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 Dr.Bob's SOAP Bubbles
 Dr.Bob's SOAP Bubbles contains information about XML, SOAP and Web Services in Delphi, C++Builder and C# with ASP.NET

2010/10/04-08: CodeRage 5
It's time for CodeRage again: CodeRage 5 is open for registration, featuring 50+ technical sessions on Embarcadero development tools such as C++Builder XE, Delphi XE, RadPHP XE, Delphi Prism XE, InterBase SMP and RAD Studio XE. CodeRage is a free on-line virtual conference - all you need is Windows Live Meeting and some time to watch the sessions (at work, home or anywhere with an internet connection).
I'll be doing a SOAP Security session on Friday 6:00am - 6:45am PDT - hope to "see" you there!


2010/03/18 - Delphi 2010 XML, SOAP & Web Services
My latest Delphi 2010 courseware is published: about XML, SOAP & Web Services - available as PDF from my webshop for 99 Euro (including updates and e-mail support).
New buyers of the PDF manual can get a second manual for free, with a choice between:

All developers who purchased a previous PDF edition (RAD Studio 2007 XML, SOAP & Web Services) should have received their free upgrade by now.

2010/03/08 - Debugging Win32 SOAP Servers using the Web App Debugger
In this 16:51 minute session, I'll demonstrate how to debug Win32 SOAP Web Services in Delphi for Win32 using the Web App Debugger. See my article for the slides and replay of the full session at CodeRage Europe (July 2007).


2009/05/18 - SOAP v1.2 client support in Delphi Weaver
According to news from Delphi Live, we can expect to see SOAP v1.2 client support in the upcoming new version of Delphi with the codename Delphi Weaver (available second half of 2009).


2009 April - Delphi Prism Web Services and SOAP Security
In this article, I'll demonstrate how to use SOAP Headers as security technique for ASP.NET Web Service projects using Delphi Prism (extending the example from last month by adding a security layer to it).


2009 March - Delphi Prism Web Service Projects (and Session Info)
In this article, I'll demonstrate the new Delphi Prism ASP.NET projects with Web Services, and how to use the Session to store and retrieve information.


2009 February - Consuming Web Services with Delphi Prism
In this article, I'll demonstrate how to consume and use Web Services using Delphi Prism again, showing how to make synchronous as well as asynchronous calls to the web methods.


2009 January - ASP.NET Web Services with Delphi Prism 2009
In this article, I'll implement and deploy an ASP.NET SOAP Web Service with Delphi Prism 2009, writing a web method that can convert numbers to (Dutch) words.


2009/01/01 - RAD Studio 2007 XML, SOAP and Web Services
My RAD Studio 2007 XML, SOAP and Web Services Development manual available from my webshop in PDF format has been lowered in price to 99 Euro, which includes free updates of the PDF file as well as e-mail support (for the topics covered in the manual).


2008/12/31 - Delphi 2006 XML, SOAP and Web Services
For the Delphi 2006 XML, SOAP and Web Services Development courseware manual, I've written about the following topics:

The manual is available from Lulu.com for 32 Euro (print edition) or 24 Euro for the PDF download.

2008/09/17 - Vote for SOAP v1.2 client support in QC
In case some of you haven't read the Delphi 2009 readme.htm yet (also in the Release Notes), it mentions the following:

   SOAP Server Notes
   The Win32/native SOAP server is currently on the Deprecated list and is
   classified as "Other Consideration: Need alternative." If you want a
   document/literal server, you should build your SOAP server using Delphi
   for .NET (RAD Studio), which supports the SOAP specifications that are
   supported by the .NET framework.
Although I can understand that (a bit) for the SOAP server side, I would really want some extended Win32 SOAP support for clients, specifically for SOAP v1.2, MTOM (Message Transmission Optimization Mechanism) and in the end also interoperability for WCF servers.

I blogged about it and opened a QC feature request report, and invite everyone who also cares about Win32 SOAP (client) support to vote for this report.


2008/08/04 - Delphi for Win32 SOAP Exceptions
In this article, I'll demonstrate how Delphi for Win32 Web Services can create and handle SOAP Exceptions (as well as custom SOAP Exceptions) - with a little fix from CodeGear's Jean-Marie (Bruneau) Babet. Thanks!


