Web Services

What is this web service thing I hear so much about?

The biggest problem with web services is their name. It implies that they are something just for the Internet. They are not.

A web service is an application which serves information to any client from any platform. The information is requested and returned in a format common to all. The format is XML, and the rules (or protocol) for requesting and receiving the information is called SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol).
Are you any the wiser??

So why do we want web services, what can they do for me?

An example of a typical use, is within a large organisation where several departments all want to access the same data, but from different applications. The use of a web service, means that the applications interface to one common program, and this program manages the data requests.

So what? We can do that anyway.

Oh really, can you do if from a Unix box, a Windows server and from a mainframe all at the same time? If you are a large Local Authority you will have applications running on a range of hardware platforms. You already know how difficult it is for the applications to talk to each other.

What about costs. If the service you want is a third party interface, for example the post code checking database, you pay for it each time it is deployed. What if you only deploy it once, to the web service, and all your applications request the information via the service. You have just saved a lot of money.

Thanks, that has really helped my understanding.

You are very welcome.