What is the Difference Between XML and SOAP?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚XML and SOAP are related technologies used in the context of web services and data exchange between systems over the internet. However, they serve different purposes and have key differences:
- XML (Extensible Markup Language): XML is a markup language used to structure data in plain text format, allowing data to be exchanged between computers with little human intervention. It provides a standard way to encode data and text, making it possible to develop efficient search engines and perform data mining on the data. XML is used with various protocols, such as JMS and SMTP.
- SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): SOAP is a communication protocol based on XML. It defines a language using the XML specification for how to address and send messages. SOAP is used to communicate between applications by sending messages among them through the internet. It is platform-independent and based on XML.
In summary:
- XML is a markup language used for data exchange between systems.
- SOAP is a communication protocol based on XML, used for application communication.
Some key differences between XML and SOAP include:
- XML is used to structure data in plain text format, while SOAP is used for application communication through XML-RPC (XML Remote Procedure Calls).
- XML can be used with various protocols, while SOAP is primarily used for communication between applications.
- SOAP messages are XML documents, but they follow a specific structure and use the default namespace for the SOAP envelope.
Comparative Table: XML vs SOAP
XML and SOAP are both based on XML but serve different purposes. Here is a table highlighting the differences between them:
| Feature | XML | SOAP |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | XML is a general-purpose markup language used for creating structured documents and data storage. It is an open standard that can be processed by any application, regardless of platform. | SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol based on XML, designed specifically to transport procedure calls using XML. It is used for exchanging structured information in the form of messages between computers. |
| Serialization | XML serialization converts the public fields and properties of an object, and the parameters and return values of methods, into an XML stream that conforms to a specific XML Schema definition language (XSD) document. | SOAP serialization is used to encode the parameters and return values of methods when exchanging messages between computers. |
| Deserialization | Deserialization takes an XML stream and reconstructs the object. | Deserialization is used to reconstruct the object from the XML stream received in a SOAP message. |
| Application | XML is used in various applications, such as creating structured documents, data storage, and web services. | SOAP is primarily used for exchanging messages between computers in a distributed environment, such as web services and API calls. |
In summary, XML is a more general-purpose markup language used for creating structured documents and data storage, while SOAP is a protocol based on XML designed specifically for exchanging messages between computers in a distributed environment.
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