Chapter 13. Business to Customer XML Web Services
IN THIS CHAPTER
XML Web Services are primarily designed for program-to-program data transfer. When we talk about Business-to-Customer, we are really talking about server-to-desktop applications. Many of the services that people use on the Web today could be integrated into applications using Web Services. For example, a ZIP code-to-city feature is common in most customer service and call center applications. However, everyone who needs this feature has to do their own development to make it work. Making a Web Service available, possibly for a fee, could be a potential moneymaker for a company willing to set it up.
In this chapter, you'll be building a Windows application that integrates with a public Web Service that returns stock quotes. The Windows application will keep a database of stocks, along with “alert” prices that should trigger a message to the user. This saves the active trader from having to watch every stock value all day long. The Web Service is hosted at xmethods.com, which is an excellent source of information on publicly available Web Services.