Chapter 30. WebLogic Server and Web Services

by Jeff Marin and Kunal Mittal

IN THIS CHAPTER

• What Are Web Services?

• What Are Web Services Used For?

• Support for Web Services in WebLogic

• Web Service Technologies

• WebLogic Server Web Services Architecture

• Tools for Creating Web Services in WebLogic

• Creating Web Services with Java Code

• Creating a Web Service with a Stateless Session Bean Back End

• Working with SOAP Message Handlers

• Securing Web Services

• Working with the UDDI Directory Explorer

• Creating Web Services with WebLogic Workshop

• Web Services Best Practices

Although many attempts have been made in the past to integrate applications that run on different hardware platforms, execute in different operating systems, and are written in a variety of computer languages, none has become the universal glue that its originators have envisioned. Those attempts include CORBA, COM, EDI, and IIOP.

With the advent of the Internet and universal worldwide connectivity based on standards such as TCP/IP and HTTP, the idea of universal integration technology has been revisited. Machines connected to the Internet can easily communicate using network-level protocols such as HTTP and FTP, but for applications to speak, a higher-level language is required. That higher-level language is XML (and its various dialects).

This chapter focuses on the various aspects of Web Services and how WebLogic Server provides tools and support for their construction and orchestration. We'll talk about various source code–level tools, such as ANT tasks, as well as the WebLogic Workshop UI tool that helps developers build Web Services.