BizTalk and SOAP
October 18, 1999
BizTalk and SOAP
Microsoft's David Turner said that HTML and HTTP were the
most successful efforts in the industry due largely to their
simplicity. He drew the following comparision:
| HTML |
XML |
| presentation |
programming |
| Web pages |
Web services |
| browse the Web |
program the Web |
He explained Microsoft's view of XML in terms of three major
types of applications:
- as a database row set; data remoting, data binding
- for complex data; perhaps relational databases;
collection of objects that relate to each other
- as a messaging wrapper (transport layer)
Turner spoke about BizTalk,
which is essentially a design framework for implementing
XML Schema, and a set of XML elements used to pass messages
between applications. BizTalk also includes access to
approximately 100 schemas, according to Turner,
although I have been unable to locate a complete list of
these schemas on the
BizTalk Web site.
The benefits of BizTalk
include a roadmap for e-Business, a schemas repository, and
a mapping across schemas.
For an overview of BizTalk, see
BizTalk on Microsoft's Web site.
Several of the BizTalk links below require first establishing
a free account.
Turner also discussed
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
"provides an open, extensible way for applications to
communicate using XML-based messages over the Web, regardless
of what operating system, object model, or language they use.
We provide an overview and the specification."
Turner likened SOAP to
XML-RPC
(remote procedure calls), as a transparent layer that
facilitates inter-application communication via XML messaging.
Another BizTalk presentation was given by Joseph Futty of Microsoft.
Repositories for B2B
What Happened at XML World?
Escaping Entropy Death: The Imperative of XML and Java
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