What are Web Services?
- It is small units of code
- It is designed to handle a limited set of tasks
- It uses XML based communicating protocols
- It is independent of operating systems
- It is independent of programming languages
- It connect people, systems and devices
XML Based Web Protocols
Web services use the standard web protocols HTTP, XML, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI.
HTTP
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the World Wide Web standard for communication over the Internet. HTTP is standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
XML
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a well known standard for storing, carrying, and exchanging data. XML is standardized by the W3C.
SOAP
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a lightweight platform and language neutral communication protocol that allows programs to communicate via standard Internet HTTP. SOAP is standardized by the W3C.
WSDL
WSDL (Web Services Description Language) is an XML-based language used to define web services and to describe how to access them. WSDL is a suggestion by Ariba, IBM and Microsoft for describing services for the W3C XML Activity on XML Protocols.
UDDI
UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) is a directory service where businesses can register and search for web services.
UDDI is a public registry, where one can publish and inquire about web services.
