Raise your hand if you've heard of Web services. Drop your hand if you're not sure what they are. Drop your hand if you've never seen one. The two of you with your hands still in the air might wonder if the computer industry hype has been very effective. Depending on whom you talk to, Web services are either the most important technology since the Web or a minor improvement in enterprise application integration. Seldom has a technology category been so heavily hyped--and dissed--before its significant products or projects have been widely deployed. It seems like Web services are already hitting the third stage of the four-stage technology life cycle: Hype, disillusionment, reality, and decline. That is, they're close to reality.

For this story on Web services, we've pulled together an unstinting review of the pluses and problems of this emerging technology. Whether you're a corporate enterprise, a small business, or an end-user, you're going to encounter Web services sooner or later. It may be a big opportunity. It will probably cost you money. It might even change the nature of computing. In any case, Web services are worth a closer look.

What a concept

Compared to many other major developments in computing, such as the personal computer or the Internet, the nature of Web services is difficult to pin down. That's why almost everybody takes a stab at defining it, and almost none of the definitions are the same. Maybe that's a clu...

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