For many Java developers, web services appeared to come out of nowhere.
Its advantages are clear: web services are platform-independent (like
Java itself), language-agnostic (a clear advantage over Java RMI), can
easily be tunneled through firewalls (an obvious benefit to anyone who
has dealt with modern enterprise networks), object-oriented (we all know
about that), and tends to be loosely coupled (allowing more flexible
application development). But these advantages have been obscured by a
cloud of hype and a proliferation of jargon that are difficult to
penetrate. What are SOAP, UDDI, WSDL, and JAXM? To say nothing of JAXR,
tModels, category bags, WSFL, and other friends? And assuming that you
understand what they are, how do you do anything with them? Do they live
up to their promises? Are they really the future of network computing,
or a dead end?Java Web Services gives the experienced Java developer a
way into the Web Services world. It helps you to understand what's going
on, what the technologies mean and how they relate, and shows Java
developers how to put them to use to solve real problems. You'll learn
what's real and what isn't; what the technologies are really supposed to
do, and how they do it. Java Web Services shows you how to use SOAP to
perform remote method calls and message passing; how to use WSDL to
describe the interface to a web service or understand the interface of
someone else's service; and how to use UDDI to advertise (publish) and
look up services in each local or global registry. Java Web Services
also discusses security issues, interoperability issues, integration
with other Java enterprise technologies like EJB; the work being done on
the JAXM andJAX-RPC packages, and integration with Microsoft's .NET
services.The web services picture is still taking shape; there are many
platforms and APIs to consider, and many conflicting claims from
different marketing groups. And although web services are inherently
language-independent, the fit between the fundamental principles on
which Java and web services are based means that Java will almost
certainly be the predominant language for web services development. If
you're a Java developer and want to climb on the web services bandwagon,
or if you only want to "kick the tires" and find out what web services
has to offer, you will find this book indispensable.
