1. What is a Web Service?
A "web service" is a network accessible interface to application functionality built using XML and
usually HTTP.
Standard Setup
• Clients make requests and servers reply
• Communication done over the Internet
Four Basic Steps
1. Web Services client script builds up the request
2. Client sends the request to server using HTTP
3. Server replies and returns an XML document with results
4. Client parses XML
Web Service Description Language (WSDL)
Machine readable description (XML) of a web service. Used here to define server's methods and
parameters.