Review of Java and SOAP

ISBN 0-596-00175-4 Price £28.50 UK
Robert Englander
Preface, 11 Chapters, Collophon and Index in 260 pages

    1 Introduction
    2 The SOAP message
    3 SOAP Data Encoding
    4 RPC-Style Services
    5 Working with Complex Data Types
    6 Custom serialisation
    7 Faults and Exceptions
    8 Alternative techniques
    9 SOAP interoperability and WSDL
    10 SOAP headers
    11 JAX-RPC and JAXM

Java and SOAP are some of the newer programing languages that are used for web application development. Although Java has been used on a space probe mission to Mars it is still seen as a new language when compared with C or C++. Robert Englander sets out to explain the complexity of SOAP and related software and in some way is able to remove some of the confusion and help the reader to get to understand what to do next.

In spite of witty comments from people who claim otherwise Java isn't about coffee and SOAP isn't about the latest box of soap powder that you pour into the river down the road. Although, if you had witnessed some of the more recent dirty comments from some of the UK based Open Source programmers about some of the newer progamming languages - for example XML - you might well think that names like SOAP and Java are just advertising buzzwords for the latest mass produced poison of your choice. To quote the first paragraph from the introduction .... " In the history of software development, new approaches frequently bring discarded ideas back into the mainstream of common practice. Each time an idea is revisited, prior successes and failure become invaluable aides in improving the concept and making its implementation better, or at least more usable. Now I'm not saying that we kep re-inventing the wheel; rather, we keep going back and improving the wheel. And doing so can often be the catalyst for new ideas and new technologies that were not possible with the old wheel." Or, from a more anthropological or historical point of view - mankind and civilisations have always sought better ways to improve the tools that they use in everday life with a view to improving the quality of life. I'll leave out the argument of whether anyone actually achieves that goal.

The preface as well as explaining some simple facts about Simple Object Access Protocol also tells us that the intended audience is for anyone interested in how to access SOAP based services in Java. It's written for programmers, students and professionals who are familiar with Java. If you aren't familiar with Java then you might want to get hold of another O'Reilly book or perhaps one of the many volumes produced by Wrox Press or Prentice-Hall. Some basic ideas are introduced in chapters one and two and by the time the reader reaches chapter three SOAP data encoding is discussed. At chapter four RPC-style services are shown with some nice graphics of web pages and some coding examples. Complex data data types are discussed in chapter five. Most things that you might want to do have been covered so far but in chapter six custom serialisation is covered in order to take in those things which simply aren't possible with other methods. Even though the book isn't about propieretary software chapter seven explains faults and exceptions. Other alternative methods that haven't been covered so far as discussed in chapter eight. SOAP and Web Services Definition Language interoperability are the subject of chapter nine. SOAP headers are shown at chapter ten. Chapter eleven goes into JAX-RPC and JAXM. Standardisation occurs when a type of technology has reached a certain momentum. Standards and acronyms are starting to appear.

The Colophon which can be found at the back of every O'Reilly book is all about fish and in this case it's the sort that of fish that every penguin shouldn't try to eat. " The animal on the cover of Java and SOAP is a red firefish, Pterois volitans. These fish are found throughout the warm, tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans at depths up to 100 feet. They tend to sit nearly motionless on the ocean floor, often under ledges, waiting for potential prey - mainly small fish and crustacea - to wander into range. Red Firefish are members of the family Scorpaenidae - scorpionfish - named for the poisonous spines on their dorsal fins. Confident in their ability to defend themselves, firefish often do not back off even when a human approaches; instead, they point their venomous spines towards aggressors. Their confidence is well placed: the sting of their spines, though not usually fatal to humans, is extremely painful. In addition to their native ocean habitat, red firefish can also be found living in many home tropical aqauriums. They can grow up to 16 inches in length and so require a fairly large tank. But despite their fearsome spines and predatory nature, they're actually very peaceful and sociable, and they get along well with other fish - except the ones small enough to be eaten. "

O'Reilly like to produce distinctive covers for their books which complement their distinctive approach to technical subjects thus breathing new life and and personality into potentially dry subjects.