Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services

SOAP

Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) defines the Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based message format that Web service-enabled applications use to communicate and interoperate with each other over the Web. The heterogeneous environment of the Web demands that applications support a common data encoding protocol and message format. SOAP is a standard for encoding messages in XML that invoke functions in other applications. It is analogous to Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) used in many technologies, such as DCOM and CORBA, but eliminates some of the complexities of using these interfaces. SOAP enables applications to call functions from other applications, running on any hardware platform regardless of operating system or programming language ...