Simple Object Access Protocol

SOAP
(Simple Object Access Protocol)

Knarig Arabshian
Department of Computer Science
Columbia University
knarig@cs.columbia.edu
April 24, 2002
Overview
 What is SOAP?
 Details of the protocol
 SOAP and SIP Emergency Notification
 Conclusion
 References
What is SOAP?

What is SOAP?
 Lightweight protocol used for exchange of
messages in a decentralized, distributed
environment
 Facilitates interoperability in a platform-
independent manner
 Used for Remote Procedure Calls
 W3C note defines the use of SOAP with XML as
payload and HTTP as transport, but other
transport protocols can be used such as SMTP
and SIP.
Advantages of SOAP
 Uses HTTP which is widely used and
scalable
 Wide remote system interoperability
 Flexible for growth because of XML
properties
 It but can be used for RPC.
Disadvantages of SOAP
 No good way to describe the
serialization pattern (XML schema is
optional at this point)
 Parsing of SOAP packet and mapping to
objects reduces performance
 Doesn’t implement security because it is
a wire protocol—relies on HTTP
SOAP Elements
 Envelope (mandatory)
 Top element of the XML document representing the
message
 Header (optional)
 Determines how a recipient of a SOAP message should
process the message

 Adds features to the SOAP message such as authentication,
transaction management, payment, message routes, etc…

 Body (mandatory)
 Exchanges information intended for the recipient of the
message.
 Typical use is for RPC calls and error reporting.
SOAP Elements
 SOAP Encoding
 Envelope package
 Header/Body pattern
 Similar to how HTTP works
Header
Body
Simple Example
<Envelope>
<Header>
<transId>345</transId>
</Header>
<Body>
<Add>
c = Add(n1, n2)
<n1>3</n1>
<n2>4</n2>
</Add>
</Body>
</Envelope>
SOAP Request
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
xmlns:SOAP-ENV=“http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/”
SOAP-ENV:encodingStyle="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”>
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
<t:transId xmlns:t=“http://a.com/trans”>345</t:transId>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<m:Add xmlns:m=“http://a.com/Calculator”>
<n1>3</n1>
<n2>4</n2>
</m:Add>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
</SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
SOAP Request
Scopes the message to the SOAP
namespace describing the SOAP
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope envelope
...etc...
Establishes the type of encoding

