Chapter 15: Using ADO.NET in XML Web Services

Chapter 15: "Using ADO.NET in XML Web Services"

Web services provide a way to run a service on the Web and access its methods using standard protocols, including Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), XML, Web Service Description Language (WSDL), and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Technically, a Web service is nothing more than an application that exposes its interface over the Web to a client who wants to access the service's abilities. The uses of a Web service include validating credit cards, searching for data in a database, inserting an order into a shopping cart, and updating a guest list. The sky is the limit on what you can have your Web service do. In the past, JavaBeans, Component Object Model (COM) components, and other, nonstandard service components handled these services, which required specialized formats or extra, specialized components to exchange data with the client. But Web services under .NET run by invoking methods in the service directly through HTTP or SOAP, so someone wanting to run your Web service from their computer can simply send an HTTP call to your service, passing the parameters in a standard Uniform Resource Locator (URL). This chapter shows you how to use ADO.NET in XML Web services.