Preface

The Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP, is the latest in a long line of technologies for distributed computing. It differs from other distributed computing technologies in that it is based on XML, and also that thus far it has not attempted to redefine the computing world. Instead, the SOAP specification describes important aspects of data content and structure as they relate to familiar programming models like remote procedure calls (RPCs) and message passing systems.

These specifications live squarely in the world of XML. SOAP is not bound to a specific programming language, computing platform, or software development environment. There are SOAP implementations that provide bindings for a variety of programming languages like C#, Perl, and Java™. Without these implementations SOAP remains in the abstract: a great concept without manifestation. It is the binding to software development languages that makes SOAP come alive, and that is what this book is about. Java is a natural for XML processing, making it perfect for building SOAP services and client applications. If building SOAP-aware software in Java is what you want to do, this book is just what you need to get started.