A web service is a standardized way for different applications or systems to communicate and share data over the internet, regardless of their underlying technologies or platforms. Web services use standard protocols, typically HTTP/HTTPS, to send and receive messages between clients and servers.
A web service acts as a mediator between different applications or systems, allowing them to interact with each other over a network. This interaction typically follows a request-response model, where a client sends a request to a server, and the server responds with the necessary data or action.
Web services are essential for building distributed systems and cloud-based applications in today’s software ecosystem.
The SOAP Web service protocol integrates a specific set of transaction documents between SAP Ariba solutions and SAP ERP or SAP S/4HANA (on-premise) via SAP Integration Suite, Managed Gateway for Spend Management, and SAP Business Network.
SOAP protocol uses XML to structure messages and exchange data between systems. It provides a way to perform remote procedure calls (RPCs), where a request is made to execute a function on the server. SOAP-based web services typically come with a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) file that describes the service's operations, parameters, and how to interact with it.
Critical Characteristics of Web Services:
- Interoperability: Different systems, written in different programming languages, can communicate with each other.
- Statelessness: Most web services, especially RESTful ones, are stateless, meaning each request from the client to the server is independent.
- Platform Independence: Web services allow systems on different platforms (Windows, Linux, etc.) to communicate.
- Accessibility: Web services can be accessed over the internet or a private network.