designer

188 Chapter 6 Working with Data Sources
Connecting to SOAP Services
A SOAP service, also known as an XML Web service, transports XML data between computer
systems by using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) over HTTP or HTTPS.
SharePoint can act as a SOAP service requester or client—that is, it can request XML
data from a SOAP service and present the data by using a Data View. As with server-side
scripts, the requester can send XML data, instructions (known as methods), parameters,
and values to the XML Web service provider, depending on how the SOAP service is
written. The methods and parameters that a SOAP service supports are described in a
Web Service Description Language (WSDL) file. If a SOAP service supports data manipulation,
you will be able to select, insert, update, or delete data on the XML Web service
provider by using the Data Source Properties dialog box to configure each command.
SharePoint also acts as a SOAP service provider, exposed as an ASP.NET Web service, to
supply XML data to other computer systems. Using SharePoint Designer, you can build
client-side applications that use ASP.NET Web services to request data that is not stored
in your team site. The SharePoint SOAP service interface query mechanism requires
the use of Collaborative Application Markup Language (CAML), which is a proprietary
markup language specific to SharePoint technologies. The retrieval of some data might
be quite complex and require the skills of a developer.
SharePoint 2010 introduces new methods of providing data to remote systems—the
client-side object model and the SharePoint Foundation REST interface. These two providers
should be used in preference to the legacy ASP.NET Web services. However, the
SharePoint Foundation REST interface, which is detailed in the next section, can only
retrieve information from lists and libraries; developer skills are needed to use the clientside
object model. Still, you might find the SharePoint Foundation and SharePoint Server
Web services useful as you build your solutions with SharePoint Designer.
See Also More information about SharePoint Foundation and data access for client
applications can be found at msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff798473.aspx. Information
about SharePoint 2010 Web services can be found at msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/
ee705814.aspx.
In this exercise, you add a SOAP service connection as a data source.
SET UP Using SharePoint Designer, open the site you used in the previous exercise.
Open the DataSourceTest.aspx page and the Data Sources gallery page if they are not
already open.
SOAP Service
Connection
1. Click the Data Sources gallery page to activate the commands on the Data
Sources tab, and then click SOAP Service Connection.
The Data Source Properties dialog box opens.