SOAP

: ''This article is about a computer protocol. For the common cleaning mixture, see soap. For other uses of the acronym SOAP, see soap (disambiguation).'' SOAP is a standard for exchanging XML-based messages over a computer network, normally using HTTP. SOAP forms the foundation layer of the Web Services Protocol Stack, providing a basic messaging framework that more abstract layers can build on. There are several different types of messaging patterns in SOAP, but by far the most common is the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) pattern, where one network node (the ''client'') sends a request message to another node (the ''server''), and the server immediately sends a response message to the client. ==Overview== SOAP originally was an acronym for ''Simple Object Access Protocol'', but the acronym was dropped in Version 1.2 of the SOAP specification. Originally designed by Dave Winer, Don Box, Bob Atkinson, and Mohsen Al-Ghosein in 1998 with backing from Microsoft (where Atkinson and Al-Ghosein worked at the time), the SOAP specification is currently maintained by the XML Protocol Working Group of the World Wide Web Consortium. ===Transport methods=== HTTP was chosen as the primary application layer protocol for SOAP since it works well with today's Internet infrastructure, specifically, SOAP works well with network firewall (networking). This is a major advantage over other distributed protocols like GIOP/IIOP or DCOM which are normally filtered by firewalls. XML was chosen as the standard message format because of its widespread acceptance by major corporations and open source development efforts. Additionally, a wide variety of freely available software development tool significantly ease the transition to a SOAP-based implementation. The somewhat lengthy syntax of XML can be both a benefit and a drawback. Its format is easy for humans to read, but can be complex and slow down processing times. For example, GIOP and DCOM use much shorter, binary message formats. On the other hand, hardware appliances are available to accelerate processing of XML messages. Binary XML (the use of the word "XML" is controversial here) is also being explored as a means for streamlining the throughput requirements of XML. ==Structure of a SOAP message== A SOAP message is contained in an envelope. Within this envelope are two additional sections: the header and the body of the message. SOAP messages use XML Namespace (programming). The header contains relevant information about the message. For example, a header can contain the date the message is sent, or authentication information. It is not required, but must always be included at the top of the envelope when it is present. ===Example SOAP messages=== Here is an example of how a client might format a SOAP message requesting product information from a fictional warehouse web service. The client needs to know which product corresponds with the ID 827635:

Here is how the warehouse web service might format its reply message with the requested product information:

 
   
     
       
         Toptimate 3-Piece Set
         827635
         3-Piece luggage set.  Black Polyester.
         96.50
         true

==See also== ===Related technologies=== *Comparison of Web service markup languages *List of Web service markup languages *Software Componentry#Technologies for Software Components *Web service and some of its core technologies WSDL, UDDI *WS-I Basic Profile ===Alternatives to SOAP=== *Burlap [http://www.caucho.com/burlap/] *GXA *Hessian Web Service Protocol [http://www.caucho.com/hessian/index.xtp] *Representational State Transfer *XML-RPC ==External links== *[http://www.xmlrpc.com/stories/storyReader$555 Dave Winer's history of SOAP] *[http://www.advogato.org/article/464.html Discussion on Web Services technology (SOAP and REST)] *[http://webservices.xml.com/pub/a/ws/2001/04/04/soap.html Don Box's history of SOAP] *[http://www.soaplite.com/ Perl SOAP Module] *[http://dmoz.org/Computers/Programming/Internet/Web_Services/SOAP Category at ODP] *[http://xml.coverpages.org/soap.html Technology Report] *[http://soap2corba.sourceforge.net/ Two-way SOAP to CORBA bridge] *[http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/searchWebServices/downloads/what_is_soap.swf What is SOAP?] (Macromedia_Flash presentation; requires plugin.) *[http://www.w3schools.com/soap/ W3C School SOAP Tutorial] *[http://www.w3.org/TR/soap12-part0/ W3C SOAP primer] *[http://www.w3.org/2000/xp/ XML protocol activity] W3C standards Web services XML standards

