SOAPalapú

SOAPalapú, or SOAP-based, refers to software systems that use the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) for exchanging structured information in web services. SOAP messages are XML payloads carried over HTTP or HTTPS, though other transports are possible. A SOAP-based service is typically described by a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) document that specifies available operations and binding details.

A SOAP message has an envelope with an optional header and a mandatory body. SOAP supports both RPC-style and document-oriented messaging and can incorporate extensions via headers. Standards from the WS-* family (for security, reliability, and policies) enable features such as WS-Security, WS-ReliableMessaging, and WS-Policy.

Uses: SOAP-based services are common in enterprises and B2B integrations where formal contracts, security, and reliability are important. They are compatible with various platforms and languages and can operate over different transport protocols.

Advantages and drawbacks: SOAP provides interoperable contracts and rich security/reliability features, but it is verbose and generally slower and more complex than RESTful approaches. This has led many new APIs to adopt REST/JSON, though SOAP remains in use where governance and enterprise requirements prevail.

History and status: SOAP emerged in the early 2000s as a standard for web services (SOAP 1.1/1.2) and remains in use in legacy systems and sectors with strict integration standards, even as REST has become dominant for public APIs.