that is used within the message
(the different data types
supported)
SOAP Request
...etc... Qualifies transId
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body> Defines the method
<n1>3</n1>
<n1>4</n2>
</m:Add>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
...etc...
SOAP Response
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<m:AddResponse xmlns:m=“http://a.com/Calculator”>
<result>7</result>
</m:AddResponse>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
SOAP Response
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<result>7</result>
</m:AddResponse>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
Response typically uses method
name with “Response” appended
SOAP Fault
 Used to carry error and/or status information
within a SOAP message
 Appears within the SOAP body
 Defines the following:
 faultcode (mandatory)
 algorithmic mechanism for identifying the fault
 defined in the SOAP spec
 Faultstring (mandatory)
 human readable explanation of the fault
SOAP Fault
 faultactor (optional)
 information about who caused the fault to
happen
 URI value identifying the source
 Detail
 error information related only to the Body
element.
 if not present then indicates that the fault is
not related to the Body element.
SOAP Fault Example
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<SOAP-ENV:Fault>
<faultcode>SOAP-ENV:Server</faultcode>
<faultstring>Internal Application Error</faultstring>
<detail xmlns:f=“http://www.a.com/CalculatorFault”>
<f:errorCode>794634</f:errorCode>
<f:errorMsg>Divide by zero</f:errorMsg>
</detail>
</SOAP-ENV:Fault>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
SOAP Encoding
 Based on a simple type system that has
common features with programming
languages and databases
 Types are either simple (scalar) or compound
which is a composite of several parts
 An XML schema which is consistent with this
type system can be constructed
 Use of schemas is encouraged but NOT
required
Arrays
int a[3] = {1, 2, 3};
b = Add([in]a);
<m:Add xmlns:m=http://a.com/Calculator
xmlns:SOAP-ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”>
<a SOAP-ENC:arrayType=“xsd:int[3]”>
<SOAP-ENC:int>1</SOAP-ENC:int>
</a>
</m:Add>
Structures
typedef struct {
char author[64];
char title[200]
int year;
} Book;
Book crimAndPunishment;
B = Publish(crimeAndPunishment)
<m:Publish xmlns:m=http://a.com/Publishing
xmlns:SOAP-ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”>
<author type="xsd:string"/>Fyodor Dostoevsky</author>
<title type="xsd:string">Crime and Punishment</title>
<year type="xsd:integer">1917</year>
</m:Publish>
XML Schemas
 Defines the structure, content and
semantics of XML documents
 Simple types
 Integers, strings, floats, time, etc.
 Compound (complex) types
 Arrays, structures
Example of XML Schema
<element name="Book">
<complexType>
<element name="author" type="xsd:string"/>
<element name=“title" type="xsd:string"/>
<element name=“year" type="xsd:integer"/>
</complexType>
</element>
<e:Book>
<author>Fyodor Dostoevsky</author>
<title>Crime and Punishment</title>
<year>1917</year>
</e:Book>
HTTP Request
POST /Calculator.pl HTTP/1.0
Host: www.a.com
Accept: text/*
Content-type: text/xml
Content-length: nnnn
SOAPAction: “http://www.a.com/Calculator#Add”
{CR}{LF}
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<n1>3</n2>
<n1>4</n2>
</m:Add>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
HTTP Response
HTTP/1.0 200 OK
{CR}{LF}
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<result>7</result>
</m:AddResponse>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
SOAPAction
 The SOAPAction HTTP request header field can
be used to indicate the intent of the SOAP
HTTP request.
 Used by servers, such as firewalls, to
appropriately filter SOAP request messages in
HTTP.
 If value is empty string (""), intent of the SOAP
message is provided by the HTTP Request-URI.
 No value means that there is no indication of
the intent of the message.
SOAPAction
POST /Calculator.pl HTTP/1.0 SOAPAction Intent
Host: www.a.com
Accept: text/*
SOAPAction: “http://www.a.com/Calculator#Add”
{CR}{LF}
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
<SOAP-ENV:Header>
</SOAP-ENV:Header>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
...etc...
SOAP and SIP
SOAP and SIP Emergency
Notification
 SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is a text-based
signaling protocol used to establish multimedia
sessions on the Internet.
 Similar to HTTP and SMTP
 Extended to support event notification using
SUBSCRIBE and NOTIFY methods
 Send a NOTIFY message with SOAP payload
 Body of the SOAP message will invoke a remote
procedure relevant to the particular emergency event
 Use XML Schema to specify different emergency
events handled and parameters needed
SOAP and SIP
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<xs:schema xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<xs:complexType name="EmergencyType">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="Fire" type="Fire"/>
<xs:element name="Earthquake" type="Earthquake"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="Fire">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="location" type="string"/>
<xs:element name="severity" type="string"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
<xs:complexType name="Earthquake">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="location" type="string"/>
<xs:element name="scale" type="decimal"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
</xs:schema>
SOAP and SIP
NOTIFY sip:knarig@128.59.19.194:5063 SIP/2.0
Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 128.59.19.194:5063
CSeq: 3 NOTIFY
Contact: sip:knarig@128.59.19.194:5063
From: sip:cisalpino.cs.columbia.edu:5063
Call-Info: www.cs.columbia.edu/~knarig
Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 14:57:05 GMT
Content-Type: application/soap
Call-ID: 461662663@128.59.19.194
Event: emergency
To: sip:knarig@cs.columbia.edu
Content-Length: 494
<?xml version='1.0'?>
<:SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/1999/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:SOAP-
ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:SOAP-
ENC="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" SOAP-
ENV:encodingStyle="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/"
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/1999/XMLSchema">
<:SOAP-ENV:Body>
<:Fire>
<:location xsi:type="xsd:string">Mudd</:location>
<:severity xsi:type="xsd:string">smoke</:severity>
</:Fire>
</:SOAP-ENV:Body>
</:SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
Columbia SIP user agent (sipc)
 Media
 Audio, video, text, white board
 Screen sharing
 Shared web browsing
 Advanced
 Presence, instant messaging
 Conference control
 Emergency notification and handling
 Device control
Columbia SIP user agent (sipc)
Invoke
Emergency
Services
Calls 911 by connecting

to the local PSAP
Receive emergency notification

alerts from various event servers
that user has subscribed to
Detailed overview of architecture
2) Generic emergency 3) Sipc contacts notification server
address: and gets list of emergency events 1) Event generators
emergenycy@state.ny.us is user can subscribe to publish their events to
added to sipc notification server
Fire
sos@leonia.nj.us
Notification server (sipd) Earthquake
5) Sipc gets XML schema
reference from notification
server that will generate a form
which queries for the event’s
properties. Sipc then updates its
subscription to the notification
server with the filtered 4) User
expressions subscribes to
event it wants
to be notified
of
Detailed overview of architecture
3)Sipc will process SOAP 1) Fire occurs and event
body and invoke the 2) Sipd will process parameters of generator notifies
procedure call—such as the fire and send a NOTIFY to sipc sipd
flashing of lights including SOAP body
Fire
Emergency@state.ny.us
Notification server (sipd) Earthquake
Example of Notification: Flashing of Lights
•Emergency event notification invokes
lamp
multiple calls of the SIP “DO” method
•This causes the lamp (connected to
the PC by an X10 device) to flash
serial port
DO sip:lamp@cs.columbia.edu
SIP/2.0
…..
<Control>
<Action>turn lamp on</Action>
</Control>
X10 device
Conclusions
 SOAP is a scalable and widely used
wiring protocol
 It is still not an industry standard and
needs fine-tuning
 Using SIP and SOAP for emergency
notification is simple and effective
References
 http://www.endurasoft.com/soap
 http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP/
 http://www.microsoft.com/mind/0100/soap/s
oap.asp
 Scribner K., Stiver M.C., Understanding SOAP,
Indianapolis, Indiana, 2000

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SOAP

(Simple Object Access Protocol)

process the message

transaction management, payment, message routes, etc…

Establishes the type of encoding

 Shared web browsing

 Emergency notification and handling

Calls 911 by connecting

Receive emergency notification

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