Method and system for service contract discovery

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising processor executable codes, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:

code for accessing at least one application server, the at least one application server storing at least a first service, the first service being characterized by a first set of metadata, the first set of metadata including a plurality of fields;

code for processing the first set of metadata;

code for obtaining at least a first identification from the first set of metadata;

code for accessing a metadata database, the metadata database being configured to store metadata information associated with services;

code for searching the metadata database for the first service using at least the first identification;

code for in response to the first service not being found in the database, generating handling information for the first service, wherein the handling information includes identification and processing information for one or more patterns associated with the first service; and

code storing the first set of metadata in the metadata database in a first format and the handling information.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

code for processing a service request from a computer;

code for locating the first service; and

code for providing the first service to the computer.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

code for processing the service request from a terminal;

code for processing the service request;

code for looking up the metadata database in response to the service request; and

code for defining a service contract for the first service using the first set of metadata stored in the metadata database.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising:

code for obtaining a second set of metadata from the metadata database; and

code for providing a second service with the second set of metadata.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the metadata database is stored on a metadata database repository server.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising code for determining a license associated with the first application.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 further comprising code for establishing a communication link between the application server and a computer.

8. A system for providing services, the system comprising:

a communication network;

a first computer connected to the communication network, the first computer being adapted to send a first service request;

a metadata database for storing metadata information associated with services;

a first application server, the first application server storing at least a first service, the first service being characterized by a first set of metadata, the first set of metadata including a plurality of fields;

a service management module, the service management module being adapted to receive the first service request from the first computer via the communication network;

wherein:

the service management module processes the first service request;

the service management module locates the first service in response to the first service request;

the service management module obtains the first set of metadata from the first application server;

the service management module generates handling information for the first service, wherein the handling information includes identification and processing information for one or more patterns associated with the first service;

the service management module processes the first set of metadata;

the service management module accesses the metadata database to determine if the metadata database includes information associated with the first set of data; and

the metadata database generates and stores information associated with the first set of data if the metadata database does not include information associated with the first set of data.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a plurality of application servers connected to the service management module through the communication network.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the metadata database is stored in a service metadata repository server.

11. The system of claim 8 further comprising a service monitoring module configured to monitor service requests.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the service management module comprises a Tuxedo™ server.

13. The system of claim 8 is associated with a service-oriented architecture.

14. A method for operating providing one or more services in a network environment, the method comprising:

providing a communication network;

providing a service management module;

providing a first server, the first server comprising a first service, the first service being characterized by a first set of metadata, the first set of metadata including a plurality of fields;

providing a metadata database for storing metadata information associated with services;

accessing the first set of metadata stored at the first server by the service management module;

accessing the metadata database to determine if the metadata database includes information associated with the first set of data;

in response to the first service not being found in the database, generating handling information for the first service, wherein the handling information includes identification and processing information for one or more patterns associated with the first service; and

generating and storing the information associated with the first set of metadata if the metadata database does not include information associated with the first set of data.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising scheduling a scanning for services.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising storing the information associated with the first set of metadata in a table format.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising summarizing the first set of data to generate the information associated with the first set of metadata.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising forward parameters from the information associated with the first set of metadata to a client computer.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the information associated with the first set of metadata comprises a service contract pattern.