Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems (With CD-ROM) [Paperback]

Graham Glass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 14, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0130662569 | ISBN-13: 978-0130662569

Web services are the next leap forward in distributed computing, enabling any organization to make its digital assets available worldwide, more easily than ever before. Now, there's a complete guide to the techniques and technologies used to deliver Web services. Written by Graham Glass, one of the field's leading experts, Web Services is thoroughly practical, offers extensive examples, presents in-depth coverage of key standards, and focuses on maximizing interoperability. Glass begins with a brief history of distributed computing that explains why Web services are the next logical step in building distributed systems. Next, he introduces key Web services technologies, including SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI. He then demonstrates how web services can be built using the J2EE and .NET platforms, and provides a mini-project that shows how web services created using these technologies can easily interoperate. Lastly, Glass previews the future of Web services, discussing thought-provoking topics such as the convergence of web services with peer-to-peer computing and the likely direction of Web services standards. The CD-ROM contains GLUE, an intuitive, 100% Java Web services platform that can be used to run all of the book's examples, and to support a wide range of commercial Web services development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The first practical, hands-on guide to building Web services!

Web services are the next breakthrough in distributed computing—enabling any organization to make its digital assets available worldwide with unprecedented ease and convenience. Now, one of the field's leading experts has written the definitive guide to delivering standards-based Web services. Graham Glass presents insights and hands-on examples encompassing every core Web services technology—and offers state-of-the-art guidance for ensuring interoperability amongst leading platforms. Coverage includes:

* The key advantages of Web services: interoperability, ubiquity, industry support, and low barriers to entry
* How SOAP is used for web services communications
* Using Web Services Description Language (WSDL), the new XML grammar for describing Web services
* UDDI concepts, API, inquiry, and publishing, plus techniques for creating fluid, dynamically-assembled systems
* Building Web services using the J2EE and .NET platforms
* Integrating J2EE and .NET Web services: a complete mini-project
* The future of Web services: P2P, emerging standards, and more
CD-ROM INCLUDED

The CD-ROM contains GLUE Standard Edition, an intuitive, easy-to-use, 100% Java Web services platform based entirely on open standards. GLUE's rich set of features includes an embedded web server, servlet engine, SOAP processor, XML parser, graphical console, dynamic WSDL generator, dynamic Java/XML mapping, UDDI client and XML persistent storage system. GLUE ships as a single 450K JAR file that can be embedded into almost any application—and, best of all, GLUE Standard Edition is FREE for most commercial uses!

About the Author

GRAHAM GLASS is CEO, chief architect, and founder of The Mind Electric, a firm specializing in Web services, large-scale distributed computing, and peer-to-peer technologies. He was formerly CTO and co-founder of ObjectSpace, where he served as architect and lead developer of the Voyager distributed computing product line, the JGL Java collections library, and the cross-platform C++ toolkits. His Prentice Hall PTR books include UNIX for Programmers and Users: A Complete Guide and The STL Primer. He received an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1996.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (November 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130662569
• ISBN-13: 978-0130662569
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,822,554 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Graham knows what he is talking about, November 27, 2001

By 

D. Fancellu "fancellu" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems (With CD-ROM) (Paperback)

GLUE, Graham's brainchild, is the number one web services
API for Java.

Many people can talk about web services, but only some
can create what is needed from the ground up.

Several other have tried, like Apache, or IBM, but they
don't even come close to his clarity of vision and the
ease of use that comes from this.

Heed his words.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding work, December 8, 2001

By 

Tony Hong (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems (With CD-ROM) (Paperback)

Graham Glass obviously has a talent for making complex material simple and easy to digest. This is evident in both the web services toolkit his company has released, called GLUE, and in this book, which provides a comprehensive, very hands-on, easy-to-read, look at web services.

This book covers a wide range of material, from the basics of what web services are and how they fit in the evolutionary path of distributed computing, to advanced topics such as WSDL and UDDI, Java to XML schema mapping, interoperability, and so on. Glass keeps the reader engaged in a hands-on way with a lot of example source code througout the book. The book utilizes the Java-based GLUE toolkit, which is provided on a bundled CD-ROM, to power most of the examples that illustrate the concepts. There is also a chapter on building and consuming web services with .NET and with Weblogic, a J2EE app server.

To bring it all together, there is a chapter that uses a B2B purchasing scenario to illustrate how J2EE(Weblogic), .NET, and GLUE can work together. This chapter is nice because it really gives the reader a sense of how web services really enable cross-platform interoperability, while sticking to a very pragmatic, real-world situation.

Finally, Glass provides an interesting, thought-provoking look at the P2P world and its intersection with the world of web services.

Glass' writing style is entertaining and his personal voice certainly comes through quite clearly. Overall, a very nice balance between educating the user on abstract concepts and keeping the reader busy with examples. Highly recommended.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative approach to constructing Web Service Architecture, December 6, 2001

By 

Donald Hamm (Carrollton, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Web Services: Building Blocks for Distributed Systems (With CD-ROM) (Paperback)

Graham is a master when it comes to OO technologies and Graham can convey these technologies clearly. This book covers may aspect of developing the next generation architecture and provides the framework in which to design them. An outstanding book for those who want the 'meat' behind these services. I've read ALL of the books around Web Services (including the .NET) and this is my 'reference' towards building these new technologies...