicated server 3.

As described above, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 described below relates to a technique for acquiring data from another computer using a network. In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a network device having a function of providing information such as a device status and an operation log of the device to the outside creates the above information in an XML format such as RDF, and stores the information. It is provided by converting it into HTML format etc. according to the client side specifications.
JP 2005-209056 A

  However, in the case of the communication mode as shown in FIG. 10 described above, the client 4 cannot use the “SOAP over HTTP / HTTPS” service that has been widely used. Another problem is that the processing load of the server 3 increases due to the need for the POP / SMTP or JMS dedicated server 3 for the Web service.

  On the other hand, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a Web service is provided in accordance with a client-side format format such as an HTML format. However, in order to do so, it is necessary to convert information created in the XML format by the server (network device) to the HTML format or the like each time. Therefore, in the server, it is necessary to assume a plurality of conversion patterns in order to cope with various format formats on the client side, and management of such a server is not easy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that takes into account the convenience of both the client using the synchronous communication Web service and the server providing the service.

  An information processing system according to the present invention includes a server device and a client device connected to a communication network, wherein the client device transmits a process execution request to the server device through synchronous communication, and the process execution Means for inquiring the status to the server device, and means for transmitting a notification request for the execution result of the processing to the server device, wherein the server device performs synchronous communication in response to the processing execution request from the client device A means for responding information to be terminated, a means for executing the processing requested from the client device and generating metadata representing the execution status of the processing, and an inquiry from the client device regarding the execution status of the processing. Means for transmitting metadata and communication from the client device regarding the execution result of the process. Request to have the means responsive to the execution result.

  According to the present invention, the server device that has received the processing execution request from the client device through synchronous communication once terminates the synchronous communication and separately responds to the client device with the processing execution result. In a synchronous communication environment, a communication form similar to asynchronous communication can be provided. Furthermore, since the execution status of the process can be confirmed from the client device from the process request to the process result response, it is possible to appropriately recognize the timing at which the process result should be acquired. Thereby, it is possible to quickly perform from the request for processing to acquisition of the processing result, and as a result, the convenience for the user is enhanced.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The system of the present embodiment includes a server 10 and a client 20 connected to the communication network 100. The server 10 is a computer of a provider that provides a Web service to the client 20 via the communication network 100. The client 20 is a computer used by a user such as an individual or a company who uses the Web service provided by the server 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the server 10 includes a Web service processing unit 11 that executes processing related to a Web service requested by the client 20, and a metadata processing unit 12 that processes metadata described later regarding the processing status of the Web service. Is provided. These are functions corresponding to programs executed by the CPU (not shown) of the client 20.

  The client 20 includes a Web service client unit 21 corresponding to a program for using the Web service provided by the server 10.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the sequence shown in FIG. First, the Web service client unit 21 of the client 20 transmits a SOAP message to the server 10 by HTTP / HTTPS communication in order to use the Web service (step S1). The SOAP message is a message described in an HTTP / HTTPS request for notifying the server 10 of a process execution request, and is created based on a general SOAP specification format.

  When the Web service client unit 21 of the server 10 receives the SOAP message from the client 20, the response process for the request is handled as an exception process. This is a convenient handling for ending the current session, and does not mean that the processing itself requested from the client 20 is an exception processing target.

  The Web service client unit 21 transmits an HTTP / HTTPS response describing a “SOAP Fault” message to the client 20 as an exception process for convenience (step S2). An example of the response transmitted at this time is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the status code (3a) of the HTTP / HTTPS response is a code such as “202” indicating reception confirmation, and “SOAP Fault” (3b) is created in the SOAP message in the response. Further, in the detail element (3c) of this “SOAP Fault”, an ID assigned to the process received from the client 20 and a URL at which metadata described later is disclosed are described. Note that the status code (3a) of the HTTP / HTTPS response is preferably “202” as in the illustrated example, but may be “500” (Internal Server Error) if there is a problem. .

