SOAP Toolkit

The SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) Toolkit is a combination of utilities that provide for the conversion of existing COM applications into SOAP compatible Web services, and a Visual Studio plug-in enabling developers to create apps that can interface and communicate with those apps that have been SOAP enabled. The toolkit is provided as a free download with source code from the Microsoft Developer's Network.

The SOAP specification defines an XML based protocol by which individual applications and services can communicate with one another over the Internet. The toolkit provides two main functions: first, it provides for the simple conversion of existing COM objects into SOAP compatible Web services. This tool has the ability to auto-create an SDL contract for the component based on its type library. Second, the contract created includes an extension for Visual Studio allowing the developer to program the SOAP enabled component in the same manner as a local component.

Version 2 of the SOAP toolkit adds support for the Web Services Description Language (WSDL), Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) and SOAP 1.1.

The SOAP Toolkit is a free download and is available now. The final release of version 2 is expected before the end of April, 2001.