Setting Up a SOAP Service
- Installing the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit
- Creating a Virtual Directory
- Using WSML and WSDL
- Writing the WSML File
- Writing the WSDL File
- Testing the SOAP Connection
- Wrapping Up
Introduction
If you're anxious to get into the world of Web services but not so keen on making the jump to the new .NET platform, it's entirely possible to build and deploy a web service using nothing but your favorite text editor installon any Windows workstation running IIS. How is this possible? Easy, once you've located the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit and learned a little bit about Windows Scripting Components.
This article doesn't cover the actual development of the OrderHandler scripting component, although it must be installed on your system before it can be exposed as a SOAP service. The component, the supporting Access database, and other important links are available on the book's web site.
After downloading OrderHandler.wsc and registering it (using regsvr32.exe), you will also need to download OrderDatabase.mdb and create an ODBC DSN (using the ODBC applet in the Windows Control Panel) called SXML-OrderDatabase. Once the component is registered and the data source has been created, we're ready to expose our simple ordering system to the world as a Web service.
Installing the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit
The Microsoft SOAP Toolkit is available for download from the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) web site. Before installing the toolkit, be sure to check the prerequisites and minimum system configuration to ensure that your system is compliant. SOAP runs as either an ISAPI plug-in or an ASP page. Either method provides the same functionality to SOAP clients.
After the SOAP toolkit has been installed, it's time to configure an IIS virtual directory that will contain the SOAP application files.