The Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP, is used by heterogeneous applications to exchange messages. In addition to simple XML-based messages, SOAP can also transport additional data or payload, such as a graphic or an audio file. This inter-application communication in a distributed environment takes place over transport protocols, such as the Simple Mail Transport Protocol, or SMTP, and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP.

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

  • Identify the use of SOAP in web services
  • Identify the primary elements of a SOAP message
  • Describe the transmission of binary data in a SOAP message
  • Describe the extensibility features of SOAP
  • Discuss the role of message handlers
  • Describe the messaging styles in a SOAP message
  • Discuss the encoding styles in a SOAP message
  • Describe the protocol binding of a SOAP message