--- title: "Web Service Introduction" description: "As the name \"Web Services\" suggests, it is a method for communicating between two electronic devices over the web (internet)." author: "mohan kumar" published: 2012-03-21 updated: 2017-11-30 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/895/web-service-introduction category: "web services" tags: ["web services"] reading_time: 3 minutes --- # Web Service Introduction ##### Introduction: [As the name](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/34352/the-term-update-database-is-not-recognized-as-the-name-of-a-cmdlet-function) "Web Services" suggests, it is a method for communicating between two [electronic devices](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/102394/what-role-does-a-ups-play-in-protecting-electronic-devices) over the web (internet). A web service is not a website that a human reads. It is not anything with which an end user would directly interact. A web service is a standard platform for building interoperable distributed applications. It allows you as a developer, to interact with other information providers without worrying about what they are running either at the backend or even their front-end. ##### Points to remember: 1. Web Service is small units of code. 2. Web Service is small unit of codes that is designed to handle a limited set of tasks. For example, [online payment](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/39250/which-online-payment-service-provider-has-partnered-with-indian-oil-corporation-limited-iocl-for-deployment-of-pos-terminals) system communicates using Web Services. 3. Web Service is independent of OS and [Programming Languages](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/1911/7-programming-languages-you-can-learn-for-seo). 4. Web Service is not limited to OS type or Programming Languages as it communicates using open protocol systems. 5. Web Service is designed to handle a limited set of tasks. 6. The main point is that they are designed to handle limited sets of tasks, like a [payment gateway](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/323674/how-payment-gateways-work) connects to a server for some time interval. 7. Web Service connects to different systems and devices. Another point is that it can establish communication with different types of systems; for example, a mobile device can also use banking or stock prices. ##### Benefits of Web Services: Web Services creates new possibilities for many businesses because they provide easy ways to distribute information to a large number of consumers. For example, ticket reservation systems, [payment systems](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/105107/what-are-the-advantages-of-mobile-payment-systems-for-businesses), stock market etc. Here is the list of benefits. 1. Distribute information to more consumers 2. Reuse existing services 3. Communicate between applications 4. Rapid developments etc. ##### Protocols Web service uses the standard web protocols to establish communication between different types of systems (open standard) like XML, HTTP, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. ##### XML: XML was designed to transport and store data and in WS we take its advantage to transport the data. ##### HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of [data communication](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/97102/name-the-types-of-errors-in-data-communication-over-a-network) for the [World Wide Web](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/156264/what-is-the-world-wide-web). ##### SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): SOAP is a simple XML-based protocol to let applications exchange information over HTTP. Or more simply, SOAP is a protocol for accessing a Web Service. In other words, SOAP provides a way to communicate between applications running on different [operating systems](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/332551/operating-systems-trends-and-innovations-in-2023), with different technologies and programming languages. ##### WSDL (Web Services Description Language): WSDL (Web Services Description Language) is an XML-based language for describing Web services and how to access them. WSDL is a document written in XML. The document describes a Web service. It specifies the location of the service and the operations (or methods) the service exposes. ##### Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI): Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) are a directory service where businesses can register and search for Web services. It is platform-independent framework for describing services, discovering businesses, and integrating [business services](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/84864/how-to-use-mindstick-business-services) by using the Internet. ##### Developing Web Services and Consuming Web Services: I am an ASP.NET guy, so I'll prefer to use it in the Web Service developments. Keep in mind, there are two separate developments involved in Web Services: 1. Developing Web Services 2. Consuming Web Services --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/articles/895/web-service-introduction Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.