Applied SOAP: Implementing .NET XML Web Services

Web Services and Best Practices

This final section is brief but important. We're not sure that the industry has necessarily decided upon a complete set of “best practices” for Web Services, but here are some things to consider.

First, the old adage that “to people with hammers, everything is a nail” also holds true for Web Services. I often see people designing Web Services into their distributed applications simply because they can. Web Services are powerful, it is true, but they are a tool that you, as a designer, use as you would any other. Use them where they make sense. If you have distributed resources that you need to access, if you need a loosely coupled system, or if you have any other compelling reason, use a Web Service. If you can ...