W3C Offers Web Services Standards

[DigitalX]

Three new Web service standards released by the World Wide Web Consortium offer ways to efficiently package and transmit binary data, and will improve interoperability between application vendors, the W3C says.

 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has released three new Web services standards designed to improve the handling of binary data in various software formats and improve interoperability among applications vendors.

 

The standards are XML-binary Optimized Packaging (XOP), SOAP Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism (MTOM) and Resource Representation SOAP Header Block (RRSHB) — all of which offer ways to efficiently package and transmit binary data included or referenced in a SOAP 1.2 message.

 

Easier Handling of Files

 

The proposals address a critical technical and performance issue for Web services associated with XML, according to Yves Lafon, a member of the consortium's XML Protocol Working Group. "Because XML is a text format, encoding binary data -- such as a picture -- in that format increases the file size of a file by 30 percent," he told NewsFactor. "That takes a lot of bandwidth and significantly slows down applications."

 

XOP provides a standard method for applications to include binary data, as is, along with an XML document in a package, Lafon explained. As a result, applications need less space to store the data and less bandwidth to transmit it.

 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

MTOM uses the features provided by XOP to address SOAP messages with a transmission component that optimizes the transmission and/or the format used for transfer. "Together they provide a way to reduce the size of a SOAP message that contains binary content," Lafon said.

 

Vendors Offer Support

 

The RRSHB gives SOAP message recipients the option either of using the original file or using a cached copy that accompanies the actual SOAP message.

 

The proposals have been embraced by such vendors as MicrosoftRelevant Products/Services from Microsoft, IBM Latest News about IBM and BEA Latest News about BEA Systems, all of which are pushing Web services as a way for businesses to sharing data among applications. Potential uses range from sharing architectural blueprints among multiple parties, to transmitting a photo from a digital camera to aprinter Latest News about Printers.

 

"Enabling a more efficient way [to] serialize and transmit a SOAP message -- and by sending all the data needed to process the message, even when the data would not be readily available (RRSHB) --Web Services Latest News about Web Services have just become faster and more usable," Lafon, said.

 

Yankee Group analyst Dana Gardner told NewsFactor that communications standards are vital to broader acceptance of Web services. "The new standards are designed to close the gap between commercial products and Web services standards for interoperability," he said.