SOSS - SOAP server for OCaml

SOSS - SOAP server for OCaml

[Stefan Lampe]

Hi,

I'd like to announce that I've released a SOAP server for OCaml.

It's available at http://www.caterpillarjones.org/soss

An overview follows below, but I should mention two things,
one: it's still alpha code, I have not used it extensively yet, and
two: it makes extensive use of OCamlduce, which may be of
interest to some people here.

I hope some people find it of use.

Thanks,
Stefan Lampe

---

SOSS is an implementation of a SOAP server for OCaml.

It is designed to allow a service, developed in OCaml, to be made available
as a SOAP service with minimal effort.

It's features include:
   It can serve the service through HTTP or TCP
   It has the option of restricting service functions to sequential access,
      providing protection to services that are not thread safe.
      Alternatively, multi threaded access is just as possible
   RPC style or wrapped document style SOAP messages
   A generation utility to allow, from the service interface, automatic
   generation of:
      Interface routines
      Message schema
      WSDL 1.1
      WSDL 2.0 (tentative support)

It is possible to write a series of service functions in pure OCaml without
regard to SOAP and, from the interface file for the service automatically
generate all that is required to reveal the service as a SOAP service
through HTTP or TCP.

It is not, however, a completely general SOAP server. It's goal is as 
above,
to define an OCaml service and reveal it as a SOAP service. As such it
provides no support for more general SOAP features, such as SOAP with
attachments.

---

Re: [Caml-list] SOSS - SOAP server for OCaml

[Richard Jones]

On Mon, Nov 13, 2006 at 01:51:25AM +0900, Stefan Lampe wrote:
> I'd like to announce that I've released a SOAP server for OCaml.
> 
> It's available at http://www.caterpillarjones.org/soss
> 
> An overview follows below, but I should mention two things,
> one: it's still alpha code, I have not used it extensively yet, and
> two: it makes extensive use of OCamlduce, which may be of
> interest to some people here.

Oh interesting.  Are you aware of our (cduce-implemented)
SOAP client?  http://merjis.com/developers/oc-soap

Rich.

-- 
Richard Jones, CTO Merjis Ltd.
Merjis - web marketing and technology - http://merjis.com
Internet Marketing and AdWords courses - http://merjis.com/courses - NEW!
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Re: [Caml-list] SOSS - SOAP server for OCaml

[Stefan Lampe]

Richard Jones wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 13, 2006 at 01:51:25AM +0900, Stefan Lampe wrote:
>   
>> I'd like to announce that I've released a SOAP server for OCaml.
>>
>> It's available at http://www.caterpillarjones.org/soss
>>
>> An overview follows below, but I should mention two things,
>> one: it's still alpha code, I have not used it extensively yet, and
>> two: it makes extensive use of OCamlduce, which may be of
>> interest to some people here.
>>     
>
> Oh interesting.  Are you aware of our (cduce-implemented)
> SOAP client?  http://merjis.com/developers/oc-soap
>
> Rich.
>   
Yes, originally I didn't intend to write a SOAP server, I just wanted to 
use one - so I looked around for SOAP and OCaml and found OC-SOAP. I 
then thought I might be able to extend OC-SOAP, but in the end I chose 
to map from OCaml types to a schema rather than from schema to an OCaml 
types. For the server side this made more sense, and is nice, in a 
way... SOSS and OC-SOAP complement each other well.

I may soon add a client feature to SOSS, but it will never work with a 
generic SOAP service, since it will be generated from the OCaml server 
side interface file - rather than the more public WSDL. It would only 
provide a solution for an OCaml client with OCaml server where the 
developers of each are in close contact with each other. For myself 
though, I only wanted to develop a server side application in OCaml and 
develop a client in another language - which is why I haven't added this 
feature yet, though most of the glue is, by default, already written.

I think I may have already read in a message somewhere that you 
recommended CDuce after using it for OC-SOAP, but if anyone else is 
reading this that is interested in manipulating XML in an OCaml 
application, I found OCamlduce to be very clear, concise and expressive. 
I was very impressed.

Stefan

Re: [Caml-list] SOSS - SOAP server for OCaml

[Richard Jones]

On Mon, Nov 13, 2006 at 09:46:27PM +0900, Stefan Lampe wrote:
> Yes, originally I didn't intend to write a SOAP server, I just wanted to 
> use one - so I looked around for SOAP and OCaml and found OC-SOAP. I 
> then thought I might be able to extend OC-SOAP, but in the end I chose 
> to map from OCaml types to a schema rather than from schema to an OCaml 
> types. For the server side this made more sense, and is nice, in a 
> way... SOSS and OC-SOAP complement each other well.

Yes, that's sensible.  Mapping from WSDL to OCaml types is a huge pain
in the neck because WSDL is such a huge, ill-defined standard, but
OC-SOAP has to do it unfortunately.

Rich.

-- 
Richard Jones, CTO Merjis Ltd.
Merjis - web marketing and technology - http://merjis.com
Internet Marketing and AdWords courses - http://merjis.com/courses - NEW!
Merjis blog - http://blog.merjis.com - NEW!