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SOAP, to put it simply, allows Java objects and COM objects to talk to each other in a distributed, decentralized, Web-based environment.

More generally, SOAP allows objects (or code) of any kind -- on any platform, in any language -- to cross-communicate. At present, SOAP has been implemented in over 60 languages on over 20 platforms.

SOAP Clients and Servers

A SOAP client is a program that creates an XML document containing the information needed to invoke remotely a method in a distributed system. SOAP clients need not be traditional. In addition to being your garden-variety desktop application, a SOAP client could also be a Web server or a server-based application.

Messages and requests from SOAP clients are typically sent over HTTP. As a result, SOAP documents are able to traverse almost any firewall, enabling the exchange of information across divergent platforms.

A SOAP server is simply special code that listens for SOAP messages and acts as a distributor and interpreter of SOAP documents. External Web services may interact with application servers based on J2EE technology, which process SOAP requests from a variety of clients.

SOAP servers ensure that documents received over a HTTP connection are converted to a language that the object at the other end understands. Because all communications are made in the form of XML, objects in one language (say, Java) may communicate through SOAP with objects in any other language (C++, for example). It's the job of the SOAP server to make sure the end points understand -- and are happy with -- the SOAP they're being served.