Although "web services" technology has suffered from much hype and overly grand expectations, there is plenty of solid development going on, especially in extending enterprise applications, and a huge amount of this development is being done in Java. As a result, the J2EE APIs for web services are evolving rapidly, and this new "in a Nutshell" book covers them all in depth.
One of the most important APIs in the JWSDP is JAX-RPC (Java API for XML-based RPC). It's also the API that developers most consistently post questions about. Java Web Services in a Nutshell covers all aspects of JAX-RPC in detail, with tutorial coverage alone exceeding 150 pages. This book offers developers everything they need to program with JAX-RPC.
Java Web Services in a Nutshell begins with an introduction to Java web services, including a discussion of how they differ from web applications. The author looks at the protocols and interfaces that underpin web services, the J2EE technologies that address web services, WSDL as the means for describe web services, and more. Subsequent chapters cover:
* JAX-RPC
* SOAP and the SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ)
* Reliable SOAP messaging with JAXM
* WSDL
* Advanced JAX-RPC
* JAXR, the XML-based registry API
* Web Services Tools
The balance of the book is made up of an API Quick Reference containing documentation for the various API packages.
Intended for Java developers who need to implement Java services or who need their applications to access existing web services, Java Web Services in a Nutshell delivers practical information to help developers make sense of the rapidly changing and poorly organized official documentation. If web services and Enterprise Java are any part of your job description -- of if you'd like them to be -- you'll want this book close beside as you work.