Web Service is one of the most common terms in the world of web programming and web design. You may be wondering what is a web service? And what is its use? Whether you are a regular user or a programmer, you are using these relationships on a daily basis. You may not know that the world around us is full of web services. In fact, when you buy a train ticket, you receive your banking information from Mobile Bank, and … you have used web services.
Table of Contents
What is a web service?
Web service is a type of programming interface that is implemented on the web. These interfaces, using standard protocols such as http, provide us with various functions and mechanisms so that we can exchange information between different systems. In other words, these relationships enable the relationship between software and software and the client with the software.
A web service is like a communication bridge developed by the W3C to exchange information between different applications. These relationships can work the same way without different dependencies and prerequisites on different operating systems and programming languages. Therefore, in general, their applications and features can be considered as follows:
- Not dependent on the operating system
- Not dependent on programming languages
- Facilitate communication between different software departments
- Facilitate communication between the software and the client
- Integrate information across different platforms
Standards used in Web Services
The main purpose of web services is to create a communication path between the server and the client based on specific standards. In order for these interfaces to function equally in different systems, they must follow these standards. These relationships follow standard protocols widely used in the web. These protocols include:
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
XML is an extensible markup language. This language is used to transfer textual information between web services.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
It is a way of transmitting information in web services that follows many standards. This protocol is suitable for transmitting information with a high level of security and is completely reliable. Implementing web services based on SOAP protocols is more complex. The use of this protocol is more used in distributed services.
WSDL (Web Service Description Language)
Created and developed to standardize the transmission of information on web services. All interfaces that use this standard have an XML file that describes how to use this protocol. This standard specifies the method of communication between the web service and the client.
UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration)
This standard allows developers and companies to introduce and register web services. This protocol is an XML file through which web services are located to connect to each other. In other words, UDDI is a list of web services in which the type and how to access them is specified.
Web services architectures
Web services can be implemented in different ways, and each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. These methods include:
Remote procedure call – (Remote procedure call)
Remote Calling (RPC) is a protocol by which a software can request a service from software on another computer by means of functions. This protocol enables communication between different software in the network without the need to understand the details of that network.
Service-oriented architecture – (Service-oriented architecture)
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a style of software design in which services are divided into separate components (software components). Therefore, each of these components is used to exchange information between different services. Information exchange between services is based on a web-based data transfer protocol.
REST Architecture – (Representational state transfer – REST API)
An architectural style for creating networked software that uses different protocols. One of the most widely used protocols in this architecture is the HTTP protocol. This architecture is designed for point-to-point communication and is not applicable to distributed environments. Implementing these types of relationships is less complicated than other methods.
How web services work
To better understand how a web service works, imagine you have a software unit that is at the X point. All individuals and software departments that are not at point X must use these relationships if they want to use the services provided by that software unit at point X. Therefore, there must be an interface that can provide services provided at that point to other points. The information that is exchanged between different software using these interfaces is transferred as a file and usually based on one of the two standards XML and JSON.
Conclusion
Today, web-based businesses have turned to web-based software to provide more services to their customers and users. Businesses such as train ticket reservation, meteorological information, banking services, etc. are examples of services that have been implemented based on these relationships. Have you ever used such software?