SOAP, servlets and others decisions?

Question

Hi?
I?m developing a servlet application in an AS400 server which basically does some query in the DB
In other web server (Apache, Linux), I have the web application which needs to request information in the AS400 DB.
I was thinking to develop the communication between the AS400 servlet and Linux webserver pages with SOAP.
My questions are:
1.     What is the best way to send and request data from AS400 servlet and Linux Webserver? SOAP?
2.     In this case I don?t know exactly what and how API I should use for it.
3.     Where could I find documentation and example about it?
Thanks a lot.
Araujo

Answer 1

The AS400 and the Linux server are in the same IP
Network... and of course, both have a web server.
Really my questions is about if SOAP is a good wayto
send and receive data between these PC or if there
are other better way to do that.
Even before that you need to figure out ?
1) Is the communication sych or asynch?
2) SOAP though adds flexibility but it has its overhead costs, so you need to decide what your priorities are, extensibility, flexibility and decoupling or performance.
3) SOAP and webservices are not synonyms, though SOAP is one form but there are other light weight options too, have you even considered REST?
4) How about JMS or MQ, in case you are using app server? Asynch communication and guaranteed delivery has its own advantages and your app is still decoupled and following SOA architecture.
In short there are tons of ways to integrate, whole books have been written on enterprise integration, you need to first figure out what your requirements are. There is no magic bullet and SOAP by no means is a solution to everything.