Axis -- The Coolest new SOAP stuff

[Kyle Brown]

I just wanted to point anyone interested in SOAP at a project they may not be familar with -- the new Apache Axis project
http://xml.apache.org/axis/index.html
Axis is the third-generation SOAP server implementation from Apache. The cool thing about this server is that it takes some ideas from the Servlet 2.3 specification (the idea of filters) and applies them to SOAP. That way all of the cool stuff we've been promised (like security, transactions, etc.) that's not currently part of SOAP can be added as a set of "filters" that pre-process and post-process the SOAP messages.
I just saw a presentation on this two weeks ago by Steve Graham, the leader of the project, and it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. Check it out!
Kyle
------------------
Kyle Brown,
Author of Enterprise Java (tm) Programming with IBM Websphere
See my homepage at http://members.aol.com/kgb1001001 for other WebSphere information.

[Paul Newton]

Kyle -
If a project was adopting SOAP, would you recommend Apache SOAP or Axis? I am only interested in the basic marshalling/unmarshalling functionality - not the RPC or UDDI features. In other words, I am only using SOAP as a message transport format.
regards,
paul.

[Kyle Brown]

Good question. Personally, I think the Object marshalling/unmarshalling is much improved in AXIS over Apache SOAP. However, remember that AXIS is still in Alpha. It will change significantly.
I'd at least start using Axis. The API isn't super-different from the previous SOAP API, so you won't have a lot of code to change if you have to drop back...
Kyle
------------------
Kyle Brown,
Author of Enterprise Java (tm) Programming with IBM Websphere
See my homepage at http://members.aol.com/kgb1001001 for other WebSphere information.

[William Brogden]

That is indeed a good question! If you have to get started with SOAP right now, my inclination would be to go with SOAP 2.2 because it is well developed. Axis promises to be faster and cleaner, but is still in alpha!
Incidently, the eventual standard will be from the w3c XML Protocol group - from the stuff I see on the mailing list, they are far from settling a lot of issues.
Bill

[Paul Newton]

William, Kyle -
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, that gives me 2 different answers
Anyone else care to settle the argument!
I have made a start with SOAP 2.2, and find it very interesting.
A little hard to work through (light on javadoc), but it is proving useful. I will try to follow the Axis project, and consider a jump in the future.
regards,
paul.

[SaiPrasad Jukalkar]

hi kyle,
as per my understanding SOAP is an xml file, with its own namespace, can we use the regular parsers or processor(xalan, xerces) to process SOAP files,
how exactly the information is sent through the SOAP files to server or vice versa.
regards,
saiprasad.

[Kyle Brown]

SaiPrasad,
The answer is yes you can, but why? SOAP is a moderately complex format. There are some subtleties in the way that the envelope/body format interacts with HTTP. If you try to do what you suggest you're basically reinventing the code that already exists from Apache.
Kyle
------------------
Kyle Brown,
Author of Enterprise Java (tm) Programming with IBM Websphere
See my homepage at http://members.aol.com/kgb1001001 for other WebSphere information.

[Pho Tek]

Originally posted by SaiPrasad Jukalkar:
as per my understanding SOAP is an xml file, with its own namespace, can we use the regular parsers or processor(xalan, xerces) to process SOAP files,

Apache 2.2 supports messaging if you intend to send pure
XML fragments without the SOAP baggage. And if you write
your own Provider, you might be able to process the messages
directly yourself.
I have not played with Axis but from what Kyle described;
I can't wait to investigate.
Pho