SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol for the exchange of messages between systems and applications. It is used to connect applications and exchange data over the Internet. SOAP is based on XML and is often used in combination with other protocols such as HTTP or SMTP.
An API (Application Programming Interface) provides an interface through which applications and systems can communicate with each other by accessing specific functions or data of an application. APIs usually use a specific protocol, such as REST, GraphQL or SOAP. If an API uses the SOAP protocol, it is called a SAOP API.
In short: SOAP is a protocol for the exchange of messages that is based on XML and is usually used by an API.
Example of a SOAP query
An example of the use of SOAP could be the query of master data of a company. For example, a company’s data could be exchanged between a CRM system and an ERP system.
For example, the following query is used to request information about a specific customer by passing their customer number. The request is sent in a SOAP message written in XML format. Further, the message contains requests for the data, as well as authentication information, which is usually required.
Request
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap=”http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope” xmlns:cust=”http://customerinfo.org/”>
<soap:Header/>
<soap:Body>
<cust:GetCustomerInfo>
<cust:CustomerID>12345</cust:CustomerID>
</cust:GetCustomerInfo>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>
Output
<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap=“http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope” xmlns:cust=“http://customerinfo.org/”>
<soap:Header/>
<soap:Body>
<cust:GetCustomerInfoResponse>
<cust:Customer>
<cust:Name>John Doe</cust:Name>
<cust:Address>123 Main Street</cust:Address>
<cust:City>Anytown</cust:City>
<cust:State>XX</cust:State>
<cust:Zip>12345</cust:Zip>
<cust:Phone>555-555-5555</cust:Phone>
</cust:Customer> </cust:GetCustomerInfoResponse>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>
This is just an example and the actual implementation of SOAP differs from application to application.
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