What are XML Web services?

XML Web services are one of the most exciting developments of the Internet age. This new technology allows computer applications to communicate with each other, regardless of platform, location, or device. Examples of Web services currently available include the Google API and Amazon's ordering service.

What is this course about?

In this course, experienced Java programmers learn to write new Web services and access existing Web services. Specifically, you gain extensive hands-on experience using Java to develop Web services and to access them in both a synchronous and asynchronous manner. You also learn to utilize existing services to rapidly develop solutions to business problems. You secure Web services with Java and XML security technologies.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is useful for those interested in developing Web services or integrating applications on the Web, including programmers, Web application developers and systems architects.

What background do I need?

It is assumed that you have 3+ months of experience writing Java programs. You should understand Java classes and the inheritance model. You should be able to:

• Create and run a complete stand-alone Java application
• Use the standard flow control constructs (if/then/else/while/for)
• Instantiate Java objects and call instance methods
• Create classes that implement interfaces

You can learn enough Java to be ready for this course by completing Course 471, Java Programming: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction.

Do I need to know XML for this course?

Some familiarity with XML is helpful, but the course covers all of the XML you need to successfully complete the exercises.

Does this course cover SOAP and WSDL?

Yes. This course provides an overview of both of these technologies. You learn these technologies in enough detail to be able to access them with Java APIs and apply them in your own Web services.

What Java technologies will I use in this course?

This course uses the Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) to create Web services and Web service clients. You learn how to use the JAX-WS to JAXB bindings and customize those bindings. You also learn how to interact with XML and SOAP at the low level using the Dispatch and Provider APIs. The reference implementation of JAX-WS (Metro, which is a part of Glassfish and Sun Application Server) is used in this course.

Will I learn to use any vendor-specific tools, such as WebSphere?

No. However, everything that we discuss in this class is applicable to any Java EE– and Java 6–compliant Web services platform, such as WebSphere and JBoss.

How much time is devoted to each topic?

What kinds of hands-on exercises are in the course?

Approximately 40 percent of class time is spent on hands-on exercises that build upon a common theme. In class, participants create several different Web services as well as the clients that access those services. Exercises include building scalable Web services, implementing and deploying contract-first and code-first Web services, and writing asynchronous and light-weight clients.

How is this course different from course 424?

Course 424, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, focuses on the high-level architectural issues involved in designing an SOA, such as coordinating communication among services, and provides a "big picture" overview of SOA. Course 577 concentrates on the Java-specific fundamentals required to build the individual Web services used in the implementation of the SOA design.

How does this course relate to Course 570?

In Course 570, Developing Java Web Applications: Hands-On, you develop Web applications which are built from Java servlets and JavaServer Pages (JSP). In Course 577, you create Web services that communicate using SOAP messages.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

This course is part of the Learning Tree Java curriculum. Unless you have 3 to 6 months of Java programming experience, you should take Course 471 before taking this course.

Other Java courses in the curriculum can be taken before or after this course, depending on your needs, include:

• 517, Developing Enterprise Java Applications with Spring and Hibernate®: Hands-On 
• 570, Developing Java Web Applications: Hands-On 

You may also be interested in these courses:

• 542, XML: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 549, Hands-On XSL: Transforming and Styling XML 
• 424, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction 
• 1200, Cloud Computing Technologies: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction