Conclusion

In this chapter we've looked at what a SOAP message is and how you can use it to encode object information for making remote method calls. We also looked briefly at how you can use the powerful technologies provided by the .NET Framework to build distributed applications using SOAP, and we've included some quick examples to get your started.

By now you should feel more comfortable with SOAP and how it works. There is much more to know, so if your thirst for more information is great, we highly recommend you read through the W3C Note defining SOAP. You can use SOAP for many different projects, even if you're not implementing a true .NET-compatible system.

In the next chapter we will look into BizTalk Server, a suite of applications introduced in Chapter 7. We will cover several of the tools that come with BizTalk Server to help you define and orchestrate your entire messaging process.