XML Technologies as Services

NetKernel's URI addressing architecture provides the foundation for the NetKernel Standard Edition XML Application Server. Its high-level design pattern is to encapsulate standard XML technologies as URI addressable services exposed on the public interfaces of a set of library modules.

Some advantages of making the standard XML technologies available as services are:

• Inherit the NetKernel URI infrastructure - the standard XML technologies assume that there is an implicit URI infrastructure and resolution mechanism (eg xsl:include, Xinclude, Xquery doc() function etc etc). NetKernel presents a managed URI address space and a URI request resolver to all XML technologies - so, for example, another NetKernel XML service can be invoked from inside an Xquery by using its active: URI.
• Exception Handling. Some standard XML technologies may have poor/patchy error handling. As a service on NetKernel they acquire a full exception handling infrastructure.
• Concurrency / Thread Safety - XML libraries have patchy thread safety. The NetKernel scheduler guarantees thread safe access to an Accessor - Accessors must declare that they are thread-safe before they will be concurrently scheduled.
• Cacheability - the results of a URI service request are always cacheable.

NetKernel Standard Edition comes with a growing set of more than 70 services. New services are constantly being added and may be installed using the module install wizard.