What Is SOAP?
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol that allows you to invoke methods on remote objects. SOAP was originally drafted in 1998 by Dave Winer, Microsoft, and DevelopMentor.
SOAP is not tied to any specific programming language. You can find similar SOAP implementations under Perl, Python, C, and Java. It is merely a protocol, one that is simple enough to function under HTTP.
SOAP implements its own XML vocabulary that represents methods, return values, and exceptions. By implementing its own set of HTTP headers, SOAP also allows you to handle SOAP packets at your firewall/proxy server.
There are two components to SOAP: RPC and EDI. RPC, or remote procedure call, is what you’d use to get a data response (in pairs) from another host, such as a set of items and prices from an order-entry system. EDI is the interface component of SOAP, returning content such as an order entry form, but leaving the actual data processing to RPC.
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