Sebastopol, CA--The Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP, is the
latest in a long line of technologies for distributed computing.
According to Robert Englander, author of Java and SOAP (O'Reilly, US
$39.95), SOAP differs from other distributed computing technologies in
that it is based on XML, and so far it has not attempted to redefine
the computing world. SOAP specifications are not bound to any specific
programming language, computing platform, or software development
environment, although there are SOAP implementations that provide
bindings for a number of languages, such as C#, Perl, and Java. Without
these implementations, SOAP remains in the abstract: a concept without
manifestation. It is the bindings to a software development language
that make SOAP come alive.
Java is a natural for XML processing, and therefore perfect for
building SOAP services and client applications. In fact, it is so
natural a fit that much of the work being done with SOAP today is being
done in Java. "Java and SOAP" introduces the basics of SOAP: what it
is, why it is being talked about, and what its features and
capabilities are. If you are interested in building SOAP-aware software
in Java, this book is what you will need to get started.
"This book delves deep into the development of Java software using
SOAP, and also concentrates significantly on the actual SOAP XML
messages that are generated and consumed," says Englander. "Most other
books provide more of an overview of the subject, without getting into
the depth that 'Java and SOAP' reaches.
"I think it's extremely important for Java developers to understand
this technology now whiles it's still emerging," Englander adds. "Over
time, SOAP will become a part of one or more larger protocols, so
understanding how things work early on will be a great advantage."
In addition to covering fundamentals, such as the structure of a SOAP
message, SOAP encoding, and building simples services using RPC and
messaging, "Java and SOAP" covers many topics that are essential to
real-world development. The author explains how to add support for your
own object types, how to handle errors, add your own information to
fault messages, and handle attachments. The book pays particular
attention to how SOAP messages are encoded, showing how different types
of documents are used in practice as they are generated by the
different APIs.
"Java and SOAP" includes both the Apache SOAP tools and IBM web
services toolkit, web services built over transports other than HTTP,
and the use of Brazil as a small SOAP server. There are chapters on
UDDI and WSDL. In addition, the book covers interoperability between
the major SOAP platforms, including Microsoft's .NET. The book also
provides previews of the forthcoming Axis APIs, JAX-RPC, and JAXM.
This book was written for anyone interested in how to access SOAP-based
web services in Java, as well as how to build SOAP-based services in
Java. "Java and SOAP" includes everything that programmers, students,
and professionals who are already familiar with Java will need to know
to start working with SOAP.
Additional resources:
Java and SOAP
By Robert Englander
ISBN 0-596-00175-4, 258 pages, $39.95 (US), $61.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
