- From: Scott Cantor <cantor.2@osu.edu>
- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 10:28:15 -0500
- To: <xml-dist-app@w3.org>
> footnote: depends on the interface, of course. here's a
> complete XML-RPC request in Python:
>
> import xmlrpclib
> betty = xmlrpclib.Server("http://betty.userland.com")
> print betty.examples.getStateName(41)
>
> doing the same thing via HTTP requires far more work,
> even in Python...
Further footnote: it takes more work only if there isn't an interface
designed to make it simple. That's the whole point. The transport protocol
or convention is not what dictates how complex the programming interface is.
To reinforce a point made earlier, very complex server-side structures can
be constructed on the fly using nothing beyond standard HTTP POST or query
string variables, simply by coding the necessary plumbing. I know because
I've done it.
What SOAP et al bring (and whether it's useful or not is an exercise for the
reader) is the kind of advanced marshaling of aliased data structures
(pointer semantics, if you will) that are trickier to represent without more
formalism. Not impossible, just more difficult.
--------
Scott Cantor
cantor.2@osu.edu Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos!
Office of Info Tech -- Homer Simpson
The Ohio State Univ
Received on Tuesday, 9 January 2001 10:29:42 UTC