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Developing Web Services Using XML Standards

Using XML-based open standards requires:

Web Services Description Language [WSDL],
Simple Object Access Protocol [SOAP]
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration [UDDI]

These standards are used to define, publish, and use web services. Alternatively, web services can be developed in the J2EE 1.4 platform.

Web Services are based on HTML + XML, then expanded using languages such as:

SOAP - Simple Object Access Protocol
UDDI - Universal Description, Discovery and Integration
WSDL - Web Services Description Language

HTTP is the standard web [Internet] protocol.

XML provides a common language interface between different platforms and programming languages.

The Web Services platform is a simple, interoperable, messaging framework. Important features such as security and routing still need further development, but standards are developing, to make communication between applications easier than ever before.

How Web Services Developed

The first step towards web services, was being able to access standard client-server applications using Web browsers.

XML further enhanced this access to allow different platforms to interact. This lead to the development of web applications.

Web services took web applications to the next level. It allowed applications can publish functions and messages to the rest of the world.

Web services use:

XML - to code and decode your data, and
SOAP - to transport data using open protocols.

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