WSO2 Tungsten
WSO2 Tungsten 1.0 has been released by WSO2 (well okay, duh). It's an open-source ESB-like thing that bundles an impressive range of WS-* standards from Apache (of which WSO2 are contributors) as well as AXIS2 tools, but that's about it. Samples are unimpressive (java Stocktrader client) - this was stereotypical example around 2001 and their ilk.
When I first heard of Apache Synapse what seems like years ago, I was kind of interested. The JBI spec was just about to come out with the 1.0 version. JBI is good for tool / runtime vendors like Cape Clear (where I work) cos it provides a standard platform for developing the bits and pieces of an ESB/Web Services stack - much like Eclipse does and J2EE patently didn't. Pity JBI isn't quite there, but I have faith that it will get there once JAX-WS and JBI can align themselves so they play nicely together (hurry up and align the Normalized Message format!). What JBI patently doesn't do is say anything about the non-Java world. Sure you can bundle other service languages like BPEL inside Service Engines, but that's so long as they are implemented in Java. Nor does it say anything beyond a single server (it's a single host model). This is why SCA (Service Component Assembly) is so much more interesting.
Anyway initially the teasingly scant information about Apache Synapse published when it was first announced eons ago did initially hold out some hope of producing a open-source Web Services Stack at the O.S. platform level (if you closed your eyes and squinted real hard). Imagine, a standard Web Services stack on say a Linux platform, where WS-Reliability and WS-Security (cos they are the useful WS-* at the moment) as well as standard WS-Addressing compatible transports (Email, JMS, etc, etc) were available for any interested component in any language to register with and use. Imagine being able to register a component with a platform level version of a JBI-style NMR, via of course Web Services. You could then truly have an interesting platform-level stack, rather than a Java-only WS stack. Clearly my imagination got the better of me. Anyway JBI came out, then ServiceMix and everyone forgot about WSO2/Apache Synapse.
So now it's back and well - it's not very exciting at all. Should we care? No. It's way too basic. The WS-* stack has quickly become a commodity and this is just illustrates why the game has moved out of the plumbing. That apache is producing good WS-* implementations is good news for everyone. That WSO2 Tungsten does little more than bundle them together is uninteresting.
posted by Fergal @ 9:16 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Ahumm..
Unfortunately it seems that you have not really understood what Tungsten is.
Tungsten is a platform for the Web services, true that it plays a similar role to Axis and Axis2, except for the fact
that it is bundled with a number of tools and other gadgets that makes it a hell of a lot of easier to
handle the beast. If you are looking into an OS level WS* Stack, have a look at the Axis2 C project (the
complementary Axis2 stack in C). It's on the move and getting there fast!
What I want to stress is the fact that Tungsten is not in the same level as Synapse. Synapse builds on Axis2 and comes
in the same level as an ESB, not in the level of Axis2. Synapse is not a WS * framework that competes with Axis2.
Also I don't agree with the saying that Tungsten is not interesting. We've seen over the years that overly complex enterpise
level frameworks not living up to their expectations. Tungsten which is not bound to any
special framework (and ofcourse simple and easy to use) will be one of the widely used WS platforms in
the future!
Maybe I am confused. I realise Synapse and Tungsten are different things. I also know they are different to Axis/2.
I was trying to comment that WS02 originally came out some time ago with a Synapse announcement, which I was quite interested in (I'm going to find out the current status as ApacheCon Dublin this month). Part of my initial interest was in the idea of a cross-language platform-level ESB/Router - something like what the Apache Portable Runtime is doing by languages like PHP, Perl by providing generic support for databases. Something where I could easily develop web-services in Perl or PHP and allow them to register with each other and ensure all the nice WS-RM and WS-Security can interoperate together. Anyway Synapse didn't turn out to be it. You say Axis2/C could maybe fill this niche - thanks I'll take a look.
My bias is towards ESB's, which is probably why I view everything in ESB terms. True Tungsten is easier to use than mucking about with Axis2 and it's modules. But what I was getting at is from my point of view, this is making a commodity item easier to use. Useful sure, interesting? Not to me.
Hi,
if you are interested in doing web services over PHP then the Axis2 C guys have completed their PHP integration. You would find that quite interesting :)
Anyway a couple of synapse guys (and a few Axis2 guys) are going to turn up in Apachecon EU at Dublin.
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