The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards yesterday announced that its members have created the Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WSBPEL) technical committee.

The committee will work on the Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS) 1.1, which IBM, Microsoft, BEA Systems Corp and SAP AG will formally submit on May 16.

In a surprise move Oracle Corp, an outspoken critic of the process adopted by Microsoft and IBM in creating and publishing BPEL4WS, has joined the WSBPEL technical committee. Oracle joins NEC Corp, Novell Inc and Sybase Inc among others.

Oracle’s decision to join follows an apparent bout of back-room politics, which could have seen IBM join a rival World Wide Web (W3C) web services choreography effort backed by Sun Microsystems Inc.

A source connected with the W3C, who wished to remain anonymous, told ComputerWire that IBM approached Oracle as a potential sponsor, to take BPEL4WS to OASIS. Oracle agreed, but in return sought – and originally received – IBM’s agreement to join its own representatives involved in the W3C’s work around WS-Choreography.

IBM is said to have agreed in attempt to head-off a potential World War III over choreography.

However, the company subsequently retracted its decision to join the W3C effort during a meeting of company representatives that also included Microsoft.

During that meeting, Microsoft’s representative is said to have claimed that his company would not participate under any circumstances in the W3C forum or charter. The source observed that IBM seemed to fold under pressure from Microsoft.

IBM director of dynamic e-business Karla Norsworthy yesterday said Oracle, along with Sun, had indeed been approached to participate as BPE4WS co-sponsors and technical committee members. However she denied IBM agreed to reciprocate, by joining WS-Choreography.

Norsworthy also denied IBM had succumbed to any pressure not to join the W3C’s work. IBM is an independent company, she said. We have put our priorities on BPEL. A spokesperson for Microsoft said the company would not comment on rumors or speculation.

Source: Computerwire