September, 2003

Web Services

• SOAP
• UDDI
• WSDL - aka "whiz - dill"
• XHTML
• XML
• the Microsoft .NET version
• the SUN version
• the IBM version

There is so much debate currently raging on the subject of web services that even people as irresponsible as the Fairies dare not take sides. So we've responded to the entire mess with our typical "there is chaos under Heaven and the situation is excellent" approach. Chi happens. Most of us have learned 'most all the different platforms (i.e. Sun's, Microsoft's, IBM's) because each time we move to a different job, yet another consulting company or technical manager has decided that [insert technology here] is THE. WAY. TO. GO. And none other can even be considered, because they have found the One True Way; all others are blasphemy.

Whatever.

Down here at the ol' Fairy Farm, we call this "resume fodder". So check them out, see what all the hype is about (if anything), and at least learn enough to toss around the correct buzzwords and pay it sufficient lip service. I remember way back in the day when you saw even the dullest of business analysts tossing around the acronyms B2B and B2C like they actually meant something. It's either just a pack of cards, or it's nothing more than people putting crap on servers so that it runs there, not on your desktop, so you can run even more useless crap no matter what kind of computer you have and where you are. More or less. Gee, can they make this even more complicated? Guess they haven't tried hard enough.