SOAP

Since SOAP is no longer an acronym, would it make sense to move this page to SOAP (or something like "SOAP (computer protocol)")? :I'd like to know (and article should probably state) why/when this became no longer an acronym. User:Elf | User talk:Elf 22:30, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any record of the discussion that led to the name change but I can tell you what I've heard. Until [http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/NOTE-SOAP-20000508/ version 1.1], the recommendation (to split hairs, it isn't technically a "standard") was called "Simple Object Access Protocol". This name never did really fit: it has never had anything in particular to do with accessing objects, and even the initial version was never particularly simple, especially when compared to its progenitor XML-RPC (and don't even get me started about the various SOAP add-ons like WS-Security, WS-Transaction, WS-ReliableMessaging, and WS-KitchenSink). I gather there was at least one faction in favor of renaming it "Services Oriented Access Protocol"[http://cookbook.soaplite.com/#soap%20acronym], but instead the expansion was dropped completely and in [http://www.w3.org/TR/soap12-part1/ version 1.2] of the recommendation it is simply called "SOAP". -User:Saucepan 06:11, 27 Aug 2004 (UTC) :Further to the above, I've repointed the all-uppercase SOAP redirect to this article from the disambig page. This article is currently the most likely intended destination for someone looking for "SOAP" with all uppercase, and has prominent disambiguation links for those cases where I'm wrong. If nobody objects, in a day or so I'll finish the job by moving this article to SOAP and leaving behind a redirect. -User:Saucepan 00:41, 4 Sep 2004 (UTC) :I think something should be added to the article explaining why it's now "formerly". It's what caught my attention, yet there was no reason for stating it. User:RedWolf 22:03, Sep 21, 2004 (UTC) :That caught my eye too. But I think its enough explanation to specify when the SOAP specification started saying "It's no longer an acronym." That's Version 1.2. I added that info when I rewrite the introductory paragraphs for readability. User:Isaac Rabinovitch 05:13, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC) == SOAP type information == Where's the embedded type information in the example? All the on-the wire SOAP transactions I've seen recently have embedded type info. -- User:The Anome 22:07, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC) :That would be RPC-style SOAP, in which there's no document schema but the type information is inlined. It tends to be used by Axis (computer_program) and tools based on it (mostly Java). The example in the article is based on a capture of Microsoft .NET traffic and uses Document-style SOAP. In Document-style, the WSDL includes or refers to a schema, and the sender assumes the recipient has the schema and so knows the types already. (If you are thinking that this sounds like a bit of a mess you are quite right IMO.) I guess the article could use some explanation of the different styles of SOAP. :I used Document-style messages for the examples just because they were the sample messages I had laying around. My current feeling is that RPC-style type info would tend to clutter the example and confuse readers unused to XML schemas, detracting from the goal of presenting a simple, high-level overview. (This is the same reason I left out the XML Byte Order Mark.) User:Saucepan 22:54, 22 Oct 2004 (UTC) == "All protocols"??? == The nitpicker in me doesn't like the statement "SOAP can be run on top of all the Internet Protocols...". ''All'' protocols??? NTP? Ping? I think the statement needs to be qualified somehow, but I don't know enough about SOAP to do it myself. Something like "SOAP can be run on top of all protocols that support exchange of text bundles..." User:Isaac Rabinovitch 05:13, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Cleanup == I tried to read through the article from the perspective of someone trying to learn what SOAP is, and I think we need to work on it quite a bit. The article dives into too many technical details and provides very little in terms of general definition and explanation -- it needs to focus more on answering the question "what is SOAP?" User:Dpm64 11:51, 2005 Apr 16 (UTC) * I was looking at this article literally twenty minutes ago thinking exactly the same thing. I'm new to Wikipedia, and so I hesitated to Wikipedia:Be bold in updating pages and tag it for cleanup. In any case, I totally support this. User:Pojo 16:11, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC) ** Did my rewrite of the opening hurt or help? Don't spare my feelings! User:Isaac Rabinovitch 20:52, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC) *** I think it's a start but honestly, I feel like the whole opening section (before "Contents") needs to be obliterated and rewriten in layman's terms. User:Pojo 14:35, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC) **** Always a desirable goal, but difficult to achieve in this case. Take the very first sentence, which says that "SOAP is a light-weight protocol"? What's the layperson's term for "lightweight protocol"? Bear in mind that you can't just leave the concept out -- it's a key part of the definition.