What is web service?

Jan 30, 2012    Janaki Mahapatra, Language

What are Web Services?

  • Web services are application components
  • Web services communicate using open protocols
  • Web services are self-contained and self-describing
  • Web services can be discovered using UDDI
  • Web services can be used by other applications
  • XML is the basis for Web services
The term Web services describes a standardized way of integrating Web-based applications using the XML, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI open standards over an Internet protocol backbone.
  • XML is used to tag the data,
  •  SOAP is used to transfer the data,
  • WSDL is used for describing the services available and
  • UDDI is used for listing what services are available.
Used primarily as a means for businesses to communicate with each other and with clients, Web services allow organizations to communicate data without intimate knowledge of each other's IT systems behind the firewall Web Services have Two Types of Uses: Reusable application-components. There are things applications need very often. So why make these over and over again? Web services can offer application-components like: currency conversion, weather reports, or even language translation as services. Connect existing software. Web services can help to solve the interoperability problem by giving different applications a way to link their data. With Web services you can exchange data between different applications and different platforms. Web Services have three basic platform elements: SOAP, WSDL and UDDI:

What is SOAP?

SOAP is an XML-based protocol to let applications exchange information over HTTP. Or more simple: SOAP is a protocol for accessing a Web Service.
  • SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol
  • SOAP is a communication protocol
  • SOAP is a format for sending messages
  • SOAP is designed to communicate via Internet
  • SOAP is platform independent
  • SOAP is language independent
  • SOAP is based on XML
  • SOAP is simple and extensible
  • SOAP allows you to get around firewalls
  • SOAP is a W3C standard

What is WSDL?

WSDL is an XML-based language for locating and describing Web services.
  • WSDL stands for Web Services Description Language
  • WSDL is based on XML
  • WSDL is used to describe Web services
  • WSDL is used to locate Web services
  • WSDL is a W3C standard

What is UDDI?

UDDI is a directory service where companies can register and search for Web services.
  • UDDI stands for Universal Description, Discovery and Integration
  • UDDI is a directory for storing information about web services
  • UDDI is a directory of web service interfaces described by WSDL
  • UDDI communicates via SOAP
  • UDDI is built into the Microsoft .NET platform