2007/09/12 - Introduction to WCF Programming in Delphi
The Introduction to WCF Programming in Delphi session starts from WCF object model basics, including message-based communication stack, service contracts, endpoints, transports, exchange patterns, and interoperability with Web Services. After explaining basics Pawel is going to demonstrate building simple WCF services and clients with Delphi for .NET compiler, and consuming WCF services with Delphi for Win32 Web Services clients.


2007/02/12 - (Turbo) Delphi Hotfix Roll-up
CodeGear has just now signed-off a new version of the Hotfix Rollup of the previous BDS2006 hotfixes 1-9, except 2 and have now added hotfixes 10a-f! This hotfix rollup will work for all BDS2006 Update 2 editions and all the Turbo releases, all languages.
Of specific interest is hotfix 10b which incorporates the following enhancements and fixes:


2007 February - The Delphi Magazine #138
My Under Construction column in the February issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Web Services And Attachments. In this article, I show how to use the new support Microsoft has added for DIME attachments to ASP.NET web services with WS-Attachments: adding attachments to SOAP responses and also retrieving them.


2006 November - The Delphi Magazine #135
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Debugging Win32 Web Services. In this article, I examine Delphi’s Win32 SOAP and web services support, focusing on techniques to debug and trace Win32 web services using Delphi 2006. Apart from these debugging techniques, I also cover some interoperability issues and workarounds, especially when importing and consuming .NET web services.


2006/03/27 - RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi
RemObjects Software has just announced the new RemObjects SDK 4.0 for Delphi (build 4.0.5.455). The RemObjects SDK is the essential remoting framework for Delphi and Kylix, allowing you to remotely access objects residing on a server from clients inside the LAN or across the Internet. Read more about the RemObjects SDK and download a free trial.


2005/12/09 - Web Services and Security
In this SDN Event session on Friday December 9, 2005, I'll cover Web Services and Security using Delphi 2006. Starting with an ASP.NET SOAP Server, adding support for SOAP Headers, and importing the result in both Win32 and .NET clients (using RSA encryption of the password), we end by using WSE 2.0 and WS-Security for the final .NET example.


2005 December - The Delphi Magazine #124
My Under Construction column in the December issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Web Services And Security. In this article, I demonstrate various techniques that can be used to secure SOAP messages: adding both authentication and encryption to your web services, for Win32 as well as .NET applications. We learn about encryption and decryption using symmetric and asymmetric algorithms, plus WS-Security and X509 too.


2005/11/24 - ECO Web Services and RSS
The last part of the series on creating a weblog using ASP.NET and ECO II - where I'll now cover ECO Web Services and RSS feeds - is now published in the online Bitwise Magazine.
Next time, I will continue with Delphi 2006 and Enterprise Core Objects III – trying to illustrate them using the existing example, as well as some new examples.


2005/11/09 - Multi-Platform Web Services with Delphi
In this Borland 2005 DevCon session on Wednesday November 9, 2005, at 9:30-10:45 in the Continental Ballroom 4, we'll see multi-platform Web Services with Delphi 2005, using the Borland Win32 SOAP Framework as well as ASP.NET Web Services.
Apart from some interoperability and migration notes, I will also demonstrate the use of SOAP Headers (for security purposes for example) in both Win32 and ASP.NET.


2005/11/01 - Blogging about SOAP
In case you haven't read it before, I've really started to use my weblog as main means to share my experiences with XML, SOAP and Web Services using Delphi.


2005/08/18 - Delphi 2005 ECO II ASP.NET Weblog
My ECO-driven weblog (ASP.NET) web application, as described in my article series for Bitwise Magazine(part three is now online), is finally deployed and made available online on my test server at http://www.drbob42.com/blog. Feel free to read it and leave a comment if you wish.


2005/06/13 - ASP.NET BDP Deployment
In my latest Dr.Bob Examines article, I explain and demonstrate the steps needed for the successful deployment of a Delphi 2005 application using the Borland Data Provider (BDP) to work with databases.


2005/05/02 - Dr.Bob Examines... .NET Multitier Applications
In this paper, I will demonstrate a techniques to build multi-tier database applications with ASP.NET Web Services using Delphi for .NET as development environment.


2005/02/28 - Dr.Bob Examines... TADONETConnector
In this paper, I will demonstrate how to use the hardly documented TADONETConnector component to feed (ADO).NET DataSets to VCL for .NET clients, where you can show and work with the contents in regular data-aware controls from the VCL (for .NET).
The SOAP and Web Services relevance can be found in the second half of the article, where I connect the TADONETConnector to a DataSet/DataTable that's returned by an ASP.NET Web Service (which is also capable of receiving the updates from the TADONETConnector again).


