Web Services: The Promise for the Future

by Clive Finkelstein

Web services and associated XML technologies have recently been developed to address real time program and code module integration that is both language- and platform-independent. With Web services, APIs, input messages, and output messages are defined using XML. An API is specified using an XML language called SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol), which offers the advantage that it can be used with any programming language and operating system that understands XML. Integrated code modules can be loosely coupled so that changes in one component do not affect other components. Integration using SOAP is therefore inexpensive to use and maintain.