It is the simple stuff that is sometimes best
XML over RPC vs. SOAP
I have been using "XML over HTTP" quite a bit in the last week on a consulting job. XML over HTTP is a simple competitor to SOAP.
While I have lots of experience with SOAP, WSDL, etc., there is something pure, simple, and elemental about exposing web services as XML over HTTP. For one thing, remote services are accessed by simply fetching the contents of a URL that has the service name and possible arguments embedded in the URL (HTTP GET format). As a result, you do not need any special purpose client side software at all, except for an XML parser to process the returned XML document.
Java server side: are EJBs too complex?
I have earned my living for a while using the full range of J2EE technologies. Still, I must confess to getting (mildly) irritated when I see people developing using EJB containers when they do not need transaction support, etc. The right tool for the job, but choose the simplest tool that is effective.
Where am I going with this?
I have been reading Lessig's new book The Future of Ideas, and it is excellent! He starts out by talking about simple open standards used in the Internet. His great book has me thinking of how some aspects of software development get screwed up by trying to add "just another 750 APIs" and unnecessarily complex standards.
3:31:53 PM 
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