A Survey of Web Services Provision

Motivating Example

To illustrate Web services provision and provide application requirements for the research issues that we focus on in this survey, we describe here a classic scenario – travel agency – in which a customer makes a plan for his trip through a travel agent.

Suppose Bob wants to plan a trip with his family to celebrate his birthday. At first, he and his family come to an agreement that the scenic spot should be close to mountains and not be too hot, and they can go there directly by plane. Then, Bob sends a travel agent these requirements based on which candidate scenic spots can be searched. After finding these scenic spots, the agent contacts a flight company to see whether enough tickets are available. If not, it notifies Bob the unfortunate result; otherwise, it tells Bob to select and confirm one scenic spot and corresponding flight tickets. As soon as Bob acknowledges the initial plan, the agent starts to confirm the expected flight. After that, it reserves hotel rooms nearby and tickets for the scenic spot. Finally, Bob is informed of the plan details including flight tickets, scenic spot tickets, and hotel rooms.