So What IS SOAP?



Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a specification that provides a framework for connecting Web sites and applications to create Web services. These Web services link different sites and applications together to perform functions that the individual components or sites are not capable of.


How Does SOAP Provide Interoperability?

Through XML and HTTP. SOAP uses a specific message format in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and a message transport protocol such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Using SOAP, different systems communicate with each other by passing text messages encoded as XML, that are then communicated over HTTP. Since SOAP uses language and platform-neutral components such as XML to make requests/responses and HTTP as the transport protocol, a SOAP client implemented in VB on Windows can make requests to SOAP Server implemented in Java on Unix.


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