Patent ID: 7801999

Claim:
At a computing device in a distributed system that utilizes a Network Protocol Description Language (NPDL) that typically binds messages of a contract to a single binding mechanism, a method of extending the Network Protocol Description Language by enabling individual messages of the contract to be bound to a plurality of different binding mechanisms in order to exploit their unique characteristics, the method comprising acts of: accessing a NPDL data structure that comprises a contract that outlines at least one message exchange pattern and at least one binding that comprises a plurality of binding mechanisms, each of which describe one or more of a specific data format or a specific transport to use in exchanging messages with a service; selecting a first binding mechanism from the plurality of binding mechanisms for exchanging a first message of the at least one message exchange pattern between endpoints within a distributed system, wherein one of the endpoints includes the service; transferring the first message to at least one of the endpoints in the distributed system in accordance with the first binding mechanism and the at least one message exchange pattern; selecting a second binding mechanism from the plurality of binding mechanisms for exchanging a second message of the at least one message exchange pattern between the endpoints, the second binding mechanism being different from the first binding mechanism; and transferring the second message to at least one of the endpoints in the distributed system in accordance with the second binding mechanism and the at least one message exchange pattern.