Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)

SOAP is a protocol specification used to access services across distributed networks. SOAP was created to address the need to use HTTP as a transport mechanism for messaging. SOAP standardizes using HTTP as a transport protocol to invoke XML messages and remote calls in a portable and open fashion. HTTP is an important protocol because it’s firewall friendly, and most networks let HTTP traffic through their firewalls. Most other solutions require proprietary solutions, or “tunneling” through HTTP. SOAP was designed to be transport independent, so it’s possible to use SMTP or other protocols to send messages.

It’s important to note that SOAP is being shaped by the W3C standards body, not by a single vendor, ...

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