Hints from A Molecular Analogy

Abstract

The first challenge faced inWeb service mining is the problem of combinatorial explosion, which seems inevitable without specific queries to aid in the search process. Nature, however, has already provided us with ample examples on how it solves the problem of composition from bottom up. Molecular composition is in many ways similar to Web service composition. Like a composite service composed of component services, a molecule is formed from constituent atoms and/or simpler molecules. Certain molecules in the natural world are formed, because the reaction among constituent components under the surrounding condition happens to be more favorable for them to arise. The establishment of an analogy between the chemical world and the Web service world can yield important clues for efficient mining strategies.