WEB SERVICES

Web services are a type of internet software that use standardized messaging protocols and are made
available from an application service provider's web server for a client or other web -based programs to
use. These services are sometimes referred to as web application services. They provide powerful,
flexible interoperability, enabling machine-to-machine interactions across a network even with
machines and software stacks not designed to work together natively.

A web service supports a specific task or set of tasks. A formal description specifies the web service and
includes all the details needed to interact with it, such as message formats and protocols. This lets
almost any hardware or software stack use the service regardless of the underlying platform and
programming language used to build the service. This independence enables complex cross -platform
interactions that simplify and streamline data access and transactional behavior.

Web services range from major services such as storage management and customer relationship
management to more limited services such as furnishing a stock quote and checking bids for an auction
item.

Users can access some web services through a peer-to-peer arrangement rather than a central server.
Some services can communicate with other services. Middleware generally accommodates this
exchange of procedures and data. The need for web services emerged as all major platforms were able
to access the internet, but different platforms couldn't interact with each other. Web services took
platforms to the next level by publishing functions, message, programs and objects to the rest of the
internet.

TYPES OF WEB SERVICE

Web services are built using open standards and protocols to integrate with various applications. The
protocols web services use include the following:

Extensible Markup Language. XML is used to tag, code and decode data. XML-remote procedure call, or
XML-RPC, is a basic XML protocol using HTTP to exchange data and communicate between client and
server systems.

Simple Object Access Protocol. SOAP is an XML-based web service protocol used to transfer data using
SOAP messages. The SOAP protocol was developed to enable different programming languages to
communicate quickly and with minimal effort using HTTP or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).

Web Services Description Language. WSDL is used to tell the client application what's included in the
web service and how to connect. Variations on WSDL include Web Services Conversation Language and
Web Services Flow Language.

Representational State Transfer. Based on HTTP, REST provides interoperability between devices and
the internet for application programming interface (API)-based tasks. While not all RESTful web services
use the REST protocol, applications built with RESTful APIs are more lightweight, manageable and
scalable.
Universal Description, Discovery and Integration. UDDI is an XML-based standard that lists and details
what services are available in an application. It makes web services discoverable to other services and
facilitates digital transactions and e-commerce.

A graphic showing how XML and HTML compare.

UDDI is an XML-based standard that shows what services are available in an application. It also makes
web services discoverable to other services.

How web services work

Web services let different organizations or applications from multiple sources communicate without the
need to share sensitive data or IT infrastructure. Instead, all information moves through a programmatic
interface across a network. This interface can then be added to a GUI, like a webpage, to deliver specific
functionality to users. This means web services aren't specific to one programming language or
operating system (OS) and don't require the use of browsers or Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).

Most web services operate using a typical client-server behavior. An application running on a client
computer or mobile device has access to a network such as the internet. A server provides data and
compute capabilities.

The process includes the following three steps:

The client sends a request to the server that includes details and data the web service requires. The data
can be in any common format such as JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) or XML.

The server side receives and authenticates the request, parses the required details, processes the
request and accesses any appropriate results.

The server accesses any appropriate results and sends them back to the client application, which
displays them in a form and style appropriate for the application.

The key to this process is that the client application is loosely coupled -- meaning it has no relationship
at all -- to the server or data services. The web service lets the client communicate with the server. As a
result, many applications, written by countless developers and businesses, can use a web service to
access compute or data services.

Websites that use web services to access and display map data from a major service like Google Maps
are an example of these client applications. None of those websites know or care how Google Maps
works. It's the web service that provides a common means of interacting with Google Maps to obtain
Google Maps data.
Characteristics of web services

Web services typically use XML for information exchange and have certain other common
characteristics, including the following:

They're accessible to users over the web, allowing web services to be published, discovered and
invoked.

They're modular, so the services can be used independently or aggregated in an arranged or chained
setup to form more complex sets of web services. This is an important means of software modularity
and reusability.

Open standards let them interoperate over any programming language or OS.

They're self-contained so no additional software is needed on the client side other than a programming
language with XML and HTTP support.

They self-describe, using common XML semantics so a WSDL file provides all the information needed to
invoke a service.

They're discoverable through a common mechanism such as UDDI.

They're often open source because of the common underlying standards.

They're loosely coupled to and have no dependency on the underlying server-side implementation.

They're independent of any user interface in favor of code -only programmatic access and operation.

Uses of web services

Web services are used for many tasks, with the most common being reusing code, delivering services,
and connecting existing programs.

that are faster to develop and easier to test and maintain.

Connecting existing programs

Web services can be used to link data between different platforms. Because all applications can include
a web services component, this can turn any program into a fully interoperable one. Wrapping an
existing or legacy application in a web service is an effective way to convert an older application into a
network-capable application, which can modernize it without having to recode it from scratch.

