SOAP encoding is a method used in the SOAP protocol to represent values of data types defined in the SOAP data model, facilitating their transformation for transmission and reconstruction upon receipt.
Understanding SOAP Encoding
At its core, SOAP encoding provides a specific encoding style that allows you to serialize/deserialize values of data types from the SOAP data model.
- Serialization is the process of converting an in-memory data structure (like an object or variable value) into a format suitable for transmission, typically a sequence of bytes or a structured format like XML.
- Deserialization is the reverse process, reconstructing the original data structure from the transmitted format.
The SOAP data model defines fundamental data types (like strings, numbers, arrays, structures). SOAP encoding specifies the rules for how instances of these data types should be represented within a SOAP message's XML structure for interchange.
Key Characteristics
Based on its definition, SOAP encoding has specific characteristics:
- Purpose: To serialize and deserialize data type values from the SOAP data model.
- Standard: This encoding style is defined in the SOAP 1.1 standard.
- Compliance: It is not WS-I compliant.
Being defined in SOAP 1.1 differentiates it from the literal encoding style, which is often preferred in later specifications and profiles like WS-I Basic Profile.
Implications
The fact that SOAP encoding is not WS-I compliant is significant. The Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) created profiles to promote interoperability among different web service implementations. Using SOAP encoding (which is a SOAP 1.1 feature not included in WS-I profiles) can sometimes lead to interoperability issues between different web service platforms or toolkits that adhere strictly to WS-I guidelines.
In summary, SOAP encoding provides specific rules for data representation within SOAP 1.1 messages, enabling the exchange of structured data, but its lack of WS-I compliance means it may not be the most interoperable choice for modern web services.
