web technology

Nowadays many youngsters are showing their interest in the world of the internet, the very first thing that strikes in their mind is that what is a web service? And it is not at all hard to answer this question because all the activities that you perform using an internet connection are termed under the category of web services. However, the definition says:- any type of software, application, or any cloud technology that can provide you a service of interoperating, communicating, and exchanging of data from one computer network to another is termed to be a web service.

work on the Internet

For example, all types of services that you use on your internet today is a result of a web service; it can be handling your social media account, making orders from shopping websites, or even digital banking is a result of a web service only.

Basically, a web service uses XML to intercommunicate through the computer networks, XML or Extensible Markup Language is a web service that can help a user to communicate or to send messages from application to application; under this program, the user can share texts, documents and all other ways of contacting as per the design of the application.

The key feature that supports the answer to the question of what is a web service is that apart from being different languages used in different applications and web pages, the web service still is able to exchange the data with each other.

Functions of a web service

A web service provides various functions to the users:

  • It is greatly available to use over the internet and intranet networks of computers.
  • It provides the extensible markup language messaging system.
  • It is independent of a single operating system
  • Web services are self-describing by using standard XML language.
  • You can discover a web service by using a simple location method.

All the web pages that are available on the internet are created by using many different languages. It is the duty of the web service that they create a communication network between the web pages and applications that are normally created of HTML, XML, WSDL, and many others.

Different types of web services

services on the Internet

There are several types of web services that different users and creators use to create communication and manage the flow of data exchange. Some of them are:

  • XML- Remote Procedure Call: the primary form of protocol that is most common in use is the
  • XML-RPC protocol: it helps in the exchange of data between a huge variety of devices that are available on the internet. The XML protocol uses the HTTP format to transfer the data in a quick and easy manner from the client’s server.
  • Universal Description, Discovery, and integration:- it is a kind of XML standard that helps in the detailing and publishing of a web page. This type of web service is common among the business as they initiate the transactions on the websites.
  • SOAP: if you are exchanging data and documents using the networks of computers, you are using the SOAP protocol of the XML standard web service in it. This protocol uses HTTP or SMTP method to make this happen.
  • REST: if your task is based on API, you are using the REST method to exchange the data from one computer to another. The REST protocol also uses the HTTP as the supporting protocol to help the transfer of data happen.

 Few of the web services that use markup languages

Each and everything that you do on the internet, whether you create a web page or update it or maintain it, you are using a style of markup language into it. Some of the well-known web services that use this language to develop their web services are:- Web templates, JSON-WSP, Web Services Description Language, Web Services Conversation Language, Web Services Metadata Exchange, XINS, WSCL, and many more.

REST versus SOAP web service

Years have passed in debating over the best web service in the world by the professionals and the developers of web pages, but they are unable to decide a clear winner to this debate. What makes more sense is that both the REST and SOAP web services are useful in their own way.

REST service is best when you see time as an important factor to decide.

Whereas SOAP will fit best when you make a decision based on building service with multiple, non-CRUD methods.

Well, now you are clear with the point that describes what is a web service, and also clear by its various types.