REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 3, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today unveiled two SOAP-related technologies to help developers build and use Web Services – applications made available over the Web via Internet-standard XML, SOAP and UDDI. The first tool is the beta release of the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit Version 2.0, which provides developers using Microsoft® Visual Studio® 6.0 with rapid Web Services development capabilities for production-ready applications. The second is Web Services Behavior for the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser software, enabling Web developers to aggregate Web Services from multiple Web pages. Both are key technologies for facilitating the creation and integration of Web Services, the programmable building blocks that form the next-generation applications of the Internet.
Microsoft SOAP Toolkit Version 2.0
To make it easy for developers to build and use Web Services without having to learn the intricacies of SOAP or XML, Microsoft last summer announced Version 1.0 of the SOAP Toolkit for Visual Studio 6.0. With Version 2.0, Microsoft is making significant usability and architectural enhancements to track to the latest Web Services standards including full support for the Web Services Description Language (WSDL), Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) and SOAP 1.1. By delivering greater development productivity and by supporting the latest versions of these standards, Microsoft is continuing its leadership in delivering development and runtime support for Web Services. The final release of Version 2.0 will provide developers with the tools and technologies that will enable them to deploy enterprise-scale applications with forward compatibility with the Microsoft .NET platform. The toolkit will work with additional operating systems, including Windows® 2000, Windows NT® 4.0, Windows 98 and Windows Me, and will be fully supported by Microsoft Product Support Services.
“During the next two years, we expect that B2B solutions will demand Web-service architectures to support dynamic business collaboration,”
said Thomas Murphy, a program director with META Group.
“Web services fundamentally shift the market towards integration and collaboration and must be built on open industry XML standards such as UDDI and SOAP.”
Web Services Behavior for Internet Explorer
Web Services support for Internet Explorer provides a transparent mechanism for developers to easily use Web Services from scripts in a Web page to improve many aspects of traditional database-drive Web page design. This support, compatible with all major SOAP implementations available today, enables developers to easily build unique applications from multiple Web Services that offer more personalized, more targeted user experiences such as improving the end-user browsing experience by minimizing time-consuming full page refreshes. By releasing this behavior, Microsoft is the first company to deliver Web Services capabilities directly to a Web browser, bringing the power of aggregating applications across the Internet to all users and developers.
Availability
Both the beta release of the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit Version 2.0 and the Web Services Behavior for Internet Explorer 5.0 are available for free download (connect-time charges may apply) at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/soap . Additional information on these and other Microsoft .NET technologies can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/net .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
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