Pair of Internet Technology Updates from MS

Microsoft has announced the immediate availability of the SOAP Toolkit 2.0 and Web Services Support for Internet Explorer. The beta release of the SOAP Toolkit provides developers using Microsoft's Visual Studio 6.0 with "rapid Web Services development capabilities for production-ready applications." The second tool, the Web Services Support, allows developers to consolidate Web services from multiple Web pages into one.

Microsoft said in its press release that the two updates are "are key technologies for facilitating the creation and integration of Web Services, the programmable building blocks that form the next-generation applications of the Internet."

The SOAP Toolkit 2.0 includes usability as well as architectural enhancements to keep the toolkit up to speed with the latest standards. Included in this release is compatibility with Web Services Description Language (WSDL), Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) and SOAP 1.1. The toolkit will also be expanded to work on Windows 2000 along with NT, 98, and Windows Me, and will be fully backed by Microsoft Product Support Services.

Web Services Support from Microsoft "provides a transparent mechanism for developers to easily use Web Services from scripts in a Web page to improve many aspects of traditional database-drive Web page design," according to the press release.

MS boasts "By releasing this behavior, Microsoft is the first company to deliver Web Services capabilities directly to a Web browser, bringing the power of aggregating applications across the Internet to all users and developers."

Both releases are available from Microsoft at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/soap. For more information read the press release.