  When the above HTTP / HTTPS response from the server 10 is received by the client 20, the HTTP / HTTPS communication between the both ends once.

  Subsequently, the Web service processing unit 11 of the server 10 executes the process requested by the client 20 (Step S3). During this time, the metadata processing unit 12 generates metadata representing the execution status of the process, and stores it in a storage device (not shown) (step S4). The metadata is created according to an XML-based format such as RSS (Really Simple Syndication / RDF Site Summary) or Atom.

  Examples of metadata are shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. FIG. 4 is an example of metadata created in the RSS1.0 format, FIG. 5 is an example of RSS2.0 format metadata, and FIG. 6 is an Atom0.3 format metadata. It is an example.

  The metadata processing unit 12 publishes the metadata generated in the form as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 in the URL (FIG. 3: 3c) notified to the client 20 by the above HTTP / HTTPS response (step S5). . Then, the metadata of the execution status is generated every predetermined period from the start of the process, and the metadata to be disclosed is updated every time the process is generated.

  Here, the metadata disclosed by the server 10 is intended to disclose at least whether or not the processing has been completed. Therefore, instead of periodically updating the metadata as in the present embodiment, for example, the metadata may be updated at the start and completion of the process, or only at the completion. Thereby, the processing load of the server 10 is reduced.

  On the other hand, the client 20 periodically inquires of the server 10 about the execution status of the process using the process ID described in the HTTP / HTTPS response (FIG. 3) received from the server 10 and the public URL of the metadata ( Step S6). That is, the update of the published metadata regarding the processing requested to the server 10 is confirmed. This confirmation can be performed by software such as a so-called RSS reader, which is set in the Web service client unit 21 in advance.

  When the server 10 finishes executing the process requested by the client 20 (step S7), it generates and discloses metadata indicating the completion of the process (steps S8 and S9).

  When the client 20 recognizes the completion of the processing from the metadata acquired by the inquiry (steps S10 and S11), the client 20 transmits an HTTP / HTTPS request for requesting the processing result to the server 10 (step S12). ). In the header (7a) of the SOAP message included in this request, the process ID notified from the server 10 is described.

  When the server 10 receives the request from the client 20, the server 10 transmits a processing result corresponding to the processing ID by an HTTP / HTTPS response as a response (step S13). If exception processing has actually occurred, that is, if the processing originally requested by the client 20 is the target of exception processing in the server 10, an exception is included in this HTTP / HTTPS response (step S13). Describe the SOAP message indicating the processing.

  As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, a Web service can be provided in the same manner as asynchronous communication in an environment of synchronous communication using HTTP / HTTPS. The reason is that the server (10) once returns a response to end the session in response to the processing request from the client (20). Also, the processing status reference URL is described in “SOAP Fault” and notified to the client (20), and the processing status is separately provided as metadata, so the client side uses another Web service together. Thus, a service by asynchronous communication can be received by a single URL.

  In addition, it is possible to maintain a web service through a firewall. The reason is that an existing HTTP / HTTPS communication environment is used. Usually, a firewall set for HTTP / HTTPS communication is relatively less restricted than other communication protocols, and has flexibility regarding security settings.

  Furthermore, even when the Web service client (21) does not have a metadata analysis function, the Web service of this embodiment can be used. The reason is that metadata is generated using formats such as RSS and Atom that are widely used.

[Other Embodiments]
When the server 10 supplies the published metadata to the client 20, an authentication process may be performed on the client 20. For example, when the server 10 receives an inquiry from an RSS reader or the like, the legitimacy of the client 20 is determined by a conventionally known authentication technique such as basic authentication before transmitting the corresponding metadata. When the personal information (user ID / password, etc.) acquired from the client 20 is successfully authenticated, the corresponding metadata is transmitted to the client 20. As a result, only a legitimate user can confirm the processing status of Web service processing, and as a result, it is possible to prevent leakage of the service usage status of each user.

