Toward an object-oriented framework for defining services in future intelligent networks

The authors propose that an environment for defining services must be domain-specific (as opposed to a general-purpose programming environment). The cornerstone of such an environment is an explicit model of the network-services domain. This domain model captures the object universe of both the network capabilities and the user environment (e.g., line, call, customer), within which services are defined. A framework for object-oriented conceptual modeling that applies knowledge representation techniques from artificial intelligence is proposed as the basis. In this framework, service behavior is defined in terms of the operations associated with the domain model objects. This can accommodate basic service elements (BSEs) mandated by open network architecture (ONA) plans. Further, service definitions themselves are treated as reusable objects and organized in a taxonomic hierarchy. The goal is to define new services via extensive reuse that incorporates existing, well-tested service definitions.<<ETX>>