Customer Reviews

Web Services Essentials (O'Reilly XML)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is based on obsolete specifications and older SOAP implementation which is not even available for download. The Apache SOAP is already a piece of junk and Apache recommends to use Apache Axis (which is not in the scope of this book). All other implementation examples such as XMethods and UDDI4J are also obsolete as well. The APIs are already deprecated and the code discussed does'nt make any sense.

"Web Services Essentials" provides an excellent, concise overview of the complicated world of web services, and makes sense of the alphabet-soup jargon of SOAP, XML-RPC, UDDI and WSDL (as well as more obscure protocols). With web services appearing to be the "next big thing" in web development, this book is a must-read for any developer looking to introduce him/herself to the technology, as well as for the technically-minded manager who may soon be responsible for implementing web services. Clear writing and relevant examples make this an enjoyable as well as an informative read.

Webservices is relatively new technology,but there is unusual hype around every
protocol associated with webservices,say XML-RPC,SOAP,UDDI,WSDL.

Ethan Cermani,author of the book writes lucidly about every aspect of these technologies.
His approach to this book is so planned;he got text book style of writing ie sentences are
pithy -filled with meaning,no nonsense explanations,no unnecessary elaborations,to the point
almost clinically precise.

"A webservice is anyservice that is available over the Internet,
uses a standardized XML messaging system,and is not tied to any
progrmming language or operating system." also "A webservice
is self describing via common XML grammar,and discoverable
via a simple find method".author summarises whole scenario in
handful of words!!
He divided the whole book into 9 chapters,introducing XML-RPC
SOAP,WSDL,UDDI and other W3C issues,evolving security standards
in the first chapter giving panoramic over view of webservices.

In remaining 8 chapters he delved deep into all the topics he introduced.
He dedicated 3 chapters for SOAP Essentials which is needed,
Which is Standardized XML message system to be used in Webservices.
Before this there is one chapter covering in-depth
much sought after XML-RPC;with equal diligence he uncovers WSDL
in one chapter which is essential in describing webservices.
Finally he finishes the book with thorough coverage of UDDI ,
(in 3 chapters)which is essential in discovering webservices.

For SOAP examples he followed APACHE implementation,which is
open source readily available over net for free download.covered
GLUE clearly,under WSDL invocation tools.

if you want to know why SOAP no more stands for SIMPLE OBJECT
ACCESS PROTOCOL;In the plethora of objects still RPC which is
proverbially procedural reigning the roost,this is the book
you need to keep on the bed side or over the desk top.

When it comes to computer books, we have all seen it before: a couple of books with a catchy title are successes, the publisher then wants to continue leverage the
name recognition and comes out with other books that have the same word in the title. Even those friendly folks at O'Reilly Publishing seem to be guilty of this problem; exactly how large does a book have to get before it is no longer a 'nutshell'? "Web Services Essentials" might sounds like just such a title. At a not very thick 278 pages I wondered how much territory this book would cover. Would it be too high level or detailed but not cover the territory. As a long time Java developer, reader of the industry press and president of the Utah Java Users Group I have seen my share of overviews and introductions. I am pleased to report that theWeb Services Essentials lives up to it title. It is an impressively compact overview of the essentials of Web Services, but including the enough detail down to working code.

I have seen lots of computer books including many from O'Reilly, but I rarely find one that is such a clean straight forward introduction to the material as Web Services Essentials. I was pleasantly surpised and found it to be just the book I needed to get to the level of working examples of Web Services using Java. This book lived up to it title, serving well it role as small book containing just the essentials including working code and complete examples of the various XML documents and Java APIs involved in the world of Web Services.

This book is really an excellent one for programmers who want to start with web services. It gives a compact overview of XML-RPC, SOAP, UDDI and WSDL. Especially Java programmers will find some good code listings. But don't expect more than an introduction to web services.

An introduction to all the main technologies involved in Web services, with a high level coverage of XML-RPC, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. The book includes a good range of working examples and can be the perfect reading to get started on this topic

First of all, to clear up someone else's comment:
while the API samples, URLs, etc. in the book are all outdated but even beginners should be able to figure out the updates.

The only word of caution: it does NOT cover REST.

This book provides a wonderful set of core topics and values that are essential to understanding what is currently out there (at the time I'm writing this in close-to-mid 2007, anyway). Providing samples, history and general information on each topic covers allows this book to be a wonderful, thorough introduction to the world of WS.

Samples focused in Java and Perl help keep things simple, while there is more of a focus on the Java world. The APIs changed, but since the author references primarily open-source, it is easy to figure everything out.

I recommend this book at this time, but can definitely see it being completely out-dated by the same time next year.

As with many emerging technologies, however, I think this is a must have in order to better understand and follow the evolution of its realm. Since it provides pointers/references to pieces of the puzzle(s) even before its publishing, you can gain even more insight and possibly make some educated decisions as to where the future will take it.

Recommended for all, if for nothing else, as a general reference and "emerging history" lesson.

This book is really lacking on current or useful information. It's mostly a cursory high-level overview. For anyone seriously interested in web services I'd recommend getting a different book! 271 pages not counting the index or glossary. Barely shelf material of limited usefulness. copyright is 2002, but book was written well before that date or century.

Although an old book, this book explains very well web services. It has detailed explanations on XML-RPC, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI.
Make no mistake. The book is old and just like some other reviewers pointed out, some of the technologies have been replaced by newer ones. But once you understand how web services work, it's easier to adapt to the newer tools.
The author also has a tendency to add 'filler pages'. The last 50 pages are useless which is why I gave it only 4 stars.

This is a well written overview for those that may have missed how Web Services rushed onto the scene earlier in the decade. Being 5 years old now, it is definitely out of date. I consider about 120 of 300 pages useful as an introduction to the subject to a developer who has been working in other technologies. It provides a good overview. The examples provided work well to illustrate the point presented. Keep in mind that the examples are outdated so skip liberally.
After reading/skimming this as an introduction, find a more current book for more hands on examples to work through in the technology you intend to use.