Understanding Web Services: XML, WSDL, SOAP, and UDDI
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Overview
Web services enable the new generation of Internet-based applications. These services support application-to-application Internet communication—that is, applications at different network locations can be integrated to function as if they were part of a single, large software system. Examples of applications made possible by Web services include automated business transactions and direct (nonbrowser) desktop and handheld device access to reservations, stock trading, and order-tracking systems.Several key standards have emerged that together form the foundation for Web services:
This book introduces the main ideas and concepts behind core and extended Web services' technologies and provides developers with a primer for each of the major technologies that have emerged in this space. In addition, Understanding Web Services summarizes the major architectural approaches to Web services, examines the role of Web services within the .NET and J2EE communities, and provides information about major product offerings from BEA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IONA, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and others.
Key topics include:
- How WSDL maps services onto communication protocols and transports
- WSDL support for RPC-oriented and document-oriented interactions
- SOAP's required and optional elements
- Message processing and the role of intermediaries in SOAP
- UDDI data formats and APIs
- How eb
With Understanding Web Services, you will be well informed and well positioned to participate in this vast, emerging marketplace.
Synopsis
Web services enable the new generation of Internet-based applications. These services support application-to-application Internet communication—that is, applications at different network locations can be integrated to function as if they were part of a single, large software system. Examples of applications made possible by Web services include automated business transactions and direct (nonbrowser) desktop and handheld device access to reservations, stock trading, and order-tracking systems.
Several key standards have emerged that together form the foundation for Web services:
This book introduces the main ideas and concepts behind core and extended Web services' technologies and provides developers with a primer for each of the major technologies that have emerged in this space. In addition, Understanding Web Services summarizes the major architectural approaches to Web services, examines the role of Web services within the .NET and J2EE communities, and provides information about major product offerings from BEA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IONA, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, and others.
Key topics include:
- How WSDL maps services onto communication protocols and transports
- WSDL support for RPC-oriented and document-oriented interactions
- SOAP's required and optional elements
- Message processing and the role of intermediaries in SOAP
- UDDI data formats and APIs
- How eb
With Understanding Web Services, you will be well informed and well positioned to participate in this vast, emerging marketplace.
Booknews
Written for developers, this book introduces the major ideas behind core and extended Web services' technologies and serves as a primer covering the prominent emerging technologies in this area. It summarizes the major architectural approaches to Web services, examines the role of Web services within the .NET and J2EE communities, and describes the products of major companies. Newcomer is a technical officer with a company providing e-business platforms. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewFew people understand web services and their implications as thoroughly as Eric Newcomer. Newcomer’s been there since the beginning. He helped to define SOAP, and now leads the web services efforts for IONA Technologies, a firm with unparalleled knowledge about distributed computing infrastructure. In this book, Newcomer offers an invaluable platform-independent view of web services technologies, standards, applications, and architecture.
Newcomer begins by outlining how web services compare with previous technologies, how key web services technologies fit together, and the diverse views of web services held by leading vendors. He explains how XML serves as a foundation for web services, concisely explaining the roles of schema, namespaces, DOM and SAX, and XSLT transformations, and demonstrating how XML liberates data types and structures from individual programming languages and vendor restrictions.
Next, he drills down into each of the three core technologies that have been layered onto XML to make web services development viable.
First comes WSDL, which establishes a common format for describing and publishing web service information. Both parties need copies of the same WSDL file, but once they do, it acts as a “secret decoder ring” for encoding and decoding messages regardless of whether you’re communicating with COM, EJB, JMS, CORBA, or whatever else.
Next, he moves to SOAP, which “accomplishes arguably the most important aspect of web services, getting the data from one place to another over the network.” He covers SOAP’s interaction patterns, messages and message processing, the components of SOAP messages, forthcoming changes in SOAP 1.2, and even “de facto” enhancements like SOAP Attachments.
You’ll learn how UDDI provides a powerful and flexible framework for registering and discovering business information across the Internet and behind your firewall. You’ll especially appreciate this chapter’s step-by-step usage scenario, and Newcomer’s willingness to discuss UDDI’s current limitations.
A bonus that isn’t included in the subtitle: a full chapter on ebXML, which provides a robust, secure, relatively low-cost communications environment for business transactions, and increasingly complements existing web services standards rather than seeking to replace them.
Newcomer concludes with a look at web services architecture and security, including coverage of new initiatives like the Security Assertions Markup Language (SAML), XML Key Management Specification (SKMS), and Microsoft’s WS-License and WS-Security proposals.
Whether you’re a decision maker or developer, Understanding Web Services gives you the essence of web services -- without the nonsense. (Bill Camarda)
Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks For Dummies®, Second Edition.
Written for developers, this book introduces the major ideas behind core and extended Web services' technologies and serves as a primer covering the prominent emerging technologies in this area. It summarizes the major architectural approaches to Web services, examines the role of Web services within the .NET and J2EE communities, and describes the products of major companies. Newcomer is a technical officer with a company providing e-business platforms. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)