Next Generation Application Integration: From Simple Information to Web Services

XML Meets Middleware

We have established that XML is a simple, text-based standard and, as such, cannot provide everything needed to integrate disparate applications. It quickly becomes clear that, in order to provide maximum value to the application integration solution set, XML needs middleware (and, conversely, middleware most likely needs XML).

XML's value to middleware is clear. Middleware simply “carries the load.” It moves messages that encapsulate or abstract XML and ensures that those messages are understood by any source or target applications that need the information (see Figure 11.5). Middleware may also manage the interfaces with the source or target applications and move information into and out of the applications through an unobtrusive ...