Frequently asked questions about Web services

This topic presents frequently asked questions about the development and implementation of Web services.

What is the relationship of the WebSphere product to Apache open source? New or updated for this feature pack

The WebSphere product has always extensively supported open source. From a Web services perspective, the WebSphere product contributes a large percentage of the JAX-RPC specification to the open source Apache Axis community. WebSphere Community Edition uses the Apache Axis runtime for its support for JAX-RPC 1.1. With the movement of Web services to a more messaging-centric asynchronous model, the Apache Axis community has created a new version of a Web services runtime that is based on the StAX architecture entitled Axis2.

Axis2 introduces its own proprietary programming and deployment model that is agnostic of any Java-based JCP standards. It did this primarily so that it could support multiple Java-based programming models, whether it JAX-WS, SCA (Apache Tuscany) and Groovy. While the feature pack introduces a standards-based JAX-WS programming model, it actually uses a version of Axis2 as part of its implementation. The feature pack users might see messages during tracing or within call stacks that reflect its Axis2 origins. The WebSphere product is supporting only the JAX-WS programming model and the deployment model that is documented in the information center. WebSphere Application does not support the use of native Axis2 Application Programming Interfaces (API).

For an overview of the Apache Axis2 specifications and features that are supported by the IBM Web services run time in the Feature Pack for Web Services, see New or updated for this feature pack What is new in the Version 6.1 Feature Pack for Web Services.

What IBM development tools work with Web Services?

The Application Server Toolkit and Rational® Application Developer assembly tools provide a graphical interface for developing code artifacts, assembling the code artifacts into various archives or modules, and configuring related J2EE Version 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 compliant deployment descriptors.

Is Web Services for J2EE technology part of the J2EE specification?

WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0.x and later are based on J2EE 1.4. For WebSphere Application Server Version 5.0.2 and Version 5.1.x, the Web Services for J2EE Version 1.0 specification is an addition to J2EE 1.3. The J2EE specification 1.4 requires support for Web Services for J2EE Version 1.1. Minor differences exist between the J2EE 1.3 Version (JSR-109 Version 1.0) and the J2EE 1.4 Version (JSR-109 Version 1.1).

What is the relationship between the Web Services for J2EE specification and the Web Service Invocation Framework (WSIF)?

Web Services for J2EE and WSIF represent two different programming models for accessing Web services. The Web Services for J2EE model is a standard and Java-centric model. This model is also more statically bound to Web Services Description Language (WSDL) documents because of the use of generated stubs. WSIF directly models WSDL. WSIF is more suitable when dynamically interpreting WSDL. WebSphere Application Server Version 6.0.x leverages both technologies to achieve dynamic, high performing standards-based Web services implementations.

What is the relationship between Apache SOAP 2.3 and the Web Services for J2EE specification?

The development and implementation of a Web service is based on the Web Services for J2EE specification in Version 6.0.x and later. You are encouraged to migrate from Apache SOAP because this approach is not recommended for future releases. For information about migrating your Apache SOAP Web services, see Migrating Apache SOAP Web services to Web Services for J2EE standards.

What standards does the Web services runtime support?

You can review the standards and specifications that are supported by WebSphere Application Server for the Web services runtime in Specifications and API documentation.

Does the Web Services for J2EE technology interoperate with other SOAP implementations, like .NET?

WebSphere Application Server supports Web services that are consistent with the WS-I Basic Profile, and should interoperate with any other vendor conforming to this specification.

Can I use a JavaBeans component to implement a Web service using SOAP Java Message Service (JMS) invocation?

The SOAP and JMS support uses message-driven beans (MDB) to implement the JMS endpoint. You can use MDBs in the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) container and delegate to an enterprise bean. If you want to use a JavaBeans implementation instead of an enterprise bean to implement the service endpoint, you must create a facade enterprise bean that delegates to the JavaBeans implementation.

Does the SOAP and JMS support interoperate with other vendors?

No. Currently, no specification exists for SOAP and JMS invocations, therefore each vendor chooses an implementation technique.

How does two-way messaging with a SOAP and JMS implementation work? Can it support multiple clients making simultaneous requests?

Before a client issues a two-way request, it creates a temporary JMS queue to receive the response. This temporary queue is specified as the replyTo destination that is in the outgoing JMS request message. After the server processes the request, it directs the response to the replyTo destination specified in the request message. The client deletes the temporary queue after the response is received. The server can handle simultaneous requests from multiple clients because each incoming request message contains the destination to which the reply is sent.




Related tasks
What is new in the Version 6.1 Feature Pack for Web Services
Troubleshooting Web services
Reference topic Reference topic    

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