ASP.NET Web Services

Walkthrough: Creating a Web Service

ASP.NET Web Services allow you to share non-visual information in a special XML format called SOAP, the Simple Object Access Protocol. You can share information with trading partner, associates, or bridge corporate information systems on disparate platforms easily. This is where Visual Studio.NET excels: in creating and consuming Web Services.

Walkthrough: Consuming a Web Service

ASP.NET Web Services allow you to use information that is retrieved from other web site servers that is encoded in SOAP, a special XML format for exchange non-visual information between trading partners, associates or corporate information systems that reside on disparate platforms. The video demonstrates how to create a Web Reference, and use the values retrieved from a Web Service.

Understanding the Web Service Help Page

Since ASP.NET Web Services are non-visual by their very nature, Visual Studio.NET provides a 'test harness' for testing the accuracy and implementation of Web Services you create. It also serves up documentation about your Web Service to potential consumers of your Web Service. This video demonstrates how to get the most out of this valuable tool, what its limitations are, etc.

Creating a Web Reference

The 'Add a Web Reference' allows you to reference Web Services that reside on any server. It will use DISCO and WSDL, two protocols that work with Web Services to locate (DISCOver) and describe one or more Web Services on a particular web server. This video demonstrates how to do this, and what happens 'behind the scenes' to automatically generate a proxy that makes using the Web Service in your applications a cinch.

Modifying Web References

When you add a Web Reference to a particular server (like localhost) for a given Web Service, then add a SECOND Web Reference to a Web Service that resides on the same server, Visual Studio.NET creates a second instance of the server reference (such as localhost1) which is annoying while you are programming. This video demonstrates a technique for getting around this 'feature'.

Understanding Proxies

This video cracks open the source code that was automatically generated when you created a Web Reference to a Web Service.

Setting the Namespace

Namespaces allow multiple Web Service providers to use the same name for the Web Service methods, yet still allow the client application to differentiate between them. It 'qualifies' otherwise ambiguous names. This video demonstrates the code necessary to properly set the Namespace.

Creating Web References to Web Services in VS.NET 2003

Creating Web References to Web Services in VS.NET 2003