A guide to building and integrating XML and Web services, providing recommendations for applying the technologies effectively. It helps you dramatically reduce the risk, complexity, and cost of integrating many concepts and technologies introduced by the service-oriented architecture (SOA) platform.

Preface. 1. Introduction. Why this guide is important. The XML & Web Services Integration Framework (XWIF). How this guide is organized. www.serviceoriented.ws. Contact the author. I. THE TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE. 2. Introduction to XML technologies. Extensible Markup Language (XML). Document Type Definitions (DTD). XML Schema Definition Language (XSD). Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT). XML Query Language (XQuery). XML Path Language (XPath). 3. Introduction to Web services technologies. Web services and the service-oriented architecture (SOA). Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI). 4. Introduction to second-generation (WS-*) Web services technologies. Second-generation Web services and the service-oriented enterprise (SOE). WS-Coordination and WS-Transaction. Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS). WS-Security and the Web services security specifications. WS-ReliableMessaging. WS-Policy. WS-Attachments. II. INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY. 5. Integrating XML into applications. Strategies for integrating XML data representation. Strategies for integrating XML data validation. Strategies for integrating XML schema administration. Strategies for integrating XML transformation. Strategies for integrating XML data querying. 6. Integrating Web services into applications. Service models. Modeling service-oriented component classes and Web service interfaces. Strategies for integrating service-oriented encapsulation. Strategies for integrating service assemblies. Strategies for enhancing service functionality. Strategies for integrating SOAP messaging. 7. Integrating XML and databases. Comparing XML and relational databases. Integration architectures for XML and relational databases. Strategies for integrating XML with relational databases. Techniques for mapping XML to relational data. Database extensions. Native XML databases. III. INTEGRATING APPLICATIONS. 8. The mechanics of application integration. Understanding application integration. Integration levels. A guide to middleware. Choosing an integration path. 9. Service-oriented architectures for legacy integration. Service models for application integration. Fundamental integration components. Web services and one-way integration architectures. Web services and point-to-point architectures. Web services and centralized database architectures. Service-oriented analysis for legacy architectures. 10. Service-oriented architectures for enterprise integration. Service models for enterprise integration architectures. Fundamental enterprise integration architecture components. Web services and enterprise integration architectures. Hub and spoke. Messaging bus. Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). 11. Service-oriented integration strategies. Strategies for streamlining integration endpoint interfaces. Strategies for optimizing integration endpoint services. Strategies for integrating legacy architectures. Strategies for enterprise solution integration. Strategies for integrating Web services security. IV. INTEGRATING THE ENTERPRISE. 12. Thirty best practices for integrating XML. Best practices for planning XML migration projects. Best practices for knowledge management within XML projects. Best practices for standardizing XML applications. Best practices for designing XML applications. 13. Thirty best practices for integrating Web services. Best practices for planning service-oriented projects. Best practices for standardizing Web services. Best practices for designing service-oriented environments. Best practices for managing service-oriented development projects. Best practices for implementing Web services. 14. Building the service-oriented enterprise (SOE). SOA modeling basics. SOE building blocks. SOE migration strategy. About the Author. About the Photographs. Index.

Web services is the integration technology preferred by organizations implementing service-oriented architectures. I would recommend that anybody involved in application development obtain a working knowledge of these technologies, and I'm pleased to recommend Erl's book as a great place to begin. —Tom Glover, Senior Program Manager, Web Services Standards, IBM Software Group, and Chairman of the Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I).   An excellent guide to building and integrating XML and Web services, providing pragmatic recommendations for applying these technologies effectively. The author tackles numerous integration challenges, identifying common mistakes and providing guidance needed to get it right the first time. A valuable resource for understanding and realizing the benefits of service-oriented architecture in the enterprise. —David Keogh, Program Manager, Visual Studio Enterprise Tools, Microsoft.   Leading-edge IT organizations are currently exploring second generation web service technologies, but introductory material beyond technical specifications is sparse. Erl explains many of these emerging technologies in simple terms, elucidating the difficult concepts with appropriate examples, and demonstrates how they contribute to service-oriented architectures. I highly recommend this book to enterprise architects for their shelves. —Kevin P. Davis, Ph. D., Software Architect.   Service-oriented integration with less cost and less risk    The emergence of key second-generation Web services standards has positioned service-oriented architecture (SOA) as the foremost platform for contemporary business automation solutions. The integration of SOA principles and technology is empowering organizations to build applications with unprecedented levels of flexibility, agility, and sophistication (while also allowing them to leverage existing legacy environments).   This guide will help you dramatically reduce the risk, complexity, and cost of integrating the many new concepts and technologies introduced by the SOA platform. It brings together the first comprehensive collection of field-proven strategies, guidelines, and best practices for making the transition toward the service-oriented enterprise.   Writing for architects, analysts, managers, and developers, Thomas Erl offers expert advice for making strategic decisions about both immediate and long-term integration issues. Erl addresses a broad spectrum of integration challenges, covering technical and design issues, as well as strategic planning. Covers crucial second-generation (WS-*) Web services standards: BPEL4WS, WS-Security, WS-Coordination, WS-Transaction, WS-Policy, WS-ReliableMessaging, and WS-Attachments Includes hundreds of individual integration strategies and more than 60 best practices for both XML and Web services technologies Includes a complete tutorial on service-oriented design principles for business and technical modeling Explores design issues related to a wide variety of service-oriented integration architectures that integrate XML and Web services into legacy and EAI environments Provides a clear roadmap for planning a long-term migration toward a standardized service-oriented enterprise Service-oriented architecture is no longer an exclusive discipline practiced only by expensive consultants. With this book's help, you can plan, architect, and implement your own service-oriented environments-efficiently and cost-effectively.   About the Web Sites   Erl's Service-Oriented Architecture books are supported by two Web sites. http://www.soabooks.com provides a variety of content resources and http://www.soaspecs.com supplies a descriptive portal to referenced specifications.

As XML becomes an increasingly significant part of the IT mainstream, expert guidance and common-sense strategies are required to avoid the many pitfalls of applying XML incorrectly or allowing it to be used in an uncontrolled manner. This book acts as a knowledge base for issues relating to integration, and provides clear, concise advice on how to best determine the manner and direction XML technology should be positioned and integrated. The book will be one of the first to provide documentation for second-generation Web services technologies (also known as WS-*). The importance of these specifications (which include BPEL, WS-Transaction, WS-Coordination, WS-Security, WS-Policy, and WS-Reliable Messaging) cannot be understated. Major standards organizations and vendors are supporting and developing these standards. ***David Keogh, Program Manager for Enterprise Frameworks and Tools, Microsoft, will provide a front cover quotation for the book.

Reap the benefits of increased ROI by integrating Service-Oriented Design principles and XML Web services into your IT infrastructure. Supplies strategies and best practices for integrating XML, Web services, and Service-Oriented Design principles into organizations. Learn how to benefit from lower cost of operations and improved readiness to respond to new business requirements. Covers the new WS-* second-generation Web services technologies championed by IBM, Microsoft, and BEA Systems.