More About
Web Services
Web
Services are SOAP messages with XML, generally sent over HTTP. Web
Services are most often used in business to business applications.
- In RMI, we had a client and server. In Web Services, we have the consumer and producer. Like RMI, the consumer and producer roles can switch. That is, the consumer can take the role of a producer and vice-versa.
- Web Services use XML extensively. With Web Services and Java, we reuse the XML APIs we've use with other XML applications.
- The beauty of Web Services is that it can be used across platforms, programs, and programming languages. For this to happen, it is crucial that both sides of a Web Service agree on the structure of the XML documents that will be used.