In
information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
, a service description is a description of a
service that explains how the service can be used by clients. The exact meaning of the term depends on context.
In IT service management
In
IT service management, a service is something provided by people to other people.
Certain frameworks to describe IT service management use the term service description; for instance, it may be a standard part of a
service level agreement
A service-level agreement (SLA) is an agreement between a service provider and a customer. Particular aspects of the service – quality, availability, responsibilities – are agreed between the service provider and the service user.
T ...
.
[
]
In software systems
In software systems with a
service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is an architectural style that focuses on discrete services instead of a monolithic design. SOA is a good choice for system integration. By consequence, it is also applied in the field ...
, certain parts of the software act as services that other parts of the software invoke by sending a request and receiving a response in return. Many different ways of doing this have been developed over time; some have developed into standards, such as
CORBA and
SOAP
Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
. In this context, a service description describes the structure of the request and of the response. The exact way to do this depends on the standard being used. Examples:
*
*
*
*
*
References
{{sia
Web service specifications