WSO2 eases enterprise data availability for SOA access, consumption – Dana Gardner

A new data services offering from WSO2 allows a database administrator (DBA) or anyone with a knowledge of SQL to access enterprise data and expose it to services and operations through a Web services application-programming interface (API).

WSO2 Data Services, the latest open-source product from the Mountain View, Calif. company, helps DBAs and programmers contribute to a company’s service-oriented architecture (SOA) by creating WS-* style Web services and REST-style Web resources based on enterprise data. [Disclosure: WSO2 is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

Users can enter queries and map them into services and operations. Once the query or stored procedure has been exposed as a service, it can be accessed across the network as a service or Web resource.

In its initial release, the application supports access to data stored in relational databases such as Oracle, MySQL and IBM DB2, as well as the comma-separated values (CSV) file format, and Excel spreadsheets. It allows users to authenticate, encrypt and sign services using the WS-Security and HTTP security standards. In addition, support for the WS-ReliableMessaging standard provides enterprise-level reliability.

Current Analysis’s Brad Shimmin has some good points on the release (log in required).

• Data aggregation, which allows administrators to create services that aggregate data from multiple data sources.
• Wizards for easy configuration.
• XML configuration file format.
• A “try-it” tool that lets users test the data services they have created within the Data Services console.
• Dual REST and WS-* support. REST resources access data using a unique URL for each record; WS-* services use typical Web service access to expose data.
• Built-in caching to eliminate the system overhead of repeatedly returning the same XML response to clients.

The new data services product will be available for download beginning today from the WSO2 Web site. As an open-source product there are no licensing or subscription fees, although service and support options are available.