Web Service

A software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network. The Standards and protocols used to implement a web service, considered as a protocol stack. All data to be exchanged is formatted with XML tags. The encoded message may conform to a messaging protocol such as SOAP, or XML-RPC. Data can be transported between applications using common protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP and XMPP.

Web services provide interoperability between various software applications running on disparate platforms. Web services use open standards and protocols. Protocols and data formats are text-based where possible, making it easy for developers to comprehend. By utilizing HTTP, web services can work through many common firewall security measures without requiring changes to the firewall filtering rules. Web services easily allow software and services from different companies and locations to be combined easily to provide an integrated service. Web services allow the reuse of services and components within an infrastructure.

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