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RE: What does SOAP really add?

• To: 'Mark Baker' <distobj@a...>
• Subject: RE: What does SOAP really add?
• From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@i...>
• Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2002 16:31:59 -0500
• Cc: xml-dev@l...

Appearances can fool you.  The difference isn't the form; 
it's the function (ok, bad pun but the point is, horses 
for courses).  It limits the potential users.

A web page developer "publishes" a 
web page.  It really is there for anyone and everyone 
to look at.  A function developer thinks about programs 
that will call that function or method.  Yes, one can 
escape and claim that an API is there for anyone to 
use, but the reality is, only those that need it do 
and only those that are qualified can.  This is a much 
more limited audience than "the Web".  How limited? 
It depends but how many services can you think of 
that everyone wants or can code to?

Is it the case that many web services have a limited 
user base, may be contract qualified, and therefore, 
never have to scale to the size of the Internet?

If the programmer thinks that anyone anywhere anytime 
can use it (the web paradigm), use REST.  Otherwise, 
a web service app is a subscription to a set of services, 
contractually bound and qualified, and never scales 
to the very large potential of the Web.  One can 
say that a web service app is an open proprietary 
application.

len

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Baker [mailto:distobj@a...]

> I'm curious.  Do you really believe that many services need 
> to scale to the number of potential Internet users?  That 
> won't happen except possibly for very trivial services 
> and even then, it isn't likely.  People are confusing 
> surfing web pages with accessing functions.  Not the same 
> thing at all.

It's *exactly* the same thing, it just takes an unfamiliar form.

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