Understanding Web Services: XML, Wsdl, Soap, and UDDI

In my role as a solutions architect, I find myself having to read vast quantities of technical material, much of which is sadly lacking in substance, diluted to the point of uselessness, biased in a particular technology (or vendor) direction, or simply just poorly written. Eric Newcomer's book is a refreshing change from much of the material I have had the misfortune to read lately - it is a well-written work that provides the reader with an excellent overview of Web Services and the use of the associated technologies. The book provides a well-balanced discussion of the various key technology areas (XML, WSDL, SOAP, UDDI), and includes many useful insights into the issues associated with these technologies and where the technologies are heading, based on current industry usage and standards formulation. The history of each technology area is discussed, providing the reader with useful background information. Attention is paid to the salient points, rather than getting bogged down in unnecessary details that might be readily obtained elsewhere. To this end, it is worth noting that a most pleasing feature of this book is the inclusion of a comprehensive bibliography, allowing the reader to readily identify sources of more detailed information on particular subject areas, if required (many of the references are freely available via the Internet). As clearly stated in the introduction, the book is intended for IT professionals who need to understand Web Services, how they work, and (most importantly) what they are good for - the book is not intended to describe how to implement Web Services using a particular product offering from IONA (Eric Newcomer is the IONS CTO) or any other vendor. It is clear that Web Services are going to have a huge impact on the way we look at distributed computing, however it is also clear that the whole area of Web Services is still evolving. The book does not present Web Services as a 'silver bullet', but instead gives the reader a balanced perspective of the topic, thus providing a sound basis for informed decision making. Much of the material is presented in such a way that it can be readily understood and appreciated by less-technical IT professionals (such as managers like mine that no longer perform a technical role within the organization but want to understand what the heck I'm talking about).With regard to implementation architectures such as Microsoft.Net and J2EE, the book does not pitch one technology against another, but instead simply states the facts, allowing the reader to formulate their own (now informed) views on these and other such tools and technologies, where and how they might be used, and so on. In addition to covering the main technology areas (XML, WSDL, SOAP, UDDI) the book also discusses alternative approaches to Web Services (ebXML) and perhaps less well-known technologies such as XML-RPC and Reliable HTTP, and what role these technologies might play in future developments. It is interesting

Eric Newcomer's book was written for the well read architect, technically minded manager, or developer who is interested in more than just bits and bytes. If you are interested in 'how to implement a Web Service in language X or Y', then look else where. If you have the mind for the bigger picture then this is the book for you. Although Eric Newcomer is CTO of IONA this book does not suffer from the typical vendor marketing hype that one has to typically wade through, more importantly being involved in the major organisations defining the Web Service standards he is able to give you an up to date well balanced opinion of where each technology (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI etc) is heading and problems facing each one. For an architect or manager who has the responsibility of planning the future EAI strategic direction for the company this book provides an honest basis to make well informed decisions e.g. does one move towards ebXML now or wait, or choose SOAP, WSDL, UDDI as they appear to be heading. The book is easily read, starting with the basics, moving on to the core technologies making up Web Services, then to the less well known technologies being floated, finally to an overview of the product offerings from the major vendors. No book can be all things to all people and where Eric Newcomer has thought appropriate he has referred the reader to further reading.In summary I can highly recommend this book to those who want to know:- what are Web Services, - where do they fit in to my organisation, - where are Web Services heading and the problems they face, - who/what are the main driving forces behind Web Services, - how do the technologies (SOAP, WSDL, UDDI etc) fit together,- what other technologies are currently being floated.Web Services are posing an exciting future as a mechanism for `globalising' the world of bits and bytes, this is a great book to come to grips with the world of Web Services.

Getting a grasp of Web Services is immensely difficult. Every vendor has a different version - often twisting it to suite their commercial needs.I have been working with the fundamentals for Web Services for over two years, and I have been amazed at the hype to which it has succumbed. Some of this hype is justified and it can be daunting separating facts from fiction.I was pleased Eric Newcomer's book - it provided a relief from hype and grounds for clear thought. Mr. Newcomer approached this book from the ground-up and does not patronize the reader with unsubstantiated claims.This book is recommended to the reader that is curious on Web Services and would like a book that can provide a launching pad towards understanding the subject.In this book you will find: - How Web Services evolved- The technology that makes it happen- The promises of Web Services- Different software vendor's strategy on Web ServicesYou will not find how to get started on running your first Web Services projects - that information can be found online or in another book. In this book you can expect to find the foundation that will give you a good perspective on Web Services. Upon reading this book, you will be able to discern which areas of Web Services that will interest you the most. Armed with this knowledge you will be able to read materials on Web Services, immune to being swayed by marketing hype.Best wished on your Web Services journey - it is an exciting field. I hope you find this review helpful - please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

This is one of the best books I've found to date on web services. It sits half way between what I call the protocol books (you know: the O'Reilly sea-creature series) and strategy books such as the one I'm currently writing. What impressed me most was the book's thoroughness. Although it's clearly aimed at developers and includes a fair number of XML examples, the book contains few code listings. (When you're ready for that, you need the sea-creature books.) Instead, Understanding Web Services gives equal time to technology, standards, strategies and Eric's own perspectives on the offerings of the major vendors. (Eric is the CTO of IONA.) If you want to know what web services are all about, with an emphasis on the technologies, this is the place to start. I only wish this book had been available when I was ramping up.

This is a no hype book that thoroughly covers all you need to know to develop non-proprietary, standards based web services. There is no gushing fluff about how great web services are and why it's the best thing since sliced bread. Instead you get a complete, factual overview of what web services are and are not, and the building blocks available to design, develop and implement them.All of the important pieces are covered (XML, WSDL, SOAP, and UDDI), as are the standards. Alternative pieces, such as ebXML, are also given objective treatment.If all you want to do is learn about web services without getting bogged down in an author's technical politics, get this book. It's a refreshing change from the ones that have flooded the market in recent months.