Types of Web Service in Industry 4.0

What is a Web Service and its uses in the industrial sector

You have probably heard the concept of Web Service, but it is only associated with a web page in an erroneous way. In this article we are going to explain you what a Web Service is and what are the uses that can be given in the industrial sector.

What is a Web Service?

The concept of Web Service refers to the communication system, protocols, and standards between two electronic devices connected to the same network, to exchange data between systems or applications. In other words, it is an application created for machine to machine communication and interoperability. One of the key elements of this system is XML (Extensible Markup Language). It is the way in which data is coded or programmed so that it can be processed by different systems, that is, it is a standard language that allows communication to occur even when applications or systems use different programming languages.

Types of Web Services

There are two types of Web services that differ by their standards: SOAP and RESTful.

Web Service SOAP

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol based on the standard XML communication language that allows us to send and receive messages from the web service between several systems or applications. Therefore, we can say that SOAP defines what communication is like and uses the HTTP protocol for it. HTTP, or hypertext transfer protocol, refers to the protocol which allows us to make a request for data and resources. It is one of the most used on the internet by search engines such as Google and servers.

Web Service RESTful

RESTful are Web Service applications from the REST (Representational State Transfer) software architecture and, unlike SOAP, this is not structured under defined standards, and this is lighter. In addition, its flexibility allows us not to work only with XML language but can also work under JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or other programming languages.

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What benefits does Web Services have in the industrial sector?

One of the most relevant benefits in the industrial sector is to be able to access programs or applications without having them installed on our computer, but they are hosted elsewhere over the network. In this way, you will always have access to the same content without losing information. Web Services help us to access any type of files and content that we have hosted in a web hosting. It is essential to have a good Web Service interface if in our company we have automated network processes with PLC's, supervision and control systems of production processes or SCADA systems. All these systems must have a good connection to ensure proper operation.

Integration between systems is key, as in this case of automated reporting in packaging lines, ready for SAP.

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