(
Simple
Object
Access
Protocol) A protocol for exchanging messages over the Internet. Initiated by Microsoft, IBM and others, SOAP is widely used to send messages between Web services using XML commands and the HTTP protocol. Able to handle complex transactions, SOAP is known for its built-in security mechanisms.
SOAP and REST
Both are methods for creating a programming interface (API); however, SOAP generally uses XML, whereas REST supports multiple data formats. See
UDDI and
REST.