IBM Content Manager web service implementation

The IBM Content Manager web service interface architecture is based on a messaging communications model in which whole documents are exchanged between service clients and servers. The document that is passed contains all of the details needed to specify the operation to be performed and the objects on which that the operation is to be performed.

One benefit of the document messaging based model is that the XML specification was developed to allow ordinary data that is usually locked up in a proprietary format to be described in an open format that is self-describing, self-validating, and readable by people. When a web service uses document messaging, it can use the full capabilities of XML to describe and validate a high-level business document. Another benefit is that even though enhancements and changes are made to the XML schema, the calling application does not fail.

The document messaging model makes object exchange more flexible because the design of a business document is often well suited to object-oriented architectures. As a result, two applications can be designed to exchange the state of an object that uses XML. In contrast with object serialization in an object exchange, each end of the exchange is free to design the object as needed if the exchange conforms to the XML document format. One reason for not using object serialization is to support client and server implementations of an object. Many current industry-specific XML schemas are designed as client-server architectures in which the processing that is done at the client is separate from the processing intended at the server. As is often the case, the client is simply requesting or saving information in a specific document format that persists on the server.