 - SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a way for a program running in one kind of operating system (such as Windows 2000) to communicate with a progam in the same or another kind of an operating system (such as Linux) by using the World Wide Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)and its Extensible Markup Language (XML) as the mechanisms for information exchange. Since Web protocols are installed and available for use by all major operating system platforms, HTTP and XML provide an already at-hand solution to the problem of how programs running under different operating systems in a network can communicate with each other. SOAP specifies exactly how to encode an HTTP header and an XML file so that a program in one computer can call a program in another computer and pass it information. It also specifies how the called program can return a response.
SOAP was developed by Microsoft, DevelopMentor, and Userland Software and has been proposed as a standard interface to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It is somewhat similar to the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP), a protocol that is part of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Sun Microsystems' Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is a similar client/server interprogram protocol between programs written in Java.
An advantage of SOAP is that program calls are much more likely to get through firewall servers that screen out requests other than those for known applications (through the designated port mechanism). Since HTTP requests are usually allowed through firewalls, programs using SOAP to communicate can be sure that they can communicate with programs anywhere.
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Getting started with SOAP |
| To explore how SOAP is used in the enterprise, here are some additional resources: |
| SOAP Tutorial: SOAP has gained status as a common messaging protocol in Web services and SOA projects. This SOAP tutorial provides insight as to what SOAP standard is and when to use it. SOAP basics, how it compares to REST, SOAP attachments and how SOAP functions with WSDL will be covered. |
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Learn more about SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) |
| Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) Tutorial: This SOAP tutorial provides insight in SOAP basics, how it compares to REST, SOAP attachments and how SOAP functions with WSDL will be covered. |
| Application servers processing SOAP requests: When an application server gets a SOAP request, what namespaces/schemas does it use to parse it? Does it rely on SOAP message data or WSDL? |
| SOAP and WSDL work together: How do you use SOAP to communicate with WSDL? (i.e web services written in java) |
| REST vs. SOAP: What are your thoughts on the whole REST vs. SOAP debate? |
| Mule architect sees REST with Atom rising, UDDI fading: Dan Diephouse, the creator of XFire and software architect at MuleSource Inc., discusses the advantages in using REST and the Atom Publishing Protocol. |
| Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) Tutorial: This SOAP tutorial provides insight in SOAP basics, how it compares to REST, SOAP attachments and how SOAP functions with WSDL will be covered. |
| Chapter of the week: Security and Ajax: This chapter, excerpted from Ajax in Action, discusses security-related concerns that have particular implications for Ajax. |
| Chapter of the week: XML Web services: This chapter, excerpted from Core C# and .NET, takes a look at the pluses and minues of implementing and consuming Web services in a .NET environment. |
| Chapter of the week: Introduction to Web services technologies: This chapter, excerpted from Service-Oriented Architecture: A Field Guide to Integrating XML and Web Services, focuses on the standards that make up the Web services platform and how Web ... |
| Chapter of the week: Advanced Messaging, Metadata and Security: This chapter, excerpted from Service-Oriented Architecture: Concepts, Technology, and Design, focuses on the various WS-* extensions that govern specific areas of the SOAP messaging framework. ... |
| CONTRIBUTORS: |
Duraisamy Sivaram |
| LAST UPDATED: |
13 Nov 2008
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