Working with SOAP

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is an XML-based message exchange protocol that relies on application layer protocols such as HTTP for message negotiation and transmission. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) maintains SOAP specification.

Note

The SOAP specifications document is available at https://www.w3.org/TR/soap/.

The SOAP message is an XML document comprised of Envelope, Header, Body, and Fault elements:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<env:Envelope>
<env:Header>
<!-- ... -->
    </env:Header>
<env:Body>
<!-- ... -->
        <env:Fault>
<!-- ... -->
        </env:Fault>
</env:Body>
</env:Envelope>

Envelope is a required element of each SOAP request, as it envelops an entire SOAP message. Similarly, the Body element is also required as it contains request and response information.  Header and Fault, on the other hand, are optional elements. Using merely XML-based request-response messages, we can establish...