List of Web Service Protocols and Technologies

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SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a widely used web service protocol that relies on XML to format messages. It's a great choice for complex transactions.

REST (Representational State of Resource) is an architectural style that's perfect for building web services that are easy to use and maintain.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the foundation of the web, and it's used by RESTful web services to communicate with clients.

WSDL (Web Services Description Language) is an XML-based language that's used to describe the functionality of a web service.

Service Protocols

SOAP and REST are two of the most commonly used web service protocols. SOAP defines a standard communication protocol specification for XML-based message exchange, while REST describes a set of architectural principles for data transmission over a standardized interface.

SOAP uses different transport protocols, such as HTTP and SMTP, which makes it easier to tunnel across firewalls and proxies without modifications. However, its verbose XML format can sometimes make it slower than middleware technologies like CORBA or ICE.

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REST, on the other hand, does not contain an additional messaging layer and focuses on design rules for creating stateless services. It's ideal for accessing resources using a unique URI and returning a representation of the resource.

Here are some of the key web service protocols mentioned in the article:

  • SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
  • REST (Representational State Transfer)
  • WSFL (Web Services Flow Language)
  • XML-RPC (Remote Procedure Call)
  • BEEP (Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol)
  • UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration)

These protocols are used for web service communication, with SOAP being related to communication interface and REST being an architectural framework for optimum data transmission.

For more insights, see: Azure Communication Services

W3C Recommendations

The W3C Recommendations are a list of current publications and technical reports from the World Wide Web Consortium. These recommendations include standards for web services, such as SOAP and WSDL.

Some of the notable W3C Recommendations include Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema, SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism, and Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Core. These standards are used to build and interact with web services.

Here's a list of some of the current W3C Recommendations:

  • Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema
  • SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism
  • Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Core
  • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 0: Primer
  • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 1: Core Language
  • Web Services Policy 1.5 - Framework

W3C Recommendations

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The W3C Recommendations section is a treasure trove of information for web developers and tech enthusiasts.

The W3C has published a list of current W3C publications, which can be found in the W3C technical reports index.

Some notable recommendations include Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema, as well as SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism and SOAP Resource Representation Header.

A total of 15 recommendations are listed, covering topics such as SOAP, Web Services Addressing, and Web Services Description Language (WSDL).

Here are some of the specific recommendations listed:

  • Semantic Annotations for WSDL and XML Schema
  • SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism
  • SOAP Resource Representation Header
  • SOAP Version 1.2 Part 0: Primer
  • SOAP Version 1.2 Part 1: Messaging Framework
  • SOAP Version 1.2 Part 2: Adjuncts
  • SOAP Version 1.2 Specification Assertions and Test Collection
  • Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Core
  • Web Services Addressing 1.0 - Metadata
  • Web Services Addressing 1.0 - SOAP Binding
  • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 0: Primer
  • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 1: Core Language
  • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 2.0 Part 2: Adjuncts as Recommendation
  • Web Services Policy 1.5 - Framework
  • Web Services Policy 1.5 - Attachment

Uddi

UDDI is a distributed directory that allows businesses to list themselves on the Internet, much like the white and yellow pages of a phone book. It enables businesses to find each other by providing a global registry specifically geared towards business-to-business electronic commerce.

The UDDI framework defines what Web-based services a business offers, and it's built on top of XML files that describe a business and any Web services it might provide. This framework is hosted across many sites, with IBM and Microsoft currently hosting UDDI registries.

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Information from each registry is duplicated, so when you register at one site, your business information is replicated across the entire UDDI registry. This means that your business information is easily accessible from multiple sources.

Businesses can access UDDI through a Web interface or through automated programming methods. This allows companies to have automated methods to query and find an appropriate service for their customers, and for their own services to automatically update themselves within the registry.

The UDDI registry is divided into three sections: green pages, white pages, and yellow pages. The green pages provide technical data about a business's services, the white pages consist of addresses and other contact data for business registrations, and the yellow pages are sorted by industrial categorizations to make searching for a business easier.

Here's a breakdown of the UDDI sections:

  • Green pages: technical data about a business's services
  • White pages: addresses and contact data for business registrations
  • Yellow pages: industrial categorizations for easy searching

UDDI is not currently a standard, but there are plans to submit it to become a standard in 2002. Currently, UDDI is managed by dozens of companies, and it's supported by many of the same industries as ebXML.

Service Architectures

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Web services can be consumed via a database stored procedure, allowing users to update a database with information from different sources and even schedule jobs to get data updated periodically.

