By Eric Kidd
Describes how to use XML-RPC to implement clients and servers in a variety of languages. Provides example code in Perl, Python, C, C++, Java, PHP and other languages. Includes sections on Zope and KDE 2.0. Applies to all operating systems with XML-RPC support.
XML-RPC is a simple, portable way to make remote procedure calls over HTTP. It can be used with Perl, Java, Python, C, C++, PHP and many other programming languages. Implementations are available for Unix, Windows and the Macintosh.
XML-RPC was inspired by two earlier protocols. The first is an anonymous RPC protocol designed by Dave Winer and announced in an old DaveNet essay. (This is why XML-RPC servers are often installed under /RPC2.) The other, more important inspiration was an early draft of the SOAP protocol.
XML-RPC is not the only way to make remote procedure calls. Other popular protocols include CORBA, DCOM and SOAP. Each of these protocols has advantages and disadvantages.
SOAP is very similar to XML-RPC. It, too, works by marshaling procedure calls over HTTP as XML documents. Unfortunately, SOAP appears to be suffering from specification creep.
SOAP was originally created as a collaboration between UserLand, DevelopMentor and Microsoft. The initial public release was basically XML-RPC with namespaces and longer element names. Since then, however, SOAP has been turned over a W3C working group.
Unfortunately, the working group has been adding a laundry-list of strange features to SOAP. As of the current writing, SOAP supports XML Schemas, enumerations, strange hybrids of structs and arrays, and custom types. At the same time, several aspects of SOAP are implementation defined.
Basically, if you like XML-RPC, but wish the protocol had more features, check out SOAP. :-)
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Describes how to use XML-RPC to implement clients and servers in a variety of languages. Provides example code in Perl, Python, C, C++, Java, PHP and other languages. Includes sections on Zope and KDE 2.0. Applies to all operating systems with XML-RPC support.
XML-RPC is a simple, portable way to make remote procedure calls over HTTP. It can be used with Perl, Java, Python, C, C++, PHP and many other programming languages. Implementations are available for Unix, Windows and the Macintosh.
XML-RPC was inspired by two earlier protocols. The first is an anonymous RPC protocol designed by Dave Winer and announced in an old DaveNet essay. (This is why XML-RPC servers are often installed under /RPC2.) The other, more important inspiration was an early draft of the SOAP protocol.
XML-RPC is not the only way to make remote procedure calls. Other popular protocols include CORBA, DCOM and SOAP. Each of these protocols has advantages and disadvantages.
SOAP is very similar to XML-RPC. It, too, works by marshaling procedure calls over HTTP as XML documents. Unfortunately, SOAP appears to be suffering from specification creep.
SOAP was originally created as a collaboration between UserLand, DevelopMentor and Microsoft. The initial public release was basically XML-RPC with namespaces and longer element names. Since then, however, SOAP has been turned over a W3C working group.
Unfortunately, the working group has been adding a laundry-list of strange features to SOAP. As of the current writing, SOAP supports XML Schemas, enumerations, strange hybrids of structs and arrays, and custom types. At the same time, several aspects of SOAP are implementation defined.
Basically, if you like XML-RPC, but wish the protocol had more features, check out SOAP. :-)