2005/02/02 - ADO.NET DataSets in Win32
Deepak Shenoy has updated his paper on using ado.net datasets (for example as results from asp.net web services) in delphi for win32.


2004/10/31 - RemObjects SDK 3.0 for .NET
RemObjects SDK, the award winning remoting framework for Delphi and Kylix, is now available for Microsoft .NET. RemObjects SDK 3.0 for .NET allows you to build fully managed multi-tier servers and clients for .NET and Mono, while preserving full wire compatibility with RemObjects SDK for Delphi so that you can easily combine servers and clients from different platforms.
With full C# code, RemObjects SDK 3.0 for .NET integrates into the Visual Studio and Borland Developer Studio IDEs, is built on RemObjects Internet Pack for .NET, and offers support for C#, Chrome, and Delphi for .NET among others.


2004/09/20 - dotNED Meeting: ASP.NET Web Services
Thursday, September 23rd, I'll be doing a free (evening) presentation on ASP.NET Web Services for dotNET - the Dutch .NET Users Group.


2004/07/29 - XML Data Binding Wizard Fixes
Mark Edington has uploaded an update to Code Central which fixes a couple of problems you may run into if you are using moderately complex XML schema ocuments with the XML Data Binding Wizard. Relative paths were not being handled correctly for "includes" and there was also a problem with resolving types.


2004/07/16 - DB2 thin clients connecting to Linux Web Services
This article for the IBM DB2-Borland web portal demonstrates how to build the user interface (a thin-client application) for a SOAP Web service engine with Kylix 3 on Linux, exposing the data from DB2 UDB database tables to the outside world. It's the follow-up of the DB2 Web Service engines on Linux with Kylix 3 article.


2004/07/11 - Delphi Developers Guide to XML (2nd)
The second edition of Delphi Developer's Guide to XML by Keith Wood is now available. It has been amended to cover updates in the underlying XML and related specifications, to include chapters on the common DOM framework of Delphi 6+ and the SAX for Pascal project, and to cover the XML tools that come with Delphi 6+ (XML Data Binding, XML Mapper, and SOAP/Web Service support).


2004/06/25 - DB2 Web Service engines on Linux with Kylix 3
This article (part 1 of two parts) demonstrates how to build a SOAP Web service engine with Kylix 3 on Linux, exposing the data from DB2 UDB database tables to the outside world. In this first part, I'll start by building the server-side "engine" on Linux, exposing the data from the DB2 UDB SAMPLE database, but without the presentation layer.
In the next part, I'll build the user interface for this presentation layer, which can be on either Linux or Windows.


2004/06/17 - MSDN TV: Security in WSE 2.0
This MSDN TV Epsisode celebrates the launch of the Web Service Enhancements (WSE) 2.0 at Tech·Ed 2004, where Benjamin Mitchell and John Bristowe talk about the advanced Web services specifications that it supports, focusing on WS-Security. They demonstrate how WSE provides a simple object model that allows developers to secure Web services independent of the transport using only a few lines of code.


2004/05/26 - Borland teams up with eBay & PayPal
Borland announced a new relationship with eBay that will provide Borland developers with access to tools and resources for creating Web services applications for the eBay and PayPal platforms and communities. Through a joint distribution agreement, Borland will make the eBay and PayPal Software Development Kits (SDKs) available to Delphi developers.
Delphi developers will get access to tools and resources that can help them build highly-available .NET services. These Web services applications will allow developers to tap into the eBay marketplace as well as PayPal's online payment services.


2004/05/07 - A tale of two CodeDOMs
Read the story of building a web service that uses the C#Builder and Delphi for .NET CodeDOMs to instantly convert C# code samples to Delphi code.
You can download the complete WinForms project from CodeCentral.


2004/04/20 - RemObjects SDK 3.0
The RemObjects SDK is the award winning remoting framework for Delphi and Kylix. It allows you to remotely access objects residing on a server from clients inside the LAN or across the Internet. It supports object pooling, asynchronous invocation, compression, encryption, and a variety of protocols such as TCP/IP, HTTP, UDP, POP3/SMTP, NamedPipes, etc. It includes the RemObjects Service Builder and allows you to expose your services as SOAP web-services.
RemObjects SDK 3.0 is available for Borland Delphi 7, Borland Delphi 6, and Borland Kylix 3.


