This is the first book in the .NET for Developers book series.

With SOAP, developers have a universal "glue" for integrating virtually any distributed system, and streamlining any Internet-based process or communication. Advanced SOAP for Web Development is simply the fastest way for developers to master SOAP. This concise book teaches SOAP the way developers like to learn: hands-on, through real-world projects that focus on the key features developers will use most often. Coverage includes: mastering SOAP data types; understanding SOAP's use of HTTP; troubleshooting SOAP problems using its errors and faultcodes; using WSDL to describe Web Services; using UDDI and Disco to locate Web services; working with Remote Procedure Calls; and using SOAP's "smaller, faster brother," XML-RPC. Dan Livingston offers step-by-step, hands-on tutorials on setting up Web Services, SOAP servers and clients, Microsoft BizTalk servers, setting up Web Services, language binding, and more. Appendices compare SOAP with other distributed object technologies, preview its future, and list today's best tools for working with it.

Preface.

1. Why SOAP? Web Services and .NET.

A Peek at SOAP. Web Services and Internet 3.0. A Brief History of the Internet. So What's a Web Service? Why SOAP Is Needed. .NET: How Evil Is It? Background: Compilers and Runtimes. Intermediate Language. Common Language Runtime. Common Type System (CTS). Common Language Specification. .NET and SOAP. Recap.

2. Basic SOAP.

What Is SOAP? Overview. Goals of SOAP. A Short History of SOAP. What SOAP Can and Can't Do. What SOAP Can Do. What SOAP Can't Do. Advantages and Disadvantages. Advantages. Disadvantages. Serializing and SOAP. Basic SOAP Structure. SOAP Envelope. SOAP Header. SOAP Body. Recap.

3. SOAP Data Types: Encoding and XML Schema.

Overview. Simple and Compound Types. Multireference Values. Encoding and XML Schema. Simple Types. Enumerations. Byte Arrays. Polymorphism. Custom Simple Types. Simple Type Recap. Compound Types. Structures. Arrays. Recap.

4. HTTP and SOAP.

Purpose of HTTP. History. Internet Communication. IP. TCP. HTTP. Connections. Basic HTTP Operations. Cookies and Statelessness. HTTP Message Structure. Requests. Responses. HTTP and Security. Basic Authentication. Original Digest Authentication. Improved Digest Authentication. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Public Key Cryptography. SSL Operation. Open Source. Advantages and Disadvantages of HTTP. SOAPAction. Recap.

5. SOAP Security Extensions.

Security for SOAP. Introduction to XML Signature. Core Generation and Validation. Core Generation. Core Validation. Detailed Syntax. Signature Element. SignatureValue Element. SignedInfo Element. CanonicalizationMethod Element. SignatureMethod Element. Reference Element. Transforms and Transforms Elements. DigestMethod Element. DigestValue Element. KeyInfo Element. KeyName Element. KeyValue Element. DSAKeyValue Element. RSAKeyValue Element. RetrievalMethod Element. X509Data Element. PGPData Element. SPKIData Element. MgmtData Element. Object Element. Manifest Element. SignatureProperties Element. XML Signature in SOAP Messages. Recap.

6. WSDL: Describing Web Services.

What Is WSDL? Status. What Does WSDL Do? Concepts and Terminology. Structure of a WSDL Document. Resulting SOAP Messages. Root WSDL Element. Data Types. Messages. Part Names. Bad. Fine. Operations. Operation Syntax. Kinds of Operations. Parameter Order. Port Types. Quick Review. Binding. Services. Placing the Port. The Whole Code. SOAP Extensions. soap:binding. soap:operation. soap:body. soap:fault. soap:header and soap:headerfault. soap:address. HTTP Extensions. MIME Extensions. Multiple Files. Recap.

7. UDDI.

The Case for UDDI. Assumptions. What Businesses Need. UDDI Goals of Meeting Business Needs. What a Solid Infrastructure Would Do. Use Case. High-Level View. White, Yellow, and Green Pages. UDDI Business Registry. UDDI Business Registry Security. Data Replication. Data Management, Integrity, and Confidentiality. Administration and Privacy. Availability. Auditing. Contested (Bogus) Information. UDDI Data Types. BusinessEntity. businessService. bindingTemplate. tModel. PublisherAssertion. Inquiry and Publishing Functions. Inquiries. Publishing Functions. Error Handling. Recap.

