Synchronization architectures, methods, systems, and computer readable media are described. One exemplary embodiment includes a first software component which is configured to cause retrieval and storage of structured data for a first data class from a first store of the structured data on a device, such as a first data processing system, and is configured to synchronize structured data for the first data class in the first store with structured data of the first data class in a second store on a host, such as a second data processing system. The first software component is separate from an application software which provides a user interface to allow a user to access and edit the structured data. The first software component synchronizes the structured data through a second software component which interfaces with the host and the device and which controls an order of synchronizing and a plurality of data classes including the first data class.

Synchronization methods and systems

Constructing composite web services from natural language requests

The easiest way for a user to express his needs regarding a desired service is to use natural language. The main issues come from the fact that the natural language is incomplete and ambiguous, while the service composition process should lead to valid services. In this paper we propose a natural language service assemblage method based on composition templates (patterns). The use of templates assures that the composition result is always valid. The proposed system, called NLSC (Natural Language Service Composer), was implemented on the top of a service-oriented middleware called WComp and tested in an intelligent home environment.

/pdf/service-composition-based-on-natural-language-requests-wi34skt9bf.pdf

Service Composition Based on Natural Language Requests

A method for radio link control in a mobile wireless communication device. The mobile wireless device transmits a sequence of service requests to establish radio resources with a wireless communication network for a data packet in a pending data buffer. When no radio resources are allocated in response to the transmitted sequence of service requests, the mobile wireless device sets a minimum threshold for the pending data buffer, discards all pending data packets above the minimum threshold and discards the oldest pending data packet. The mobile wireless device repeats transmitting and discarding until a radio resource is allocated or the pending data packet buffer is empty. A retry interval between successive service requests is increased after transmitting each sequence of service requests until reaching a maximum retry interval value.

Radio resource signaling during network congestion in a mobile wireless device

Service Composition has been a challenging research area for many years. One of the key ideas in this area is the matchmaking (at the semantic level) of requested services and the portfolio of services registered in a given service repository. Accordingly, a composite service can be generated by selecting a set of existing service components that partially match the requested service, and composing these services. In this paper we introduce a general framework for the Service Composition process and our efforts to automate this process. This framework exploits the semantic annotation of services and their parameters. The main annotations we focus on are service inputs, outputs, goals, preconditions, effects, and non-functional properties. Matchmaking aims at making sure that the selected service components are capable of interacting with each other, while the composition aims at orchestrating the selected service components to fulfil the goals of the service request. The framework takes care of service requests from both experienced service developers as well as ordinary end-users who are not necessarily familiar with service concepts and platforms. Three main prototype platforms have been developed to experiment with the framework.

Towards the automation of the service composition process: case study and prototype implementations

The introduction of Semantic Web techniques in Service-oriented Architectures enables explicit representation and reasoning about semantically rich descriptions of service operations. Those techniques hold promise for the automated discovery, selection, composition and binding of services. This paper describes an approach to derive formal specifications of Web Service compositions on the basis of the interpretation of informal user requests expressed in restricted Natural Language. Our approach leverages the semantic and ontological description of a portfolio of known service operations (called the Semantic Service Catalog). Each user request is processed against a Natural Language vocabulary that includes lexical constructs designed to convey the operations' semantics, in order to recognize and extract fundamental functional requirements implied by the request, and associate them to entries in the Catalog. In addition, the request interpreter extracts from the request the overall service logic, expressed in terms of a set of modular templates describing control and data flow among the selected operations. The result is a composition specification that associates on demand each user request to a new composed service. That specification is formal and can thus be transformed in an executable flow document for a target service composition engine.

On-the-fly Construction of Web Services Compositions from Natural Language Requests

A method of managing a congestion state in a server of a communication network is provided. The server includes a buffer storing a first number of service requests and having a maximum storage capacity. The method includes: in a first time frame, receiving a further service request to be stored in the buffer and determining whether to store such a further service request in the buffer or to refuse it; and, in a second time frame, deleting a second number of service requests stored in the buffer. The step of determining whether to store the further service request in the buffer or to refuse it includes refusing the further request according to a refusal probability if the first number is lower than the maximum storage capacity.

Method of Managing a Congestion State in a Server of a Communication Network

The introduction of the Semantic Web techniques in Service-oriented Architectures enables explicit representation and reasoning about semantically rich descriptions of service operations. Those techniques hold promise for the automated discovery, selection, composition and binding of services. This paper describes an approach to derive formal specifications of Web Service compositions on the basis of the interpretation of informal user requests expressed in (controlled) Natural Language. Our approach leverages the semantic and ontological description of a portfolio of known service operations (called Semantic Service Catalog).

/pdf/specifying-web-service-compositions-on-the-basis-of-natural-r99ee0159l.pdf

Roberta Maglione

Papers

On-the-fly Construction of Web Services Compositions from Natural Language Requests

Method of Managing a Congestion State in a Server of a Communication Network

Specifying web service compositions on the basis of natural language requests

Specifying web service compositions on the basis of natural language requests