Complexity Summary
I'd like to sum up the discussion on the complexity topic, including the SOAP and REST comparison, before moving on to other topics for the blog. I also still think it would be interesting to try out an XML example, and I hope to get to that soon.
I'd like to thank everyone who participated in the discussion by posting comments. I wanted a discussion, and I got one ;-).
Ok, so what have I learned?
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I still have a lot to learn about REST (and apologies again for the mistakes)
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REST can indeed be useful for program to program communications, and therefore it makes sense to include it within the "Web services" umbrella, as they do at Amazon.com
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REST has advantages over SOAP for simple applications and is also a lower cost solution for many applications
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SOAP has advantages over REST in terms of tool support, an interface definition language (WSDL), and enterprise qualities of service (reliability, security, and transactions)
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Combinations of REST and SOAP based solutions seem very plausible and practical for applications that span simple and complex requirements
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A lot of resentment still exists about software companies over-hyping Web services, and the proliferation of WS-* specs isn't helping (and of course we had another one today, WS-Management)
A lot of discussion tends to get generated over "what can technology x do" or "what is technology y capable of." What I'm interested in is what is the best use of technology x or technology y, not what's possible. As I like to say, it's possible to build a phone using string and tin cans, but that doesn't mean it's the best technology for that application.
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