(keitai-l) Re: SOAP and XML-RPC for imode ?

All sorts of possibilities with mobile web-services indeed.  Imagine letting
your iappli run a process for you while you're off doing something else.  I
see your point about the xml parser and application size and cost.  I'm just
getting started on writing iappli code.  Seems to me an XML-RPC API is
really all that's needed for a parameter fetch type of service.  SOAP is
overkill for that.

Here in the Silicon Valley, the webservice battle is heating up.  It's way
overhyped if you ask me.  Seems to me that Perl and Java provide the
cleanest interface and APIs.  .NET (or .NOT as Sun lovingly calls it), seems
over "IDE'ed" if that's a word.  Seems to me that webservices will be
developed by web architects with a lot of expertise and knowledge of the
service and service provider's intensions/servicability/uptime etc.  For
mission critical stuff, I'm not going to pick something off a fancy MS
interface and "plop" it in.

If you use Java code for your web-service server logic, you can use XML-RPC
or SOAP on your existing classes, with basically no modification. Just set
up the listening server and the handlers.  .NET requires that you modify
your original code to make the logic 'web servicable'.  Plus .NET services
can only be hosted on MS server.  I saw a talk last week in Mt. View where a
company presented their experience with .NET.  Lots of issues.  C# is a
hairball of a programming language.  It combines Java, VBasic, and C++..
Also, the company says the response from a .NET service is incredibly slow.
They basically used .NET because they already had a VBasic/NT backend, but
wouldn't recommend it if you already have Java running back there.  More
interesting developments and feedback will be coming in the next couple of
months as folks try mission critical services in the real world.

BTW, O'Reilly has an excellent book on XML-RPC, and now SOAP as well.

Thanks for the good feedback.

Al

----- Original Message -----
From: "Douglas MacDougall" <mac@gnajp.com>
To: <keitai-l@appelsiini.net>
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 1:13 AM
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: SOAP and XML-RPC for imode ?


>
> > For 'security reasons' (ugh) an i-appli is only allowed to connect to
the
> > machine (or domain?) from which it was downloaded via HTTP(S).
>
> :) Japan loves security. During the 2000 G8 summit they sent 20,000 police
officers to Okinawa (an
> island 65 miles long and between 2 and 15 miles wide which already houses
upwards 35,000 U.S.
> Marines). Needless to say, it was secure. Also needless to say, the "same
domain" philosophy is just
> silly.
>
> <snip>
>
> > Having said that, as a java & SOAP programming exercise, I developed a
3k
> > package which will allow you make simple SOAP calls, and return for you
a
> > Paramter which contains the server response.  Contact me off list if
you'd
> > like a copy.
>
> I'm not working with this technology at this point, so I don't need a
copy, but I have a suggestion
> since you are obviously familiar with SOAP and iAppli, and I'm rather
impressed you wrote a 3K SOAP
> kit. You could actually start an iappli service, to webservices (??
confused myself on that one ??).
> You could write a servlet and/or cgi that could be installed on web
servers issuing iApplis. This
> servlet could then contact various webservices as a relay for the iAppli.
The cool thing is, you
> could take the most common web services and shrink wrap them iMode style.
Say only make the most
> common or required variables available, and do your i/o in  a standard
urlencode method
> (key1=val1&key2=val2) or a simple stdio method (data<CRLF>data<CRLF>) You
could publish the various
> interfaces which you make available and even charge for the "relay" and
services updates. May not be
> that popular in Japan yet, but a lot of developers aren't going to like to
write a SOAP interface
> and a keitai interface to all of their services. While there is a chance
something else could
> supplant it, web services are quite likely to become widespread,
especially with a little push from
> Microsoft.
>
> There are quite a few similar apps that play relay for pop or imap mail
accounts, to "hack" the
> imode "sercurity". Anyway, I found it interesting that you've actually
taken a whack at SOAP on
> imode, so thought I'd respond. Disregard as you see fit :)
>
> Douglas MacDougall
> GNA Inc. Japan
>
>
>
>
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