In a dynamic industry like software, trends change with every new invention. From the results of this contest, we can try to identify some emerging patterns in the software industry.

1. Open source software
   With two of the five finalists being open source products, we can say that there is a wide commercial acceptance of open source products. As open source software is competing professionally with commercial products, the advantage of having the source code looks more lucrative. For example, in case of any problem in Axis, the developer can take a look into the source code and is free to modify it as per the business needs.
2. Free and simple enabling tools
   A comprehensive, professional suite like BEA Weblogic did not feature among the finalists of this contest in which Java WSDP was judged the best Web services software of the year. This probably indicates that developers prefer to have free and simple enabling tools than high end, complex products that control all aspects of application development process.
3. Focus on Java / J2EE
   In this contest, as we see the finalists in all the various categories, there is a clear focus on Java/ J2EE . Software that is meant for Java developers caters to one of the largest developer communities.

Conclusion

The technology for Web services is still maturing. Standards and implementations are evolving constantly to suit the dynamic needs of the users. With an increasing commercial focus as well as a very active open source developer community in place, a wide range of new products is coming up in every area of Web services.

The selections for the Web Service of the Year 2005 contest indicate some of the best products in the different areas of Web services among the abundance of utilities available today. This will guide the developer to find which Web services software will add the best value to a particular application.

About the Author

Sujata De is a Senior Software Engineer for Telecom and Mobile Solutions Lab, Hewlett-Packard, Bangalore. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, followed by a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. She has around four years of industry experience involving quality Web services, LDAP, UDDI, and J2EE technologies and is currently involved in developing access controllers for Web services. She can be reached at sujata.de@hp.com.

Article courtesy of Developer.com