---User:Isaac Rabinovitch 17:20, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC) ***** The ''light-weight'' part is actually fairly controversal inside the technical community -- many people, especially Representational State Transfer supporters, characterize SOAP as heavy-weight. I'd suggest taking "light-weight" out of the introduction and putting it under history, something along the lines of "SOAP was designed to be a light-weight protocol" or "SOAP's designers intended for it to be a light-weight protocol", without trying to prejudice the article either way. In any case, I don't think that we need to target laypeople who are completely ignorant of computers, so much as people who are familiar with computers but not with SOAP. User:Dpm64 17:42, 2005 Apr 18 (UTC) ****** "''so much as people who are familiar with computers but not with SOAP''" I agree, that seems fair. There's no point trying to explain SOAP to someone who's still looking for the any key. :) User:Pojo ****** If "lightweight" is controversial, then it certainly needs to be removed from the definition. But I don't think we necessarily have to find a place for it elsewhere. Material on the controversy might improve the article, but I don't think adding it is an immediate priority. ---User:Isaac Rabinovitch 18:44, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC) I redid the beginning of this article, adding a brief "layperson" definition. There is no getting around the fact this is a technical subject that requires a certain foundation of information. However, I think a brief non-technical introduction gives the best of both worlds. Let me know what y'all think. --User:Daeley 20:05, 2005 Apr 19 (UTC) *Thanks -- I think that's a good start for all of us to build on. User:Dpm64 00:06, 2005 Apr 20 (UTC) *I strongly disagree. I really hate that definition. It's one of those vague pseudo-explanations that don't really improve anybody's understanding of a topic. Robert, please don't take this as a criticism of you're writing skill. You did your best to do something that's just not possible: explain a concept, SOAP, without reference to any of the other concepts SOAP builds upon. Bad idea. At least with the old version, people could identify concepts they weren't familiar with, and follow hyperlinks to improve their knowledge of them.---User:Isaac Rabinovitch 22:52, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC) **No worries, Issac -- I figured this was just a starting point. :) --User:Daeley 17:15, 2005 Apr 30 (UTC) **I've rewritten the introduction to try to make it clearer. The first sentence answers the question "what is SOAP?" directly, and the rest puts SOAP in a broader technical context rather than diving down into minor details. I've also corrected the history of SOAP. Let's use this as a starting point, and see if we can refine it even a little more. User:Dpm64 02:40, 2005 Apr 22 (UTC) ***Good stuff, but I have a quibble. You say "soap is a standard", instead of "soap is a protocol". I think the more specific word is better, even if it does have the taint of computerese. ---User:Isaac Rabinovitch 03:04, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC) ****Thanks for the kind words. I chose ''standard'' not to be less technical, but to avoid quibbles -- the SOAP standard defines both transmission protocols and message formats; in fact, I'm not sure if we could call it a single protocol in any case, since it has so many variations, like RPC, asynchronous. User:Dpm64 14:45, 2005 Apr 22 (UTC) I'm trying to cleanup the article so it is easier for the average reader to understand. I think that the introduction is okay now, although still a little heavy on the technical jargon. The example section seems out of place. Any suggestions? User:Ben Babcock 05:26, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC) *I'm sorry to be harsh Ben, but I'm afraid I don't much care for your work. Did you notice the convesation (just above on this talk page) about "protocol" versus "standard"? And no, your cutting necessary technical terms does not make the explanation more accessible -- just harder to follow. Also, your assertion that SOAP is still an acronym is mistaken -- as described elsewhere in the article! ---User:Isaac Rabinovitch 05:45, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::I did notice that conversation. The criticism is well-deserved, as I am not familiar with SOAP. The W3C defines it as a "lightweight protocol" however and I chose to go with that definition. I kept the last paragraph where it mentions that the acronym no longer applies, even though it was ''originally'' an acronym. ::The crux of the matter is, of course, the technical terms. Obviously this isn't done all in one shot. Perhaps keep the entire introduction very simple, but then move the necessary technical information to the body of the article? If we do that, then the average person can get a basic understanding of what SOAP is, while those who want to continue can read the entire article. . . .User:Ben Babcock 06:00, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC) :::Ben did an excellent job using simple, clear language, but unfortunately his rewrite introduced some inaccuracies and removed some essential information (for example, the main reason people care about SOAP is the fact that it's part of web services, so the intro needs to mention web services somehow). I've reverted for now. User:Dpm64 11:22, 2005 Apr 30 (UTC) ::I've created a User:Ben Babcock/SOAP. We can edit this one until we can agree on the right balance between technical accuracy and plain language, then place its content on the actual SOAP page. So far I've just reorganized the bottom links alphabetize them. ::I still think the introduction part of the article is too long and detailed, and that some of the information should be moved to a subsection of its own, so we can keep the introduction shorter and easier to understand at a glance. User:Ben Babcock 18:39, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC) ::Okay, I've rearranged my User:Ben Babcock/SOAP. The first two paragraphs have been preserved because they contribute to a simple but accurate introduction. I moved the third paragraph into an "Overview" section, which also includes the "Transport Methods" section now. I included information about the way a SOAP message is structured, and then placed the examples as a subsection of that. User:Ben Babcock 00:36, 2 May 2005 (UTC) ::Page updated to reflect the rewritten version, which has hopefully maintained the technical accuracy while making it easier to read. User:Ben Babcock 04:27, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

