A Web service is software that is available over the Internet and uses a standardized XML messaging system to invoke the service and supply the response. Web services are a useful way to provide data to a variety of consumers; for example, traffic reports, stock quotes, and travel services. This section provides basic introductory material about Web services and describes how to implement Web services in your portal. This section has these topics:
This section provides an overview of Web services. It
does not provide the detailed information necessary to fully understand
and use Web services and Web service protocols. You can find detailed
information and .
Web services are software components delivered over the Internet or intranet networks. Unlike traditional client/server models, such as a Web server/Web page system, Web services do not provide the end user with a graphical user interface (GUI). Web services instead share business logic, data, and processes through a programmatic interface across a network. Applications interface with each other, not the users. Developers can add a Web service, such as a Web page or an executable program, to a GUI to offer specific functionality to users.Web services simplify and standardize application interoperability within and across companies. Web services allow applications to communicate with each other in a platform- and programming language-independent manner.
Each service is independent, and you can stack services like building blocks. You can, therefore, create a single page that displays multiple services where the end result looks like a stripped-down version of my.yahoo or my.excite.Web service architecture has three primary functions—discovery, description, and transport. For each of these functions, there is an accompanying standard based on XML.
Web services are discovered (published and found) via Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI), described by Web Services Description Language (WSDL), and transported using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Web service transactions run over HTTP and TCP/IP networks.
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