Webservices

Starting with a simple approach, will first try to give an example of a Web service first, instead of rushing into its details … So here I go again 

Example:

Suppose you go online on particular website such as NY Times

(http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/france/paris/maps.html)

You see a Map embedded into the website, now this is the same as our Google Map... This was used by NY Times... This is exactly what I would describe a Web service.

It’s a way in which an application (Google map api) is used by another web application (NY Times)

Now wonder if the Web service is built in asp.net and wants to be used by a java client or say by a website which is built in Java?

To overcome the operability of a Web service, it is built in XML format also called the WSDL (Web service description language) ,which can be understood by any client ( asp.net/java/php etc) and is transferred from one device to another.

 here Device 1 is a web server and device 2 is client

Device One: A web Server (Say a google webserver having a web service of google Map implemented on it)

Device Two: A Client (any asp.net /java/html application)

The format used is called SOAP (Simple object acees protocol ) and the medium through which its been tranferred from one device to another may be LAN/ Internet.

Also we have somethign called as UDDI -- Universal Description, Discovery and Integration, here is the place where all the listing for web service is  located .. 

to give you an idea , here is a image which displays the same