I am developing a soap based middle-tier web service on jboss platform and would like to know, what engine or framework is the most matured or common for Enterprise level ?
So far i was considering:
Axis/Axis2
JbossWS
Thanks for any direction.
I can recommend Apache CXF. Its a kind of meta service framework, also supporting SOAP.
I recommend lookup up some articles on the mainstream frameworks "Axis vs CXF" and select between the two based on your requirements.
Related
I am a new to Java EE Services. In my project they will be using JAX-WS with Apache CXF. I want to know what is Apache CXF? I can use plain JAX-WS to create Web Services. Why should I use Apache CXF?
Apache CXF is just one of the implementations of JAX-WS API. There are other implementations, such as JAX-WS RI (reference implementation) that is included in Java and part of Metro framework (which includes some other things also, like WSIT).
Your question is - what are the reasons to choose Apache CXF? There are plenty of them, for example:
support for RESTful services (becoming more and more popular)
easy integration with Spring (if that matters to you)
WS-* support (i.e., support for many important WS-specifications like WS-Security)
maturity (thanks #sourcedelica)
References:
Why CXF?
I would be grateful if any one help me to understand the difference between axis2 web service and CXF web service.
The main differences between axis2 web service and CXF web service are as follows:
CXF has support for WS-Addressing, WS-Policy, WS-RM, WS-Security,
and WS-I BasicProfile. Axis2 supports each of these except for
WS-Policy, which will be supported in an upcoming version.
CXF was written with Spring in mind; Axis2 is not.
Axis2 supports a wider range of data bindings, including XMLBeans,
JiBX, JaxMe and JaxBRI as well as its own native data binding, ADB.
Note that support for JaxME and JaxBRI are still considered
experimental in Axis2 1.2. CXF currently supports only JAXB and
Aegis; support for XMLBeans, JiBX and Castor will come in CXF 2.1.
Axis2 supports multiple languages--there is a C/C++ version
available in addition to the Java version.
In comparing these frameworks, though, it's just as important to look at their approach to developing web services as it is to compare features. From a developer perspective, both frameworks behave very differently from one another. Axis2 has taken an approach that makes it in many ways resemble an application server in miniature. Axis2 comes packaged with a WAR that can be deployed on a servlet container such as Tomcat that is designed to make web services easier to manage and deploy on the fly. The Axis2 Web Administration module allows Axis2 to be configured dynamically while applications are running--new services can be uploaded, activated or deactivated and their parameters may be changed. The administration UI also allows modules to be enabled on one or more running services. The only downside to using the UI for these purposes is the fact that configuration changes made through it are not persistent--they go away when the servlet container is restarted.
Axis2 lends itself towards web services that stand alone, independent of other applications, and offers a wide variety of functionality, and a good model for adding more functionality as time goes on through its modular architecture. Some developers may find that a little too cumbersome or heavy-duty for their needs. These developers might prefer to look at Apache CXF.
CXF concentrates on developer ergonomics and embeddability. Most configuration is done via the API instead of cumbersome XML files, Spring integration is heavily emphasized, including support for Spring 2.0, and CXF's APIs and Spring configuration mirror one another fairly closely. CXF emphasizes code-first design, using simple APIs to make development of services from existing applications easier (and its embeddability helps too).
Whichever framework you choose, you'll have the benefit of an active and stable open source community. Each of these frameworks has corporate backing: Axis2 is backed by WSO2, and CXF by Iona. Both have lively developer communities. Axis2 has been around longer but CXF is catching up quickly. My recommendation is this: If multilanguage support is important, Axis2 is the clear choice. If you care about an implementation focused on Java with tight integration into projects like Spring, CXF is a better choice, particularly for embedding web services inside of other programs. If the new features in these projects are not important, and you're relatively happy with Axis1, you should consider staying on this and keep up with the latest maintenance releases until you have a business reason to migrate.
I have to implement SOAP based web services for a project. We are considering different options like axis2, ejb as a web service, jax-ws but not really sure about the advantages/drawbacks of these options. Can someone please help in this regard.
It would be great if someone can point to any other alternatives for implementing SOAP based webservices.
Thanks in advance,
-Csn
For me, the easiest way to expose a web service is creating an EJB with annotations (JAX-WS) if you are using a Java EE server like JBoss.
Consuming a WS is a bit different but I prefer JAX-WS too, because Axis2 throw exceptions if you use complex parameters (classes) and you add an attribute. JAX-WS instead calls every 'get' and 'set' for the serialized xml. If no 'set' is implemented, no problem.
That's an advantage for backward compatibility.
I would highly recommend to use Apache CXF for developing SOAP web services. This stack is based on JAX-WS but has much more features. CXF has an excellent integration with Spring. There are a lot of documentation on the internet how to create web services using this framework. If I would be working on completely new web service I would definitely choose Apache CXF.
based on this link http://axis.apache.org/axis2/java/core/docs/jaxws-guide.html
I assume that axis 2 provides FULL support for JAX-WS 2 compliant web service development.
My question is why should i use Axis-2 as web services runtime instead of using my app server's (like websphere's) inbuilt support for JAX-WS web services development.
Are there any special reasons for using AXIS 2 like runtimes. My assumption is they are provided as embeddable web services runtime implementations that can be used with tomcat / resin etc. which do not provide out of box web services support. And that they are not required to be used with app servers like websphere or weblogic which already provide support for full jax-ws 2 compliant web service development out of the box.
please confirm.
I'd definitely recommend using what WebSphere or any other server provides out-of-the-box whenever possible. You'll know it's tested and supported.
Somebody who really knows Axis2 may have reasons to prefer the 3rd-party version of it (WebSphere's JAX-WS support is actually based on Axis2), but I can't speak to that.
I want to understand some points :
Does using- SOA mean that I am using web services ? (or vice-verse?)
If I use web services with CXF, do I need an ESB ? what are the advantages of ESB like MULE in an architecture with web services ?
if I publish my web services in Java, does that means any client who has my WSDL can use my service, even if he/she uses .NET or something else than Java? Can ESB handle that?
Does using- SOA mean that I am using web services ? (or vice-verse?)
- SOA is a concept and web service is an implementation of SOA. There can be many ways to implement it but the most common one is the web services.
If I use web services with CXF, do I need an ESB ? what are the advantages of ESB like MULE in an architecture with web services ?
ESB is a major component in you SOA. Its the main integration hub.
Following diagram will give you a more understanding about SOA and ESB. (Disclaimer : I work for WSO2 and this is one of the diagram that gives you a clear understanding about SOA and ESB)
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_yO8q3CIhuZs/S-Zq88vkJlI/AAAAAAAAAak/QAJeDVXVL_4/s1600/wso1.png
if I publish my web services in Java, does that means any client who has my WSDL can use my service, even if he/she uses .NET or something else than Java? Can ESB handle that?
If you are talking about web services, that means they are independent from programming language. Of course ESB can handle it and it can handle many other protocols as it is the integration hub.
Unfortunately, only the use of a specific technology is not a concrete evidence that you are doing SOA, as said in other response by Kasun Indrasiri, SOA is a concept, a technique that can be implemented using various tools from different vendors.
If you are designing services following the SOA Principles, you will be probably doing SOA, even if the tools you are using do not have all the features present in other modern platforms.
In my opinion, if your company does not have a of multi million dollars budget to spend on software licenses, you can still benefit from SOA using current tools.