  Further, regarding the description of the Web service processing ID in the HTTP / HTTPS request transmitted from the client 20, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, the ID may be described as a cookie in the header of the HTTP / HTTPS request. (FIG. 8: 8a). As described above, by using the existing cookie technology, it is easy for the client 20 to set the processing ID in the HTTP / HTTPS request and to determine the ID by the server 10.

It is a block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the operation | movement procedure of embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding SOAP_Fault in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding the example (RSS1.0) of the metadata in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding the example (RSS2.0) of the metadata in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding the example (Atom) of the metadata in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding the request | requirement of the process result in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing regarding SOAP_Fault in other embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding the system of the conventional web service. It is explanatory drawing regarding the other system of the conventional web service.

Explanation of symbols

100 Communication Network 10 Server 11 Web Service Processing Unit 12 Metadata Processing Unit 20 Client 21 Web Service Client Unit

Claims (15)

A server device and a client device connected to a communication network;
The client device sends a processing execution request to the server device through synchronous communication, inquires the server device about the execution status of the processing, and sends a processing execution result notification request to the server device. Means for transmitting,
The server device responds with information for terminating synchronous communication in response to a processing execution request from the client device, and executes metadata requested to execute the processing requested by the client device and indicating the execution status of the processing. Means for generating, means for transmitting the metadata in response to an inquiry from the client device regarding the execution status of the process, and means for responding to the notification result from the client apparatus regarding the execution result of the process An information processing system comprising:   The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the server device executes an authentication process when receiving an inquiry from the client device regarding a processing execution state, and transmits the metadata when the authentication is successful. system. The server device responds with a message corresponding to exception processing as the information for terminating synchronous communication,
3. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein when the client device receives a response including the message from the server device, the client device starts an inquiry about a processing execution status to the server device.   The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein the server device generates metadata in a document format based on XML.   Means for transmitting a process execution request by synchronous communication to a server apparatus connected to the own apparatus via a communication network; means for inquiring the server apparatus of the execution status of the process; and a notification request for execution result of the process An information processing apparatus comprising: means for transmitting to the server apparatus.   A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to claim 5.   Means for responding to information for terminating synchronous communication in response to an execution request for processing by synchronous communication from a client device connected to the own device via a communication network; and executing the processing requested by the client device; Means for generating metadata representing the execution status of the client, means for transmitting the metadata in response to an inquiry from the client device regarding the execution status of the process, and a notification request from the client device regarding the execution result of the process An information processing apparatus comprising means for responding to an execution result.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an authentication process is executed when an inquiry from the client apparatus regarding a process execution status is received, and the metadata is transmitted when the authentication is successful.   9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a message corresponding to exception processing is returned as the information for ending synchronous communication.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the metadata is generated in a document format based on XML.   A program causing a computer to function as the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10. A step in which a client device transmits a processing execution request by synchronous communication to a server device connected to the own device via a communication network;
The server device responding to the execution request for processing from the client device with information for terminating synchronous communication;
The server device executing the processing requested by the client device and generating metadata indicating the execution status of the processing;
The client device inquiring the server device about the execution status of the processing;
The server device transmitting the metadata in response to an inquiry from the client device regarding the execution status of processing;
The client device transmitting a notification request for the execution result of the processing to the server device;
And a step in which the server device responds to the notification request from the client device regarding the execution result of the process. In the step in which the server device transmits metadata,
13. The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein an authentication process is executed when an inquiry is received from the client device regarding a process execution status, and the metadata is transmitted when the authentication is successful. In the step of responding information for terminating the synchronous communication, the server device responds with a message corresponding to exception processing as the information,
The information processing method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the client device starts the step of transmitting a processing execution result notification request when receiving a response including the message from the server device. In the step in which the server device generates metadata,
The information processing method according to claim 12, wherein the metadata is generated in a document format based on XML.

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