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WSO2 is unusual in its approach to creating services by using JavaScript. While JavaScript is widely understood by Web application developers, it's not typically viewed by corporate IT folks as a way to create reusable services, and I wonder if Java might be a better choice here, especially considering the number of third-party Java libraries that can be brought to bear in creating the server side of the mashup. Parsing XML in JavaScript is usually a difficult and tedious task, but the inclusion of Mozilla's E4X (ECMAScript for XML) makes parsing XML simpler. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) would be a good alternative communication mechanism, and hopefully future versions will include the option of returning JSON objects as well.

The Bottom Line WSO2 Mashup Server 1.0 WSO2, wso2.com Good  7.2 criteria score weight Capability 7 30% Ease of development 8 30% Documentation 5 15% Performance 7 15% Value 9 10% Cost: Free under Apache License 2.0. Support options at $2,000 per server per year for Silver, $4,000 per server per year for Gold, and $8,000 per server per year for Platinum. Platforms: Server: Any platform that supports Java 1.5. Administration UI: Firefox and IE 6 or 7. Bottom Line: WSO2 Mashup Server will appeal to the developer who needs to put together a composite application for a small to medium-size enterprise and doesn't require much in the way of enterprise-class capabilities. It will also appeal to communities of developers operating around social and market niches. Mashup Server is free and open source, covers essential Web data types, and developers will find it easy to use. It lacks support for data sources such as JMS and SQL, as well as large-scale features including versioning and access controls. About our Reviews and Scoring Methodology

Hosted Objects are objects hosted within the WSO2 Mashup Server that provide access to remote data sources. These objects are written in Java, and provide access to APP (Atom Publishing Protocol) resources, RSS feeds, e-mail, and instant messaging services (although only for sending messages), among others. One of the more useful if more complicated hosted objects is the "scraper" object, which makes use of Web-Harvest to screen scrape Web pages that do not provide Web services. From the enterprise standpoint, significant omissions are the lack of JMS and SQL hosted objects.

Creating the client side of the mashup is straightforward. Using the generated JavaScript stubs, you simply need to include them in the Web page that's consuming the service.

Mashup central
You manage all these services through the management console (supported only on Firefox 1.5 and 2, and IE 6 and 7), where services and mashups can be searched, assigned "usefulness" ratings by users and developers, downloaded, and shared. The service inspector lets you view and download service descriptions, WSDL, and other artifacts useful to both the humans and the machines who will use the mashup service.

The management console, while providing all the necessary tools for a social network of developers to interact to build and share mashups, lacks many of the features that an enterprise deployment would need. Version control, access control, service integrity, and other basic elements required for an enterprise deployment are missing in this version.

Another con is the inability to deploy in a Java application server. It would be nice to be able to drop a WAR file into your favorite J2EE server, and the requirement to run the mashup services within the custom WSO2 WSAS server might be a barrier to uptake in many organizations.

WSO2 Mashup Server enters a crowded market, with many more mature competitors. Aimed at bringing together networks of developers, this product could foster critical mass among some communities. see WSO2's community portal, Mooshup.com, for an example of the possibilities. For the enterprise, though, uses are currently limited by the lack of deployment options and services.