"Architecting Web Services" is targeted toward developers and technical architects who have heard about, and even started to work with, Web services. The book starts with a background on the evolution of Web services and their significance to future collaborative efforts via the Internet. It then reveals the architecture for Web services and the various relationships that can be established through their consumption.

Following a short technical primer on XML and related technologies, the Web services model is outlined to illustrate the decisions that have to be made in the areas of presentation, interface, and security before the design is even started. Topics ranging from content to state management to system infrastructures are discussed to help you understand the options and the pitfalls when developing robust Web services.

The life cycle of implementing Web services from start to finish is illustrated, taking existing processes and exposing their functionality through Web services. Examples extend both Java and COM objects as Web services before exposing an entire hotel reservation system through a Web services workflow. These exercises are followed by three application scenarios that consume these Web services, again with both Java and Visual Basic/ASP examples. Discussions cover the design, implementation, and testing of each solution to ensure a successful result.

Finally, the book takes a look ahead at the future of Web services by examining both the current strategies of the primary vendors and the standards initiatives that are presently under way. A companion website provides all the source code, and hosts the Web services and sample applications introduced in the book.