Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

438 SOAPPogue, David. iPhone: The Missing Manual. Sebastapol, Calif.:O’Reilly, 2007.Smartphone & Pocket PC [magazine Web site]. Available online.URL: http://www.pocketpcmag.com/defaults.asp. AccessedNovember 16, 2007.SOAPOriginally standing for Simple Object Access Protocol, butnow no longer an acronym, SOAP is a standard way toaccess Web services (see service-oriented architectureand Web services). In today’s Web, where what appears tousers to be a single site or application is usually built frommany services, such a facility is essential.Prior to SOAP, Web applications usually communicatedthrough remote procedure calls (RPC). However there wereproblems with compatibility of applications running underdifferent operating systems (and perhaps using differentprogramming languages), as well as security problems thatoften led to such facilities being blocked.SOAP, on the other hand, uses the same HTTP recognizedby all Web servers and browsers (see Web browser,Web server, and World Wide Web)—indeed, it can alsouse secure HTTP (https).A SOAP request (or message) is an ordinary XML file(see xml) that includes an “envelope” element specifyingit to be a SOAP message, an optional header, a body elementcontaining the information pertaining to the functionor transaction requested, and an optional fault elementto specify error processing. After receiving the message,the destination server returns a message providing therequested information.A very simple SOAP message might look like this:311The message asks for the price for item number 311.Despite its advantages in terms of security, versatility,and readability, SOAP does have some disadvantages.The main one is that XML files can be quite lengthy, makingtransactions slower than with the much more compactCORBA (see CORBA).Further ReadingBurd, Barry. Java & XML for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2002.Freeman, Adam, and Allen Jones. Microsoft .NET XML Web ServicesStep by Step. Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Press, 2003.“SOAP Tutorial.” W3schools.com. Available online. URL: http://www.w3schools.com/soap. Accessed November 17, 2007.“What Is SOAP” [Flash presentation]. Available online. URL:http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/searchWebServices/downloads/what_is_soap.swf. Accessed November 17, 2007.Zimmermann, Olaf, Mark Tomlinson, and Stefan Peuser. Perspectiveson Web Services: Applying SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI toReal-World Projects. New York: Springer, 2003.social impact of computingIn 2001, the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility(CPSR) held a conference titled “Nurturing theCybercommons, 1981–2021.” Speakers looked back at theamazing explosion in computing and computer-mediatedcommunications in the last two decades of the 20th century.They then turned to the next 20 years, discussinghow computing technology offered both the potential fora more robust democracy and the threat that control ofinformation by the few could disenfranchise the many.Their challenge was to create a “cybercommons”—a wayin which the benefits of technology could be shared moreequitably.It is sobering to realize just how much happened in onlytwo decades. The computer went from being an esotericpossession of large institutions to a ubiquitous companionof daily work and home life. At the same time, the Internet,which in 1981 had been a tool for a small number ofcampus computing departments and government-fundedresearchers, has burgeoned to a medium that is fast changingthe way people buy, learn, and socialize.The use of computing for specific applications generallybrings risks along with benefits (see risks of computing).Sometimes risks can go beyond a specific program into theinteraction between that program and other systems. In thebroadest sense, however, computer use as a human activityaffects all other human activities. The ultimate infrastructureis not the computer, the software program, or even theentire Internet. Rather, it is society as a whole. There are aseveral dimensions along which both positive and negativepossibilities can be seen.One of the earliest hints that computers might have a broaderimpact on society came in 1952, when Univac’s prediction ofan Eisenhower election victory was relayed by anchor WalterKronkite. (Al Fenn / Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)