Reckoner -- Web Service -- service Oriented architecture

Reckoner Web Service is truly an Enterprise application. Enterprise application is defined as one that makes itself available to the whole Enterprise. All stand-alone computer applications and other web services can access the Reckoner Analysis Engine, for instance, if you have Closing Docs and Funding applications they can also access the same rules provided by the Reckoner Analysis Engine.

A web service is programmable application logic that is accessible using standard Internet protocols like the one used by your Internet browser, namely HTTP. It enables an application to invoke remote methods exposed by a Web Service server.

Think of a Web Service as any other service. With any service, you have a consumer, provider and the service itself. Take for instance house painting. You have homeowner, a painter and wall painting. For the Reckoner Web Service the consumer is, for instance, the Closing Docs Application, the provider is Reckoner server and the service is Predatory Loan Analysis.

Let’s look at the concept of a remote service, i.e., a web service. How do we request a service? We need a way to communicate. Reckoner uses the SOAP protocol. A protocol, in this sense, defines the ‘language’ of communication.

Loosely, you can think of a SOAP message as a postal letter you send through the mail. The letter has an envelope, a message and a means for delivery. One message from the consumer (Closing Docs) is sent to the provider (Reckoner Web Service) requesting service. The provider (Reckoner Web Service) receives the request and sends back a response, the Predatory Loan Analysis results.

Web Services can only be accessed by other applications and other web services. The powerful feature of Web Services is that any application can access the services. For instance, Microsoft applications like Excel, applications written in non-Java languages like Visual Basic and even COBOL can access a Web Service.

Service-oriented architecture is essentially a collection of services. These services communicate with each other. The communication can involve either simple data passing or it could involve two or more services coordinating some activity. Some means of connecting services to each other is needed. That is the role played by web services. LooK!'s Reckoner Web Service is a plugin service to any service oriented achitecture.