Overview: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration > Overview of Siebel EAI >

About Web Services

A web service is programmable application logic that is accessed by using a standard Internet protocol, such as HTTP, and data formats, such as XML. Because a web service combines component based development with the Internet, it is reused regardless of how the service is implemented.

A web service is based on communication protocols that include HTTP, XML, Simple Object Application Protocol (SOAP), and Web Services Description Language (WSDL). A web service must be developed on a computer platform and in a development environment that can communicate with another web service that also uses these common protocols.

Features provided with a web service include:

• WS Security Support. The Web Services Security specification is a Web Services standard that supports, integrates, and unifies multiple security models and technologies, allowing a variety of systems to interoperate in an environment that is independent of a particular platform or language.
• WS-I Compliance. By providing the ability to publish a Siebel Web Service as a Document Literal or Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) Literal bound Web Service, the Siebel application conforms to the specification, as defined by the (WS-I) Basic Profile specification from the Web Services Interoperability Organization. Adherence to this specification makes sure that the Siebel application can interoperate with an external provider of a Web Service.
• Web Services Cache Refresh. The Web Services cache stores the global administration information that is manipulated in the Inbound and Outbound Web Service administration screens. The information contained in these services might require a refresh in order to provide more current or correct functionality. An administrator can directly refresh the memory cache in real time, without stopping and restarting Siebel services.

For more information, see Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.