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Relatively recently, the term "web services" has been used to describe ways to get at data in separate systems. In particular, we now see the term "XML web services" being shortened to "web services", as XML is increasingly seen as a standard method of delivering web services. Yet using "web services" to only mean "XML web services" does not really make sense, as providing information in any format is a service, and doing so over the web ought to make it a "web service".
In our experience, XML is only one of many formats in which the information required by our applications has been available. Many times, the information has been available from a simple URL that sends a single number back, or perhaps a string of numbers and symbols separated by tabs or commas. This is typical of stock quotes and currency exchange quotes. Other times, the information is only available through a web page. One of the best examples of XML web services being consistently delivered in XML are the RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds used by blogs.
More often than not, the problem with external web services is not the format in which the information is delivered, but whether or not the information provider wishes to deliver the information in a transparent format at all. Thus, we have seen encrypted web pages, web sites that require human intervention in order to login, and other attempts to prevent the flow of information. (If the information is encrypted, even a little bit, then it may contravene local laws to access it without explicit permission.)
Within large organizations that integrate many large systems, such as banks, it may be advantageous to provide a standard interface to each system using XML. XML is convenient for programmers (cheaper to use) because there are standard libraries available across most programming languages for reading and writing XML. In addition, XML is viewed as an Internet standard, so it may be cheaper to get venders to supply the necessary work. Once XML web services are available, it may be less expensive to produce competitive-advantage-winning web applications.
We used to say, before the confusion, that "Linux is an ideal platform for providing web services". While that is true, what we now mean to communicate is that "Linux is an ideal platform for providing services that can be accessed via the web." The reason is that many programs that run on Linux are available for free or very low cost, and provide excellent flexibility for even the most dynamic websites.
