= Protocol Resources = The following are links to documentation, samples and surveys regarding the protocols used within VSO: == Web Services == Web Services is a generic term to refer to applications which expose APIs over the internet. SOAP is one protocol for implementing web services. * [http://www.w3.org/2002/ws/ Web Services Activity], (links to various web services documentation), from the W3C. * [http://www.w3schools.com/webservices/default.asp Web Services tutorial], from W3 Schools. == SOAP : Simple Object Access Protocol == SOAP is an attempt to standardize passing XML messages over the internet, to allow systems to interact with each other. * [http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2000/02/09/feature/index.html A brief SOAP introduction] * [http://www.w3.org/TR/soap/ SOAP Specifications], from the W3C. * [http://www.w3schools.com/soap/default.asp SOAP tutorial], from W3 Schools. == XML : eXtensible Markup Language == XML is a format for encoding data in a machine readable way, which can be further extended as needs arise. * [http://www.w3.org/XML/ XML Specifications], from the W3C. * [http://www.w3schools.com/xml/default.asp XML tutorial], from W3 Schools. == HTTP : Hypertext Transfer Protocol == HTTP was a protocol original designed to serve web pages, but is also used as the common transport for web services. * [http://www.w3.org/Protocols/ HTTP documents], from the W3C. == WSDL : Web Services Description Language == WSDL is an XML format to describe how to interact with a web service. WSDL allows various programming tools to automate part of the process of writing client software to interact with web services. * [http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl WSDL specification], from the W3C * [http://www.w3schools.com/wsdl/default.asp WSDL tutorial], from W3 Schools.