What is AXIS?

AXIS is an open source web service toolkit for Java. It is a successor to the Apache Soap Toolkit. It fully supports SOAP version 1.1, and support for version 1.2 is being continually added as the specification is finalised. The current version of Axis is written in Java and runs as a servlet in a servlet container (most commonly Tomcat 4.0.1 and above), but a C++ version is being developed. AXIS is supported by major players like IBM, Macromedia and Computer Associates in its development and is reputed to be the best and most compliant implementation of SOAP for Java.

A simple AXIS Web Service

An example of a web service written for the AXIS SOAP Server. Also deployment details are discussed.

A simple AXIS Client

A Client program for the above written AXIS web service. Also a look at the SOAP messages exchanged between client and server during the transaction.

A detailed look at AXIS

Some advanced AXIS Topics including an alternative deployment method for web services.

Benefits of using AXIS

• AXIS is open source.
• AXIS is fully compliant with SOAP 1.1.
• AXIS team comprises of web service experts from companies like HP, IBM and Macromedia.
• AXIS is highly extensible, and can easily be tuned to support newer versions of SOAP as and when they are finalized.
• AXIS can run on a simple servlet engine such as Tomcat or on a full-featured J2EE application server.