Grid Computing vs. Web Services vs. Semantic Web

Grid computing views computing, storage, data set, expensive scientific instruments and so on as utilities to be delivered over the Internet seamlessly, transparently, and dynamically as and when needed by the virtualization of these resources [1].

Applications: Scientific computation and collaboration for large scale problems. Examples:

Challenges: query data, visualization, routing, remote control, network management issues

Associated Buzz Words: virtual organization

The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI open standards over an Internet protocol backbone. XML is used to tag the data, SOAP is used to transfer the data, WSDL is used for describing the services available and UDDI is used for listing what services are available.

Application: Business Processes Integration, e.g. supply chain management

Challenges: web services discovery, composition,

Associated Buzz Words: virtual enterprise, workflow

Semantic Web, by W3C, “… an extension of the current Web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation. It is the idea of having data on the Web defined and linked in a way that it can be used for more effective discovery, automation, integration and reuse across various application..

Applications: portals, semantic enhanced query,

Challenges: machine understandability

[1] Foster, I. and Kesselman, C., The Grid: Blueprint for a New Computing Infrastructure, Morgan Kaufmann, 1999.