8. SOAP Message Attachments.

Quick MIME Review. Attaching to SOAP. HTTP Binding. Recap.

9. XML-RPC: SOAP's Little Runaway Brother.

What Is XML-RPC? Goals. What XML-RPC Doesn't Do. History. Structure. Request. Response. Faults. Data Encoding. Simple Data Types. Compound Data Types. Null Values. HTTP Headers. What's Missing? Recap.

10. Setting Up a Web Service.

Supersimple Web Service. Virtual Directory on IIS. Downloading Everything. Your First Web Service. Other Languages. WSDL. Web Service Client. Recap.

11. BizTalk Server and SOAP.

Purpose of BizTalk. Structure of BizTalk. BizTalk Header Elements. Endpoints. properties. services. manifest. process. BizTalk Receipts. BizTalk Attachments. BizTalk Security. Recap.

Appendix A: XML Primer.

What Is XML? What's a Markup Language? What Does Extensible Mean? Why XML Is Good. Goals of XML. Elements and Nodes. Structure and Syntax. Attributes or Text Nodes? The Special Symbols and Comments. Recap.

Appendix B: XML Schema Primer.

Introduction to Namespaces. Introduction to XML Schema. Simple Types. Number-Based Simple Types. Date- and Time-Based Simple Types. Miscellaneous Simple Types. Creating Custom Simple Types. Forcing Text to Fit a Pattern. Limiting Numerical Values. Limiting String Length. Creating a List. Combining Simple Types. Predetermined Content. Creating and Reusing Custom Simple Types. Complex Types. Elements Within Elements. Attributes. Attributes and Text. Attributes, Text, and Nested Elements. Creating Custom Complex Types. Referencing Elements and Attributes. New Complex Types Based on Existing Types. Miscellaneous. Annotation and Documentation. Including External Files.

Appendix C: SOAP Compared with Other Distributed Object Technologies.

Technology Aspects. SOAP. SOAP and Security. SOAP and Scalability. SOAP and Garbage Collection. SOAP and State Management. CORBA. CORBA and Security. CORBA and Scalability. CORBA and Garbage Collection. CORBA and State Management. DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model). DCOM and Security. DCOM and Scalability. DCOM and Garbage Collection. DCOM and State Management. Java RMI. Java RMI and Security. Java RMI and Scalability. Java RMI and Garbage Collection. Java RMI and State Management.

Appendix D: Future Directions of SOAP-XML Protocol Working Group.

Appendix E: Keeping Up-to-Date.

Appendix F: SOAP Tools.

Appendix G: UDDI API XML Schema.

Appendix H: The Original HTTP, as Defined in 1991.

Connection. Request. Response. Disconnection.

Appendix I: SOAP 1.2 Working Draft.

W3C Working Draft 9 July 2001. This version: Latest version: Editors: Abstract. Status of this Document. Table of Contents. 1. Introduction. 1.1 Design Goals. 1.2 Notational Conventions. 1.3 Examples of SOAP Messages. 1.4 SOAP Terminology. 2. The SOAP Message Exchange Model. 2.1 SOAP Nodes. 2.2 SOAP Actors and SOAP Nodes. 2.3 Targeting SOAP Header Blocks. 2.4 Understanding SOAP Headers. 2.5 Processing SOAP Messages. 3. Relation to XML. 4. SOAP Envelope. 4.2 SOAP Header. 4.3 SOAP Body. 4.4 SOAP Fault. 5. SOAP Encoding. 5.1 Rules for Encoding Types in XML. 5.2 Simple Types. 5.3 Polymorphic Accessor. 5.4 Compound types. 5.5 Default Values. 5.6 SOAP root Attribute. 6. Using SOAP in HTTP. 6.1 SOAP HTTP Request. 6.2 SOAP HTTP Response. 6.3 The HTTP Extension Framework. 6.4 SOAP HTTP Examples. 7. Using SOAP for RPC. 7.1 RPC and SOAP Body. 7.2 RPC and SOAP Header. 8. Security Considerations. 9. References. 9.1. Normative references. 9.2. Informative references. A. SOAP Envelope Examples. A.1 Sample Encoding of Call Requests. A.2 Sample Encoding of Response. B. Acknowledgements. C. Version Transition From SOAP/1.1 to SOAP Version 1.2. D. Change Log. D.1 SOAP Specification Changes. D.2 XML Schema Changes.

SOAP Glossary.

Index.