What is covered?

This book sets out to cover everything that an executive needs to know about Web services both in terms of theory as well as practice. It cites many practical scenarios for Web services and has many diagrams that clearly show how Web services will be invoked and used across the Web. It addresses the standards and technologies that make Web services possible, and the roles that Java and Microsofts .NET can play when it comes to deploying and executing them. It discusses security from multiple perspectives. It also looks at reliability, performance, platform, and scalability issues. It discusses why Web services, despite their incontrovertible appeal , are considered to be behind schedule. In effect, no stone is left unturned. Over the eight chapters that make up this book, everything that has to do with Web services is identified and analyzed in a systematic and logical order.

Chapter 1 provides a thorough reconnaissance of the lay of the land when it comes to Web services. It is a mini-tutorial. At the end of this chapter you will already have a keen appreciation as to what Web services are all about. You will know the rationale for Web services and the growing family of standards that pertain to them. You will already know what roles SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI play and why there is such a buzz over the potential of Web services. Chapter 1 sets the groundwork for the rest of the book. Given that everything to do with Web services is contingent on XML, Chapter 2 provides a background on XML. It also includes an introduction to WSDL, the XML derivative used to define the functionality of a Web service.

Chapter 3 discusses, in considerable detail, the role of Microsoft and Microsoft .NET when it comes to Web services, and the issues, valid and otherwise , that some may have about invoking Web services running on Microsoft servers. Chapter 6 is the counterpoint to this chapter and looks at the role of Java. In between, Chapters 4 and 5 examine SOAP and UDDI, the two seminal standards associated with Web services, with the third being WSDL. Chapter 7 looks at deployment- related issues, including security and platforms, while Chapter 8 summarizes the themes, technologies, methodologies, and recommendations covered in the previous chapters.

There are a glossary and a list of acronyms at the end of this book, though I strive to describe (at least once) the terms, technologies, or buzzwords that are mentioned in the textat or near the first time they are mentioned so as to make sure that you are not left in the dark. There are also an index and a detailed table of contents.

Headings and subheadings are used extensively after the introductory prose to identify and delineate the topics being addressed. The table of contents, which does list all of the headings and subheadings, can serve as a detailed navigational road map through this book. Given this structure, where each chapter starts off with an overview, many topics may appear multiple times within a chaptertypically with incremental levels of detail or refinement. Each chapter ends with a 10-item Q&A, which sets out to recap the important issues addressed in that chapter.