SOAP is a lightweight, XML-based, protocol
for exchange of information in a decentralized, distributed environment.
The protocol consists of three parts:
- An envelope that defines a framework for describing what is in a message
and how to process it.
- A set of encoding rules for expressing instances of application-defined
data types.
- A convention for representing remote procedure calls and responses.
SOAP can be used with other protocols, such as HTTP.
The specifications
for SOAP are published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The specification
for SOAP 1.1 is described as a note at Simple
Object Access Protocol 1.1. This specification has not been endorsed
by the W3C, but forms the basis for the SOAP 1.2 specification. It expands
the SOAP acronym to Simple Object Access Protocol.
SOAP 1.2 is a W3C
recommendation and is published in two parts:
The specification also includes a primer that is intended to provide
a tutorial on the features of the SOAP Version 1.2 specification, including
usage scenarios. The primer is published at
SOAP 1.2 Primer. The specification for SOAP
1.2 does not expand the acronym.