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Searching on the Web Service, I asked on a topic on the subject, as link below:
Question: What is a Web Service?
However, a question was raised about the distinction of Web Service and Application Service. I did a quick search about it, but it wasn’t very clear. Below are the sources:
Source Application Service: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_service_provider
Web Service Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_service
After all, what are the differences between the two?
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This unanswered question so far shows that the difference between "Application Service" and "Web Service" cannot be described in the right way; nor in the wrong way.
"Application Service" even has a reasonably established definition, otherwise google would tell us. I never actually used that term myself.
But I believe I have something to contribute, so follow:
The term Web Service became popular with the advent of Microsoft . Net Framework, there in the early 2000s.
One of the great novelties of Microsoft’s "revolutionary" platform were such Web Services - a messaging standard for integration of systems from different suppliers, developed with different technologies.
As defined by Microsoft and documented by W3C, Web Services use the standard SOAP communication. This protocol was developed on behalf of the Microsoft as she prepared the .Net Framework and then submitted for standardization.
Then the. Net Framework and Visual Studio came packed with resources to facilitate the development and consumption of such Web Services, using the new SOAP protocol. Then the other platforms had to run after to support this pattern.
Since SOAP is based on XML, according to W3C, Web Services receive and return code XML serialized, formatted according to certain standards.
According to this historical definition, therefore:
Web Services is a messaging pattern using the protocol SOAP and specially designed to integrate different suppliers, developed with different technologies.
SOAP and its XML counterpart proved too heavy, too complicated.
In addition, corporations needed to integrate not only software from different vendors made in different technologies, but they also needed to separate and integrate high-performance layers of their own systems in order to achieve scalability.
Eventually the same services consumed by different layers of the same system needed to be available also for external consumption.
Hence began to emerge "Web Service" using JSON instead of XML, or using proprietary binary communication instead of serializing XML and JSON, or using pure HTTP and a Restfull interface, etc.
As I said, do not believe them to be incorrect. Web Services were born with a specific definition, but perhaps due to the lack of a better name or to reuse an already widespread name, we do integration services over the Internet without using SOAP and we call Web Service.
It could be a facade of a system’s remote services, to be consumed by the application layer or presentation of this same system.
What would distinguish Application Service of Web Service would be the fact that the former is primarily concerned with integrating the layers of the same system, with no particular interest in using a market standard for message exchange or particular interest in using this service facade for external integrations.
So unlike a SOAP Web Service, the Application Service would not need to be self-documented or use standard protocols or follow a rigid message format pattern.
These are my ideas about what could differentiate Web Service from something less comprehensive, which would be the one of the Application Service.
Perhaps who first brought the term to light in that question.
The function this response intends to fulfill is mainly to clarify the popularity of the term "Web Service", leaving a basis for discussion about what could or could not be called Web Service and why.
Browser other questions tagged web-service application-service
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Just to be clear, I used the term application service in a general way, but indicate and there did not have the definition of what it really was web service, did not want to use this as a formal term. And link used up is another thing.
– Maniero
I found a FORUM regarding it. Click on the link http://www.guj.com.br/java/104780-diferenca-web-server-web-container-e-application-server
– Gilmar Santos