TYPES OF WEB SERVICE

The following examples show how web services are used in real -life applications:

Google search. When computer users access the Google search engine, their search terms or query is
passed to the Google search engine. The engine performs the search and returns search results to the
user's web browser. The user then selects from the available search results or enters a new search query
to refine and continue their browsing.
Google Maps. When using Google Maps, users provide their location and desired destination. The
service calculates the most appropriate route and offers directions and a detailed map delivered to the
user's web browser. Additional services can be invoked to add supplemental data, such as weather and
traffic conditions.

Amazon. This large, well-known shopping site lets users detail the product type, model, manufacturer or
other details for which they're looking. Amazon displays the available product options and lets users
place orders and pay for using Amazon's web services.

ADVANTAGES OF WEB SERVICE

Web services offer many compelling advantages, such as the following:

Simplicity. Web services use standardized technologies such as WSDL, XML and HTTP.

Interoperability. The key to web services is abstraction, allowing systems to interoperate without any
knowledge of the underlying systems or architectures involved.

Cost-effectiveness. The simplicity and well-established technologies involved make web services fast
and inexpensive to build, deploy and maintain.

Modularity and reusability. Web services allow any application to use routine features and functions as
web services rather than incorporating them into each application. This lends itself to software
development that's modular and reusable.

Independence. Web services maintain little or no dependence between the client and server sides of an
exchange. This makes web services stateless in a way that allows for network disruption and data loss
without compromising application performance.

Security. Web services use authentication, authorization, encryption and other security measures to
protect the data being transmitted between clients and servers.

CHALLENGES OF WEB SERVICE

As web services proliferate, concerns include the overall demands on network bandwidth and, for any
particular service, the effect on performance as demands for that service rise. Several new products
have emerged that let software developers create or modify existing applications that can be published
as web-based applications. However, there are other potential issues with web services, including the
following:

Connectivity. Web services are contingent on the availability of network connectivity. Besides
bandwidth limitations, issues such as network reliability and latency can contribute to performance
problems. And network disruptions and downtime can render a web service unavailable.

Overhead. Although web services use standardized, well-established communication layers and
protocols, these technologies also introduce some processing overhead that can impair communications
performance. In addition, resource consumption associated with web services can raise operational
overhead and costs.
Complexity and compatibility. Web services can be complex entities to build, implement and maintain.
Varied communication protocols, data formats and security precautions increase that complexity. Web
services are basically software with version control, often requiring applications to update and upgrade
over time as versions evolve and grow.

Security risks. While security tools exist to protect data exchanges through web services, those security
measures must be implemented properly and tested thoroughly to prevent privacy issues, data
breaches, unauthorized use and other attacks.

Troubleshooting. Web services enable the creation of more complex communication and data exchange
environments. This makes troubleshooting more difficult because problems can arise at the client, the
server, the network or the web service itself.

Vendor lock-in. When using a third-party provider's web service, a business can become dependent on
that provider. This type of vendor lock-in makes it difficult or impossible to use alternative web services
in the future.

WEB SERVERS

A web server is a computer system capable of delivering web content to end users over the internet via
a web browser.

HOW WEB SERVERS WORK

The end user processes a request via a web browser installed on a web server. The communication
between a web server or browser and the end user takes place using Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP). The primary role of a web server is to store, process, and deliver requested information or
webpages to end users. It uses:

Physical Storage: All website data is stored on a physical web server to ensure its safety. When an end
user enters the URL of your website or searches it using a keyword on a browser, a request is genera ted
and sent to the web server to process the data.

Web browser: The role of web browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, or Internet Explorer is to find the web
server on which your website data is located. Once the browser finds your server, it reads the reques t
and processes the information.

WHAT ARE WEB SERVERS USED FOR

Web servers are primarily used to process and manage HTTP/HTTPS requests and responses from the
client system.

A web server can also perform several other functions, such as:
Store and protect website data: A web server can store and protect critical website data from
unauthorized users.

Control bandwidth to regulate network traffic: A web server can help eliminate the downtime caused by
high web traffic. Web hosts can set bandwidth to manage the rate of data transmission over the
internet and minimize the excess network traffic.

Server-side web scripting: The server-side web scripting feature enables users to create dynamic web
pages using scripting languages such as Ruby, Python, and PHP.

Virtual hosting: Web servers can also be used as virtual servers to run multiple applications, websites,
data, and other services.

Dynamic and static web servers explained

A web server can be static or dynamic:

Static web server: A static web server includes hardware or a computer with an HTTP server. These
servers are known as static as they help display hosted content. The best example of a static web server
is an NGINX web server.

Dynamic web server: Dynamic web servers include a static se rver, application server, and database. It is
known as dynamic as it uses the application server to update hosted files before sending them to the
user's browser via HTTP. A dynamic website can update and display different content such as images,
videos, and HTML text. One of the best examples of dynamic web servers is an Apache web server.