SOAP may not be obsolete was Re: Creating a Web Service with COBOL... - cobol

"Clark F Morris" <cfmpublic@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:u0m593d5mr5ns220mkakbt894uemc9k3u7@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:30:04 +1200, "Pete Dashwood"
> <dashwood@removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote:
>
>>
>>"softWare design" <sabraham@baxglobal.com> wrote in message
>>news:1182888614.062525.103150@q75g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Just read the following articles and I thought they were interesting,
>>> however, I am wondering if I can create a Web Service by simply
>>> using the Windows APIs (SDK development kit) ? I know that the
>>> SOAP protocol uses the HTTP/HTTPS over the internet to support
>>> interoperable machine to machine interaction. So, is it possible to
>>> use the listed below functions to send the needed XML messages
>>> between clients and servers ?
>>
>>Your links didn't work for me, but I have a fair idea what you're talking
>>about...
>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for any comments....
>>>
>>> HttpOpenRequest()
>>>
>>> HttpSendRequestEx()
>>>
>>> http://www.cobolportal.com/files/egilityedge.pdf
>>>
>>> http://www.adtmag.com/article.aspx?id=7730&amp;page=
>>>
>>> http://www.adtmag.com/article.aspx?id=9472&amp;page=
>>>
>>Yes, it is. But there are much easier ways of accessing Web Services and
>>building them.
>>
>>Have a look at the thread: "Web Services and COBOL (fairly long post..." ,
>>starting with the original post dated 27th May, 2007. It explains the SOAP
>>Toolkit scenario and has sample code for both Fujitsu NetCOBOL and MF
>>NetExpress. For BUILDING Web Services you can use the SOAP Toolkit to
>>generate WSDL.
>>
>>I have connected to SOAP services using the Toolkit, and the "manual"
>>method
>>(painstakingly building all the XML and WSDL myself, some years ago to
>>access a banking service on a mainframe, remotely over the Internet from a
>>PC in a different country.)
>>
>>The Toolkit is better.
>>
>>You should also bear in mind that the SOAP protocol is already obsolete
>>and
>>will no longer be supported by MS after next year. It is being replaced by
>>DotNet Web Services (which provide richer facilities and error checking
>>than
>>SOAP does...)
>
> Of course .NET will work well on all of the Unix / Linux systems as
> well as mainframes from any vendor left.

Not sure if you are being sarcastic here. If you are, you should realise
that the .NET equivalent for Unix/Linux systems is Mono and it is already
enabling these OSes to use equivalent functionality to the .NET framework. I
have already had some sample C# code which I developed under Windows and
..NET, run on a Linux system under Mono without change. The code TRULY is
transportable.

Perhaps this link may help... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_(software)

And yes, there is also a Mono implementation for S390.

>Maybe SOAP is out for
> Microsoft but I suspect other vendors may view things differently as
> might the Linux enthusiasts.
>>

Having used SOAP almost since its early inception, I am a big fan of this
protocol and sorry to see it go. However, the rights to it are owned jointly
by MicroSoft and IBM. W3C has been pressuring for them to make it open but
so far they haven't. They maintain RAND licensing which means they CAN
charge for it if they so decide. Should they do so, and given that Mono is
already open and .NET is unlikely to become closed if it is to stay
competitive, it isn't hard to see which way the wind is blowing.
(Furthermore, .NET/Mono provides richer support for web services anyway...)

MicroSoft have openly stated they will not be supporting SOAP after 2008.
(They wanted to drop it in 2006 and it is only the fact that many of their
own products have it embedded in them, that has caused them to extend its
lifespan.) IBM are ominously silent, but probably have no problem with going
Mono.

Pete.