---
title: "What is SOAP and how does it relate to XML?"  
description: "What is SOAP and how does it relate to XML?"  
author: "Dependra Pathak"  
published: 2011-03-18  
updated: 2020-09-20  
canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/interview/509/what-is-soap-and-how-does-it-relate-to-xml  
category: "xml"  
tags: ["xml"]  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What is SOAP and how does it relate to XML?

The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) uses XML to define a protocol for the exchange of information in distributed computing environments. SOAP consists of three components: an envelope, a set of encoding rules, and a convention for representing remote procedure calls. Unless experience with SOAP is a direct requirement for the open position, knowing the specifics of the protocol, or how it can be used in conjunction with HTTP, is not as important as identifying it as a natural application of XML.

## Answers

### Answer by Dependra Pathak

The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) uses XML to define a protocol for the exchange of information in distributed computing environments. SOAP consists of three components: an envelope, a set of encoding rules, and a convention for representing remote procedure calls. Unless experience with SOAP is a direct requirement for the open position, knowing the specifics of the protocol, or how it can be used in conjunction with HTTP, is not as important as identifying it as a natural application of XML.


---

Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/interview/509/what-is-soap-and-how-does-it-relate-to-xml

Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.