Altova has announced a new approach to accelerating the creation of reliable Web services. By leveraging the visual design capabilities of Altova XMLSpy and MapForce, customers can rapidly develop applications based on WSDL, SOAP, and other Web-based industry standards so that data can be easily shared across disparate business systems. To help customers better understand Web services and how Altova tools simplify their development, the Altova Solutions Center now contains specific business scenarios, real-world case studies, technical guidance, video demonstrations, white papers, free online training classes, and a recommended gameplan for Web services success.

Despite the grand goals and positive predictions surrounding Web services and Service Oriented Architectures (SOA), few companies have gained significant experience with these technologies thus far. The chain of programming languages, industry standards, and diverse technologies involved in creating an end-to-end Web service can be intimidating even to skilled and experienced professionals. The complementary features of Altova XMLSpy and MapForce automate many of the otherwise complex steps in Web services development so developers can concentrate on business rules and logic instead of becoming mired in source code or the arcane implementation details of the infrastructure.

The Web services development steps include:
• Analyze the data and create an XML Schema – Altova XMLSpy can automatically derive an XML Schema from a database content model or an XML instance document. Simply point XMLSpy at the data source and it automatically builds an XML Schema to embed within a Web service.
• Optimize the XML Schema for the Web service – The XMLSpy Schema Editor displays a schema in a clear graphical hierarchy so developers can easily and quickly identify the relationships and understand the structure of the data source.
• Embed the schema and graphically define the WSDL file – The XMLSpy WSDL Editor allows developers to create, visualize, graphically edit, and validate any WSDL file. Working in its graphical view lets developers avoid syntax errors that often occur in manual coding.
• Map data sources and generate the Web service implementation code – When the WSDL design is complete, developers can use the visual drag-and-drop data mapping capabilities of Altova MapForce to connect the WSDL operations to their respective data sources. Then, once the mappings are defined, MapForce generates source code for the Web service in either Java or C#, creating a complete, ready to compile project.
• Test the deployed Web service – Whether the Web service runs on an Apache or Microsoft Web server, developers can use XMLSpy as a client to generate a SOAP request for it. They can edit the request parameters, send it to the server, then capture and examine the Web service reply. If they need to examine communications between a client application and the Web service, the XMLSpy SOAP Debugger lets them step through Web services transactions, set breakpoints, and inspect every request and response.

“As is the case when working with most buzzword technologies, building a Web service for the first time can seem daunting and complex,” said Tim Hale, Director of Marketing for Altova. “By offering key product capabilities, practical advice, and viable resources through this new solution, we aim to accelerate the development cycle for our customers so they can reap the productivity gains of Web services without delay.”

The Web services information resources are available now in the Altova Solutions Center and can be accessed free of charge at the Altova website.