The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) v1.1 - was submitted to W3C on April 18, 2000. Its compatriot +
The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) v1.1 + was submitted to W3C on April 18, 2000. Its compatriot Web Services Description Language (WSDL) was submitted - on March 14, 2001. Together they attempt to unify diverse systems using a form - of XML RPC. Most major software vendors are involved to some extent. Its future + on March 14, 2001. Together they attempt to unify diverse systems using a form + of XML RPC. Most major software vendors are involved to some extent. Its future looks bright.
-SOAP fits nicely into the Client/Server topology. Given a client that needs - some functionality available on a server, SOAP can be used to specify an operation - and its arguments to be submitted by the client to the server. At it's root, - the data representing the operation is fairly basic. If the connection between - the client and server were a TCP wire, a data trace would show about a page - of XML. The XML is not complex and is often decipherable at a glance. The XML - data is specified as a SOAP Envelope. An evolving SOAP - specification defines the Envelope and its progeny. The XML data transmitted - between the client and server is not arbitrary and should conform to a referenced - WSDL instance published by the server. It's the WSDL that defines the published - services and the invocation formats required for execution. The vast majority - of SOAP documentation demonstrates SOAP over HTTP. Another mentioned transport - is SMTP. In each case, the SOAP Envelope follows the respective header as an +
SOAP fits nicely into the Client/Server topology. Given a client that needs + some functionality available on a server, SOAP can be used to specify an operation + and its arguments to be submitted by the client to the server. At its root, + the data representing the operation is fairly basic. If the connection between + the client and server were a TCP wire, a data trace would show about a page + of XML. The XML is not complex and is often decipherable at a glance. The XML + data is specified as a SOAP Envelope. An evolving SOAP + specification defines the Envelope and its progeny. The XML data transmitted + between the client and server is not arbitrary and should conform to a referenced + WSDL instance published by the server. It's the WSDL that defines the published + services and the invocation formats required for execution. The vast majority + of SOAP documentation demonstrates SOAP over HTTP. Another mentioned transport + is SMTP. In each case, the SOAP Envelope follows the respective header as an XML Payload.
Many web servers have been retrofitted to support a SOAP subsystem; e.g., Websphere, Apache, iPlanet, IIS, etc. There are a handful of SOAP toolkits. To name a few,