View the Results
For a detailed summary of the results of OWS-4, please download the OWS-4 Testbed Summary Document (07-037r4). To view a video or to click through an interactive demonstration of OWS-4 results please visit the OWS-4 Demonstration page .
Overview
The OGC Web Services, Phase 4 (OWS-4) Testbed was an initiative of OGC's Interoperability Program to collaboratively extend and demonstrate OGC's baseline for geospatial interoperability. The main development of OWS-4 was conducted from June to December 2006 with the following outcomes:
- 59 Components were implemented and deployed in interoperability testing. Components were developed in 7 threads:
- Each of these threads of activity extended or refined a portion of the OGC Standards Baseline. OWS-4 Participants conducted Technology Integration Experiments (TIEs) of the components, where each TIE involved components developed independently by at least two organizations.
- 36 Interoperability Program Reports (IPRs) were written. The OWS-4 IPRs were either technical specifications or reports regarding testing and analysis. The OWS-4 IPRs have been posted to the OGC Specification Program Pending Documents list for consideration by OGC members in the consensus process. Most of these will result in documents that will be posted for public review (see OGC Requests) prior to the formal adoption of some of them as OGC standards.
- 2 Major Demonstrations and several other demonstrations were performed. Demonstrations of the integrated capabilities of the OWS-4 components were performed using real-world scenarios. The demonstrations and a video recap of the OWS-4 results have been released as multi-media products on DVD media and via the Web. The on-line OWS-4 demonstration video can be seen at http://www.opengeospatial.org/pub/www/ows4/index.html. For copies of the DVD, contact Sam Bacharach, Executive Director Outreach Program, OGC, Phone: +1 703-707-0261 sbacharach@opengeospatial.org
- 11 Sponsoring organizations who responded to a January 2006 Call for Sponsors defined the requirements for OWS-4.
- 72 Organizations who responded to an April 2006 Request for Quotations (RFQ) and Call for Participation (CFP) participated in some aspect of OWS-4. Roles for organizations in OWS-4 included sponsors, participants and architects. Additionally there were many organizations that were observers of the initiative.
Future Work
The 2007 follow-on activity to OWS-4 is OWS-5.
About the OGC Interoperability Program
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) conducts the Interoperability Program (IP) as a global, hands-on and collaborative prototyping program for rapid development of proven candidate specifications for consideration for consensus adoption and public release by the OGC Specification Program. In OGC's interoperability initiatives, international technology developers and providers team together to solve specific geo-processing interoperability problems posed by the initiative's sponsoring organizations. OGC IP initiatives include test beds, pilot projects, interoperability experiments, and interoperability support services - all designed to encourage rapid development, testing, validation and adoption of open, consensus-based standards specifications.