Web Services Platform Elements

Web Services consist of three basic elements: SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI.

What is SOAP?

The basic Web services platform is XML + HTTP.

• SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol.
• SOAP is a communication protocol.
• SOAP is used for communication between applications.
• SOAP is a format for sending messages.
• SOAP is designed to communicate over the Internet.
• SOAP is platform-independent.
• SOAP is language-independent.
• SOAP is based on XML.
• SOAP is simple and extensible.
• SOAP allows you to bypass firewalls.
• SOAP will be developed as a W3C standard.

For more information on SOAP, please visit our SOAP Tutorial.

What is WSDL?

WSDL is an XML-based language for describing Web Services and how to access them.

• WSDL stands for Web Services Description Language.
• WSDL is written in XML.
• WSDL is an XML document.
• WSDL is used to describe web services.
• WSDL can also be used to locate web services.
• WSDL is not yet a W3C standard.

For more information on WSDL, please visit our WSDL Tutorial.

What is UDDI?

UDDI is an acronym for Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration.

UDDI is a directory service through which businesses can register and search for Web services.

It is an XML-based specification for describing services across the world on the Internet.

• UDDI stands for Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration.
• UDDI is a directory for storing information about web services.
• UDDI is a directory of web service interfaces described by WSDL.
• UDDI communicates via SOAP.
• UDDI is built into the Microsoft .NET platform.