Soap

''This article is about a common cleaning mixture. For other uses of the word Soap, see Soap (disambiguation).'' Soap is a surfactant cleaning mixture used for personal or minor cleaning. It usually comes in solid moldinged form. In the developed world, synthetic detergents have superseded soap as a laundry aid. Many soaps are mixtures of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids which can be derived from oils or fats by reacting them with an alkali (such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) at 80�–100 �C in a process known as saponification. The fats are Hydrolysis by the base, yielding glycerol and crude soap. Historically, the alkali used was potash made from the deliberate burning of vegetation such as bracken, or from wood ashes. Soap in bar form is often used in the washing areas of a house and can be made of other, more environmentally-healthy materials as well, such as natural vegetable oils or olive oil. "Sodium Tallowate", a common ingredient in many, is in fact Kitchen_rendering animal fat. ==Purification and finishing== The common process of purifying soap involves removal of sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, and glycerol. These impurities are removed by boiling the crude soap curds in water and re-precipitating the soap with salt. Most of the water is then removed from the soap. This was traditionally done on a chill roll which produced the soap flakes commonly used in the 1940s and 1950s. This process was superseded by spray dryers and then by vacuum dryers. The dry soap (approximately 6-12% moisture content) is then compacted into small pellets. These pellets are now ready for soap finishing. Soap finishing is the process of converting raw soap pellets into salable product, usually bars. Soap pellets are combined with fragrances and other materials and blended to homogeneity in an amalgamator (mixer). The mass is then discharged from the mixer into a refiner which, by means of an auger, forces the soap through a fine wire screen. From the refiner the soap passes over a roller mill (French milling or hard milling) in a manner similar to calendering paper or plastic or to making chocolate liquor. The soap is then passed through one or more additional refiners to further plasticize the soap mass. Immediately before extrusion it passes through a vacuum chamber to remove any entrapped air. It is then extruded into a long log or blank, cut to convenient lengths, passed through a metal detector and then stamped into shape in refrigerated tools. The pressed bars are packaged in many ways. Sand or pumice may be added to produce a wiktionary:scouring soap. This process is most common in creating soaps used for human hygiene. The scouring agents serve to remove dead skin cells from the surface being cleaned. This process is called exfoliation. Many newer materials are used for exfoliating soaps which are effective but do not have the sharp edges and poor size distribution of pumice. ==Use== Although the word ''soap'' continues to be used informally in everyday speech and product labels, in practice nearly all kinds of "soap" in use today are actually synthetic detergents, which are less expensive, more effective, and easier to manufacture. While effort has been made to reduce their negative effect upon the environment, the results have been mixed. Soaps are useful for cleansing because soap molecules attach readily to both nonpolar molecules (such as grease or oil) and polar molecules (such as water). Although grease will normally adhere to skin or clothing, the soap molecules can attach to it as a "handle" and make it easier to rinse away. Allowing soap to sit on any surface (skin, clothes etc) over time can imbalance the moisture content on it and result in the dissolving of fabrics and dryness of skin. ::::(water soluble end) :CH₃-(CH₂)_n - COONa :(fatty end) The hydrocarbon ("fatty") portion dissolves dirt and oils, while the ionic end makes it soluble in water. Therefore, it allows water to remove normally-insoluble