The next generation of e-Business applications will use web services as an architecture platform. Fueling this next generation is the acceptance of key de-facto industry standards. At the top of the de-facto standards list are
These and many more open, industry standards are keys to the success of web services. Most software vendors, including Borland, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Sun, Oracle, BEA Systems, Hewlett-Packard, and more, are pushing forward in delivering web service development technologies.
Okay, you've read some of the press releases, articles, and specifications. You might ask, "Where's the beef?". Where are the real web services? Where's the WSDL? Here are a few directories that list web services you can use today (some of them are even built using Delphi 6).
How can you find out more about Web Services? As always, there are many resources for developers on the Internet.
| Specification | URL |
|---|---|
| SOAP - Simple Object Access Protocol | http://www.w3.org/tr/soap |
| WSDL - Web Service Description Language | http://www.w3.org/tr/wsdl |
| UDDI - Universal Description, Discovery and Integration | http://www.uddi.org |
| XML Protocol | http://www.w3.org/2000/xp/ |
| SOAP Messages With Attachments | http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP-attachments |
| SOAP Routing Protocol | http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/xml_wsspecs/soap-rp/default.html |
| DIME - Direct Internet Message Encapsulation | http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/xml_wsspecs/dime/default.htm |
| XLANG - Web Services for Business Process Design | http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/xml_wsspecs/xlang-c/default.htm |
| DMSL - Directory Services Markup Language | http://www.dsml.org |
| XKMS - XML Key Management System | http://www.xkms.org |
| Security Services Markup Language | http://www.s2ml.org |
| ebXML – electronic business XML | http://www.ebxml.org |
| XML-RPC | http://www.xml-rpc.com/ |
| XAML - Transaction Authority Markup Language | http://www.xaml.org/ |
| SOAP – Web Services Resource Center | http://www.soap-wrc.com/webservices/default.asp |
| ZDNet Business & Tech Web Services | http://www.zdnet.com/business/filters/webservices/ |
| W3C XML Protocol Comparisons | http://www.w3.org/2000/03/29-XML-protocol-matrix |
| WebServices.org resource site | http://www.webservices.org/ |
| Web Services Developers Journal | http://www.sys-con.com/webservices/ |
| Web Services Architect | http://www.webservicesarchitect.com/ |
| O’Reilly XML.COM Resouce Guide | http://www.xml.com/resourceguide/ |
| Grand Central Web Services Network | http://www.grandcentral.com/ |
| xmlhack developer news from the XML community | http://www.xmlhack.com/ |
How do you get started? One great way to start is to use Delphi 6's web services technology. Build web applications. Publish the interfaces to the components of your web applications. Anders Ohlsson shows how easy it is to integrate web services into a Delphi 6 application in his article at http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,27319,00.html. John Kaster interviews, Rick Nadler, Web Services Architect, on the new support for Web Services in Delphi 6 on CommunityTV at http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,27301,00.html. Nick Hodges shows you how to build a Shakespearean insults web service at http://community.borland.com/article/0,1410,27399,00.html.