SOAP defines a standard communication protocol specification for XML-based message exchange, using different transport protocols like HTTP and SMTP.

RESTful web services describe a set of architectural principles for transmitting data over a standardized interface, such as HTTP.

A client can access a resource using a unique URI and a representation of the resource is returned, with each new resource representation transferring state.

With REST, the URL of the resource serves as the resource identifier and standard HTTP operations like GET, PUT, DELETE, POST, and HEAD are performed on that resource.

Web services are an amalgamation of application suites supported by software and cloud technology, based on standardized protocols like HTTP or HTTPS.

The basic processes involve application-to-application communication, exchange of information through data messages in XML, independent of any topology or configuration, throughout the world wide web.

Expand your knowledge: Google Cloud Platform Data Centers

APIs and Frameworks

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Several Java APIs exist to help implement Web services, including JAXM and JWSDL, which simplify using SOAP and WSDL respectively.

JAXM (Java API for XML Messaging) is a programmer-friendly API that hides lower-level programming, allowing developers to focus on sending SOAP messages. It also plans to expand its messaging capabilities beyond what SOAP can provide.

JWSDL (Java API for WSDL) is designed to make working with WSDL documents easier, but is primarily meant for tool builders rather than average Web developers.

REST vs. SOAP

RESTful web services are stateless, meaning you can restart the server and interactions will still survive. This is a key characteristic that sets them apart from other web service architectures.

RESTful web services provide a good caching infrastructure over an HTTP GET method, which can improve performance if the information returned is not altered frequently and is not dynamic.

Service producers and consumers must understand the context and content being passed along, as there is no standard set of rules to describe the REST web services interface.

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REST is useful for restricted-profile devices, such as mobile, where the overhead of additional parameters is less.

Here are some key characteristics of RESTful web services:

SOAP, on the other hand, requires less plumbing code than REST services design, making it a more suitable choice for complex operations that require conversational state and contextual information to be maintained.

Java APIs

Java APIs are a crucial part of implementing Web services, making our lives easier with their pre-built functionality.

There are several Java APIs that exist to help us implement Web services, including JAXM, JAXR, and JWSDL.

JAXM, or Java API for XML Messaging, implements SOAP 1.1 and enables a JSP page or Java object to send SOAP messaging. It hides the lower-level programming, allowing programmers to focus on sending a message.

JAXR, or Java API for XML Registries, defines a standard Java interface to access any Web service registry, whether it's based on ebXML, UDDI, or another standard. It currently supports ebXML and UDDI specifications.

Check this out: Java Web Dev

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JWSDL, or Java API for WSDL, simplifies using WSDL and represents and manipulates a service described by a WSDL document. It's primarily meant for tool builders, not average Web developers.

Apache SOAP is a widely used Java SOAP implementation, built on top of the IBM SOAP4J API library. It's a solid open-source-based SOAP implementation.

AXIS is the next generation of Java-based SOAP implementation, replacing Apache SOAP API. It's faster than Apache SOAP due to design considerations like using XML tools like SAX over DOM.

GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language and runtime for APIs that allows clients to request only the data they need from a server.

It was developed by Facebook and released as an open-source project.

GraphQL provides a more efficient way to interact with APIs compared to traditional RESTful APIs.

By requesting only the necessary data, GraphQL reduces the amount of data transferred between the client and server.

This results in faster data retrieval and improved performance for applications that use GraphQL.

Compared to traditional RESTful APIs, GraphQL offers a more flexible way to interact with APIs.

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Apidog: All-in-One Support

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Apidog is an all-in-one solution that supports multiple protocols, making it a versatile tool for API design, development, testing, and management.

It seamlessly combines the capabilities of Postman, Swagger, Mock, and JMeter into a single tool, offering a holistic solution for API development, testing, and management.

Developers and teams can work effortlessly with diverse API protocols without needing specialized tools for each protocol.

Apidog empowers developers to work with various API protocols, including RESTful API, GraphQL service, and real-time communication with WebSocket.

It provides a unified, top-tier API management solution for developers worldwide.

Apidog is the fusion of Postman, Swagger, Mock, and JMeter, all rolled into one comprehensive tool.

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Jeannie Larson

Senior Assigning Editor

Jeannie Larson is a seasoned Assigning Editor with a keen eye for compelling content. With a passion for storytelling, she has curated articles on a wide range of topics, from technology to lifestyle. Jeannie's expertise lies in assigning and editing articles that resonate with diverse audiences.

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