matter. == The history and process of soap making == The earliest known evidence of soap use are Babylonia clay cylinders dating from 2800 BC containing a soap-like substance. A formula for soap consisting of water, alkali and cassia oil was written on a Babylonian clay tablet around 2200 BC. The Ebers papyrus (Egypt, 1550 BC) indicates that Ancient Egypt bathed regularly and combined animal and vegetable oils with alkaline salts to create a soap-like substance. A soap factory with bars of scented soap was found in the ruins of Pompeii (79 AD). Legend has it that soap gets its name from Mount Sapo where Ancient Rome sacrifice animals. Rain would send a mix of animal tallow and wood ash down the mountain and into the clay soil on the banks of the Tiber. Eventually, women noticed that it was easier to clean clothes with this "soap". Historically, soap was made by mixing animal fats with lye. Because of the caustic lye, this was a dangerous procedure (perhaps more dangerous than any present-day home activities) which could result in serious chemical burns or even blindness. Before commercially-produced lye was commonplace, it was produced at home for soap making from the ashes of a wood fire. In modern times, the use of soap has become universal in industrialized nations due to a better understanding of the role of hygiene in reducing the population size of pathogenic microorganisms. Manufactured bar soaps first became available in the late nineteenth century, and advertising campaigns in Europe and the United States helped to increase popular awareness of the relationship between cleanliness and health. By the 1950s, soap had gained public acceptance as an instrument of personal hygiene. ==Handmade soap== Some individuals continue to make soap in the home. The traditional name "soaper", for a soap-maker, is still used by those who make soap as a hobby. The most popular soap-making processes today are the cold process and the melt and pour process. Some soapers also practice other processes, such as the hot process, and make special soaps such as glycerin soap. Handmade soap differs from industrial soap in that sufficient fat, and usually more, is used to consume the alkali, and in that the glycerin is not removed. Superfatted soap is more skin-friendly than industrial soap. Often emollients such as jojoba oil or shea butter are added at trace, after most of the oils have saponified, so that they remain unreacted in the finished soap. ==Disadvantages== Today, fat-based soaps have mostly been superseded by modern detergents. Washing agents do not contain soap for cleaning fabric, but to reduce foaming. The disadvantages of soap are: *Soap deprives the skin of natural, beneficial oils *Soap can react mildly Base (chemistry) with fabrics resulting in damage over the long term. This is usually due to excess sodium hydroxide (sodium hydroxide, an alkali/Base (chemistry)) left from manufacture, but can also be caused by the very slight presence of NaOH from the equilibrium reaction:
R-CO₂-Na + H₂0 <�> R-CO₂^- + Na⁺ + H₂0 <��> R-COOH (=fatty acid) + sodium hydroxide (alkali)
However, this equilibrium reaction is way over to the left and the fraction of sodium hydroxide formed is minuscule. *Soap reacts with lime to form an insoluble deposit (soap scum) in "hard water":
2R-COO^-Na⁺ + Ca²⁺(HCO₃^{-^{)₂ (calcium bicarbonate) ��> Na⁺(HCO₃)^{-^{+ Ca(R-COO)₂ (precipitate)

Commercially made bar soaps are formulated to mitigate all of these disadvantages:

*A wide variety of emollient materials, such as shea or cocoa butter, are substantive to the skin.
*Poorly finished soaps contain alkali (sodium hydroxide) and react mildly Base (chemistry) with skin and fabric; commercial products are finished to neutrality or to a slight acid content to prevent this and be more compatible with the skin slightly acidic pH.
*Commercial products use chelation molecules, often EDTA derivatives to bind with any free Ca or Mg molecules and prevent soap scum. These also help reduce fragrance loss, discolouration and rancidity.

