Real World XML Web Services: For VB and VB .NET Developers

10.2. Extending Web Service Request Processing

If you take another look at the request processing diagram in Figure 10.1, you'll notice dashed lines indicating additional processing between the HttpHandlers and your Web service class. In fact, you can perform your own custom request processing by creating classes that inherit System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapExtension and inserting them along the request processing path between the HttpHandler and your Web service. Such classes, called SOAP extensions, allow you to perform pre- and post-processing by operating directly on the SOAP request/response message at various stages during request/response processing. Their ability to process SOAP messages outside of your Web service implementation makes ...