SYSTEMS, METHODS AND COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR IMPLEMENTING AND ACCESSING WEB SERVICES

A method of responding to a request from a client to a Web service is disclosed. The method includes the steps of: a) processing the request to identify a resource file and a requested action, wherein the request is encoded in one of a plurality of protocols; b) accessing the resource file which includes data describing the Web service; c) processing the request using at least a portion of the data to produce a response; and d) returning a response to the client. A computer system is also disclosed. The computer system includes a client adapted to send a request to a Web service, and a middleware which receives the request from the client. The computer system also includes a resource file accessible to the middleware. The resource file includes data describing the Web service. The middleware identifies the resource file and requested action from the request, which is encoded in one of a plurality of protocols.