==See also==
*Saponin

==References==
* Maine, Sandy (1995). The Soap Book: Simple Herbal Recipes. Interweave Press. ISBN 1883010144.

==External Links==
*[http://www.sdahq.org/cleaning/history/ Soap history by The Soap and Detergent Association]
*[http://www.ccnphawaii.com/glossary.htm Glossary for the Modern Soap Maker. Soap making terminology defined.]
*[http://www.alcasoft.com/soapfact/historycontent.html Colonial Soap Making. Its History and Techniques. (The Soap Factory)]
*[http://www.bartleby.com/65/so/soap.html The Columbia Encyclopedia's soap entry (via Bartleby.com)]
*[http://www.butser.org.uk/iafsoap_hcc.html The Discovery and Prehistory of Soap by R W Hedge at Butser Ancient Farm]

Salts
Cleaning products

simple:Soap

Soap

I moved the following from the ''Purification and finishing'' section of the article:

:Features in the movie Fight Club.

While I get the reference (making soap out of liposuction medical waste, as in the film), I don't really see the relevance to the current encyclopedia article on soap. Maybe it could be rephrased, moved to a section like "Soap in popular culture", or moved to saponification? User:Saucepan 18:42, 25 May 2004 (UTC)
==Dubious 'fact'==
The article says that a disadvantage of soap and why it is not used to day is that it dries out the skin. This is true of commercial soap which has been stipped of its natural glycerine, but hand-made soap contains glycerine which softens and moisturises the skin. User:Whiskers_User_talk:Whiskers">User:Whiskers|User:Whiskers User talk:Whiskers 18:35, 15 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The article could use a lot of work, and the "dubious fact" may be a bit dubious, but not for the reason given above. It is not clear that glycerine in soap has the stated benefits or lacks that disadvantage. -- robgood@bestweb.net , 12/18/04

== Castile soap ==

What is Castile soap, exactly? Is it the same as what the French call ''savon de Marseille''? User:David.Monniaux 17:08, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

See other meanings of words starting from letter:S
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SH |
SI |
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SK |
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SO |
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Words begining with SOAP:

SOAP
SOAP
Soap
Soap
Soap-box_cart
Soap-char-stub
Soap32
Soapbar
Soapbark
Soapberry
Soapbox
Soapbox_Communications_Trust
SoapChar
SoapCity
Soaper
Soapers
Soapies
Soapkat
Soapland
Soapland
Soapmaking
SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SoapNet
Soapnet
Soapnut
Soaproot
Soaps
Soaps
Soapstone
Soaps_In_Depth
Soaps_In_Depth
SoapTalk
Soaptree_yucca
Soapwort
Soapwort
Soapy_Award
Soapy_Awards
Soapy_Slick
Soapy_the_bum
SOAP_(disambiguation)
Soap_(disambiguation)
Soap_(disambiguation)
Soap_(sitcom)
Soap_(TV_series)
Soap_(TV_series)
Soap_(TV_show)
Soap_and_water
Soap_bar
Soap_bar
Soap_bark_tree
Soap_Box_Derby
Soap_bubble
Soap_bubble
Soap_bubbles
Soap_film
Soap_Lake
Soap_Lake,_WA
Soap_Lake,_Washington
SOAP_note
Soap_Opera
Soap_opera
Soap_opera
Soap_Opera:_the_inside_story_of_Procter_&_Gamble
Soap_operas
Soap_operas
Soap_opera_actors
Soap_opera_characters
Soap_opera_character_stubs
Soap_Opera_Digest
Soap_Opera_Digest
Soap_Opera_Digest_Award
Soap_Opera_Digest_Awards
Soap_Opera_Digest_Award_winners
Soap_Opera_Magazine
Soap_opera_producers
Soap_Opera_Rapid_Aging_Syndrome
Soap_Opera_Update
Soap_Opera_Update_Award
Soap_Opera_Update_Awards
Soap_Opera_Weekly
Soap_opera_writers
Soap_Plant
Soap_plant
Soap_service
Soap_stone
Soap_Talk}}}}