Over the past few years, three primary technologies have emerged as worldwide standards that make up the core of today's web services technology. These technologies are discussed below.

XML-RPC
This is the simplest XML-based protocol for exchanging information between computers.

• XML-RPC is a simple protocol that uses XML messages to perform RPCs.
• Requests are encoded in XML and sent via HTTP POST.
• XML responses are embedded in the body of the HTTP response.
• XML-RPC is platform-independent.
• XML-RPC allows diverse applications to communicate.
• A Java client can speak XML-RPC to a Perl server.
• XML-RPC is the easiest way to get started with web services.

To learn more about XML-RPC, visit our XML-RPC Tutorial.

SOAP
SOAP is an XML-based protocol for exchanging information between computers.

• SOAP is a communication protocol.
• SOAP is for communication between applications.
• SOAP is a format for sending messages.
• SOAP is designed to communicate via Internet.
• SOAP is platform independent.
• SOAP is language independent.
• SOAP is simple and extensible.
• SOAP allows you to get around firewalls.
• SOAP will be developed as a W3C standard.

To learn more about SOAP, visit our SOAP Tutorial.

WSDL WSDL is an XML-based language for describing web services and how to access them.

• WSDL stands for Web Services Description Language.
• WSDL was developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM.
• WSDL is an XML based protocol for information exchange in decentralized and distributed environments.
• WSDL is the standard format for describing a web service.
• WSDL definition describes how to access a web service and what operations it will perform.
• WSDL is a language for describing how to interface with XML-based services.
• WSDL is an integral part of UDDI, an XML-based worldwide business registry.
• WSDL is the language that UDDI uses.
• WSDL is pronounced as 'wiz-dull' and spelled out as 'W-S-D-L'

To learn more about WSDL, visit our WSDL Tutorial.

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