Java™ Web Services Unleashed

Under the Covers

If the preceding section left you feeling a little empty, you might appreciate actually seeing what happened when you executed HelloWorldClient. Because SOAP is an XML application, which in this case operates directly over HTTP, watching the wire isn't very difficult.

In fact, the AXIS distribution comes with a TCP monitoring tool that enables you to see the SOAP request and the appropriate SOAP response when you invoke a Web service. You should either start this tool in the background, or better yet, start in it in a separate window. On Windows, the best way to do this is to use the start command, which creates a new command prompt window that uses the same environment variables as the parent window, including the CLASSPATH ...