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Create and Consume XML Web Services
Create a simple Web service in VB.NET, and build a VB6 desktop client.
by Stan Schultes
Technology Toolbox: VB.NET, ASP.NET, XML, VB6
Note: Building Web services (or any Web application) in .NET requires a Windows 2000 or Windows XP development machine. If you don't have one of these, you can connect to my sample TimeService Web service at www.vbnetexpert.com/vsm/timeservice/servertime.asmx. The TSWebClient is available at www.vbnetexpert.com/vsm/timeservice/frmtime.aspx.
Web services are being touted as the Next Big Thing on the Web, and I believe this isn't far from the truth. In this column, I'll explain what Web services are and why they should be important to you. Then I'll show you how to create a simple Web service with VB.NET, along with sample Web service clients built with Visual Studio .NET's WinForms and Web Forms technologies. I'll wrap up by building a Web services client app in VB6 using Microsoft's Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) Toolkit 2.0.
A Web service is a function exposed by a Web server and accessed by a client application (instead of a user with a browser). Ideally, Web services are platform-independent—those running on a Windows platform can be consumed by clients on other platforms and vice versa. You can access Web services through Web server port 80, so the services function as normal Web traffic and can run through corporate firewalls easily.
Because of security concerns, I believe Web services will become popular within intranets first, then expand gradually outward to the Internet and corporate extranets (private Internet application portals). The SOAP and Web service security protocols and tools aren't fully cooked yet, but they're making good headway through the standards development process.
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