Web Services Explained, Solutions and Applications for the Real World

What's So Special about Web Services?

Web services can do all of the following:

• Enable application developers to stop worrying about systems infrastructure and instead focus on writing cooperative applications. Web services combined with XML enable applications to be written in any of the most popular programming languages and deployed on any of the most popular systems platforms. This makes much of the complexity in writing program-to-program applications (applications that can work cooperatively with each other, usually across systems environments) transparent and thus greatly simplifies the job of applications programmers. (At long last, programmers can focus more on writing useful applications and less on making those applications work with underlying systems infrastructure.)

• Help cut down on application development time and expense. (Developers can make use of existing applications modules rather than having to write new service applications from scratch every time they write a new program.)

• Enable application writers to dynamically grow application portfolios. (In other words, enable application developers to assemble compound application solutions more quickly than ever before using internally created "modules" as well as externally created modules to build compound applications quickly, so that enterprises can bring new products and features to market more expeditiously.)

• Open new marketing opportunities for enterprises that already have applications. Existing applications can be sold as Web services modules (providing a potential new source of revenue to the enterprise).

• Enable enterprises to respond more quickly to changing market conditions (e.g., new buyer trends) or to competitive pressures.

• Help consumers and business users get access to highly personalized applications that can run on multiple different devices (PCs, handhelds, smart phones, etc.).

These are but a few of the benefits offered by the Web services application development and deployment model! Many others relate to using Web services to create new go-to-market approaches and new efficiencies, reduce costs, repackage existing products or intellectual material, and so on. This book focuses on nine of these benefits (see Figure 0-2).