Is SOAP Stable?

I'm running a survey on UserLand.Com this afternoon, asking about the future
of SOAP. I want to get a sense if people feel the 1.1 spec is stable, if
it's safe to write code for it, that any further development will be
backward compatible. I'm asked all the time for recommendations. I have to
make decisions relating to our own very scarce development resources.

I want to know if there's a consensus behind 1.1. There's no single person
to ask this question. When I asked it of the people working on the spec, I
got no answers. I know it's a touchy question, but imho, it's the right time
to ask it.

Voting in the survey requires UserLand.Com membership. You can only vote
once, but you can change your vote (your vote will be subtracted from the
category you voted in earlier, and added to the new category).

For reference, here's the question as I posed it on the website.

Do you think SOAP is stable? Do you think that in a year there will be a new
version? And if so, will it be backward-compatible with the current spec? In
other words is it time to write code, or wait for another iteration to
decide?

1. Write code. SOAP 1.1 will be broadly supported. Any future specs will
have to be backward compatible.

2. Wait and see. There are likely to be changes. I'm not too sure about
backward compatibility.

3. Don't wait. Write XML-RPC apps now, and let SOAP take care of itself.
When it stabilizes support it.

http://surveys.userland.com/surveys/run/dave@userland.com/theFutureOfSoap

Dave Winer
UserLand

Received on Monday, 1 May 2000 18:53:28 UTC