eprintid: 1563
rev_number: 8
eprint_status: archive
userid: 31
dir: disk0/00/00/15/63
datestamp: 2013-05-02 13:30:10
lastmod: 2013-05-02 13:30:10
status_changed: 2013-05-02 13:30:10
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Lapadula, Alessandro
creators_name: Pugliese, Rosario
creators_name: Tiezzi, Francesco
creators_id: 
creators_id: 
creators_id: francesco.tiezzi@imtlucca.it
title: Using formal methods to develop WS-BPEL applications
ispublished: pub
subjects: QA75
divisions: CSA
full_text_status: public
keywords: Service-oriented architectures, Web services, Formal methods, WS-BPEL, Operational semantics, Compilers
abstract: In recent years, WS-BPEL has become a de facto standard language for orchestration of Web Services. However, there are still some well-known difficulties that make programming
in WS-BPEL a tricky task. In this paper, we firstly point out major loose points of the WS-BPEL specification by means of many examples, some of which are also exploited
to test and compare the behaviour of three of the most known freely available WS-BPEL engines. We show that, as a matter of fact, these engines implement different
semantics, which undermines portability of WS-BPEL programs over different platforms. Then we introduce Blite, a prototypical orchestration language equipped with a formal
operational semantics, which is closely inspired by, but simpler than, WS-BPEL. Indeed, Blite is designed around some of WS-BPEL distinctive features like partner links, process termination, message correlation, long-running business transactions and compensation handlers. Finally, we present BliteC, a software tool supporting a rapid and easy development of WS-BPEL applications via translation of service orchestrations written in Blite into executable WS-BPEL programs. We illustrate our approach by means of a running example borrowed from the official specification of WS-BPEL.
date: 2012
date_type: published
publication: Science of Computer Programming
volume: 77
number: 3
publisher: Elsevier
pagerange: 189-213
id_number: 10.1016/j.scico.2011.03.002
refereed: TRUE
issn: 0167-6423
official_url: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167642311000694
projects: IThis work has been partially supported by the EU project SENSORIA IST-2005-016004
citation:   Lapadula, Alessandro and Pugliese, Rosario and Tiezzi, Francesco  Using formal methods to develop WS-BPEL applications.  Science of Computer Programming, 77 (3).  pp. 189-213.  ISSN 0167-6423      (2012)  
document_url: http://eprints.imtlucca.it/1563/1/LPT_scico.pdf