Java and SOAP [Paperback]

Robert Englander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2002

Java and SOAP provides Java developers with an in-depth look at SOAP (the Simple Object Access Protocol). Of course, it covers the basics: what SOAP is, why it's soared to a spot on the Buzzwords' Top Ten list, and what its features and capabilities are. And it shows you how to work with some of the more common Java APIs in the SOAP world: Apache SOAP and GLUE.

In addition to covering the basics such as the structure of a SOAP message, SOAP encoding, and building simple services using RPC and messaging, Java and SOAP covers many topics that are essential to real-world development. Although SOAP has native support for an impressive number of object types, the nature of modern programming means that whatever SOAP gives you is not enough. When do you need to add support for your own object types, and how do you do it? How do you handle errors, and how do you add your own information to Fault messages? How do you handle attachments?

In an ideal world, you could live entirely within Java, and ignore the SOAP messages being send back and forth: you'd be able to write Java code and let the SOAP APIs work behind the scenes. However, we're not yet in that ideal world, and won't be for some time. Therefore, Java and SOAP pays particular attention to how SOAP messages are encoded. It doesn't just explain the document types, but shows how the documents are used in practice as they are generated by the different APIs. If you ever have to debug interoperability problems, you'll find that this information is indispensable.

We've always found that the best software is written by people who understand what's happening under the hood. SOAP is no different. Let's say you need to write a custom serializer to create a SOAP representation of a structure. How do you know that your encoding is efficient? There's one definitive answer: look at the SOAP documents it produces!

Java and SOAP also discusses interoperability between the major SOAP platforms, including Microsoft's .NET, SOAP messaging, SOAP attachments, message routing, and a preview of the forthcoming AXIS APIs and server. If you're a Java developer who would like to start working with SOAP, this is the book you need to get going.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Englander is Principal Engineer and President of MindStream Software, Inc. (www.mindstrm.com). He provides consulting services in software architecture, design, and development, as well as developing frameworks for use on client projects. His focus is in the areas of component architectures and distributed systems. Rob has built software in Java and C++ for clients ranging from small shops to large organizations. He has spoken at industry conferences, written articles for magazines and journals, and is the author of the OReilly book Developing Java Beans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (May 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596001754
• ISBN-13: 978-0596001759
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,509,094 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good coverage of SOAP with Java, June 7, 2002

By 

llaurick (Here) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Java and SOAP (Paperback)

I'm a java programmer and I've started learning Web services. I've already read Building Web services with Java. That book gives a good introduction to SOAP, WSDL and UDDI, but does not cover them in enough details. Java and SOAP coverage of Soap is very extensive. I've found many things that were not covered in Building web services for Java. For exemple, the fact that when you deploy a web service, you can specify the scope for the service (will one instance of the class be used for all calls or each call create a new object). The author also uses two different servers for implementation, Apache SOAP and GLUE. This allows us to see how implementations may differ.

But one thing to know is that the book covers _only_ SOAP. There is one chapter about WSDL and no UDDI.
There is no mention of EJB, JMS, and only a very light introduction to JAX-RPC.
An exemple of how to call a .NET service is given, but no exemple of how to build a service that will be compatible with .NET clients.

But personally, I prefer a book that covers only one subject, but covers it toroughly.

The only thing I found lacking was the coverage of Message style web services. There is only a small 10 pages about the subject.

If you are new to web services, I would recommend buying first a book like Building web services for Java to get a good idea of all pieces, and then this one to get all the details you will need about SOAP when you put your knowledge to work.

Now is there a good book that covers JAX-RPC and JAXM??

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book helped me out a lot..., January 10, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Java and SOAP (Paperback)

If you are a Java developer and are wondering what all the hype is about surrounding web services and SOAP, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Robert Englander doesn't waste time trying to teach you Java first. He dives right in to what SOAP is, what the different related technologies are surrounding SOAP, and explanations on two different implementations of SOAP (Apache SOAP and GLUE). Once the introductions are complete, he starts with basic examples in both Apache and GLUE. Each chapter then builds upon those examples to cover more complex examples and situations. The examples are very well detailed, and the explanations are easy to understand. In addition, he covers how to write Java code to both call web services and expose your own Java code to be used as a web service. By the time you're done, you should have a good grasp on how it all works. The Apache implementation of SOAP is free for downloading at www.apache.org, so you can get all the tools you need to become proficient at this technology.

This book was very valuable to me as I was working on a project involving web services. I was writing Java code on a platform that would allow for a user to enter a command and get information back from the server. The concept of web services was intriguing as it opened up a large set of possibilities for features I could implement. By using the information in this book, I was able to quickly get up to speed with a functional example that worked. I was then able to fill in gaps in my knowledge and expand my examples to connect with additional sources of data. Without the information in this book, it would have taken me a whole lot longer to figure it all out.

For Notes/Domino 5 developers, you may not see a use for this information (at least at this level of detail) at this time. It's possible that you may want to write a Java agent for a Notes application that uses SOAP to get some data from a web service. I would encourage you to try that if possible. This would be much more applicable for someone who has started working with Websphere and is trying to build or consume web services. In my case, I was using it to allow Sametime to interact with web services. Some very cool stuff...

Conclusion
If you're ready to branch out into the world of web services and want to write and/or use one, you should seriously consider getting this book. If you work through the examples and material, I am confident that you will end up being very successful in getting results in a short time frame.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for newbies...., March 24, 2004

By 

Ajith Kallambella (JavaRanch.com) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Java and SOAP (Paperback)

Overview -
SOAP is what makes the Web Services clock go around. In fact, SOAP can easily be used as a stand-alone channel without incurring the overheads of publish-find-and-bind cycle apparent in Web Services. Java's ever growing XML support makes it a language of choice for anyone considering implementing SOAP.

Why you should read this book -
Whether you are writing a new SOAP service or simply using an existing one, understanding what happens under the bonnet helps make your system more robust.

What this book covers -
This book covers almost everything you have to know about how Java supports the technology - core APIs, SOAP encoding, structure of SOAP messages, attachments, platform interoperability issues and some nice guidelines. It also includes some getting-started examples with two different SOAP servers- Apache and GLUE ? to help the reader understand how SOAP implementation differs. There is some introductory material covering JAX-RPC, JAXM, Apache Axis and WSDL. The chapters are well organized although the writing lacks reader-friendly approach.

Cons -
The book came out in May 2002 and hence a few things are out of date including SOAP spec and Apache implementation. Examples seem rather trivial and lack depth. Advanced SOAP programmers or those considering enterprise integration will be disappointed. Coverage on .NET interoperability is a far cry from even being introductory. I hope the next version of the book will adequately address real integration issues such as performance, transactions, and security.

Ajith Kallambella
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