2004/03/30 - Dr.Bob Examines ASP.NET with Delphi 8 for .NET
In the March 2004 Dr.Bob Examines column, we'll take a close look at building and working with ASP.NET Web Services using Delphi 8 for .NET.


2004/03/19 - Mindreef adds WS-I Testing to SOAPscope
Mindreef, Inc. announced that the newly released WS-I testing tools seamlessly integrate into its Web services diagnostic system, SOAPscope.


2004/03/05 - Delphi 8 for .NET and multi-tier apps (2)
The Borland-IBM DB2 portal has just published the second part of the 2-part article on Delphi 8 for .NET and multi-tier (ASP.NET web service) database applications. This second part shows how to extend an ASP.NET Web Service application (covered in the previous article) to let clients update the database.


2004 March - The Delphi Magazine #103
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 8 For .NET And ASP.NET Web Services. In this article, I discuss ASP.NET web services, considered by many to be the best part of the .NET framework. I also explain how to migrate your existing Delphi web service engines to ASP.NET in such a way that the resulting project can be compiled with both Delphi 7 and Delphi 8 for .NET.


2004/02/26 - Delphi 8 for .NET and multi-tier apps
The Borland-IBM DB2 portal has just published the first part of a 2-part article on Delphi 8 for .NET and multi-tier (ASP.NET web service) database applications.
The first part shows how to use Delphi 8 for .NET to build an ASP.NET Web Service application that publishes data tables from a database (in this case the DB2 UDB SAMPLE database) to the outside world, including WinForms clients.


2004/01/16 - Shakeout in Web Services Market
This article in SDTimes by Yvonne L. Lee is about the shakeout seen in the Web Services Market - securities firm expects demise of smaller players in 2004, with mergers and acquisitions in 2004. Borland is mentioned as a "big fish" that will be looking to acquire others.


2004/01/12 - Mindreef launches SOAPscope 3.0
Mindreef announced the availability of Mindreef SOAPscope 3.0, the first Web Services Diagnostics System to include lifecycle interoperability testing and troubleshooting throughout the development, deployment and support of a Web service.


2003/11/11 - Delphi for .NET Launch
On Tuesday evening, 11th November 2003, Delphi 8 for the Micrsoft .NET Framework was launched in The Netherlands at the European Borland Conference in Amsterdam. I had the priviledge to be allowed to demonstrate the ASP.NET functionality during this launch event, by building and consuming an ASP.NET Web Service, and showing how to make ASP.NET Web Forms with the Borland Data Providers and some very cool DB Web components.
People in The Netherlands (or Belgium) who missed it or want to see more about Delphi for .NET and ASP.NET can consider attending one of my upcoming Delphi for .NET training classes in December.


2003/11/07 - ASP.NET Web Services and Sessions
In this Dr.Bob Examines article, I show how to add state management and session support to ASP.NET web services (using C# and notepad), explaining what to do and what not to do, so you can decide for yourself if, where and when you want to use this ability.


2003/11/1-5: Borland Conference 2003
The 14th annual Borland Conference (and Borland's 20th Anniversary) is held this week from Saturday (Nov 1st) until Wednesday (Nov 5th), in San Jose, CA (USA). I'm doing a pre-conference tutorial (on XML & SOAP), a session about dbExpress, and a Birds-of-a-Feather session on RemObjects SDK.
The latest Delphi (for .NET), C#Builder and other news and updates will be reported "live" from BorCon in San Jose and can be read in my special BorCon Report at http://www.drbob42.com/BorCon.


2003/10/15 - C# and Delphi 7 Web Services Interoperability
The last two Dr.Bob Examines columns are about Web Services and interoperability between Delphi and C#. In the first article, I'll show how web services written in C# can be consumed and used by Borland's Delphi 7 Professional. Using a simple echo web service, I'll demonstrate how the Delphi and Kylix clients can connect to and interact with the C# web service.
In the second article, I'll show how web services written in Delphi can be consumed and used by C# on the .NET Framework. Extending the simple echo web service, I'll demonstrate how the C# client can connect to and interact with the Delphi web service.


2003/09/01 - ASP.NET Web Services and Sessions
My latest article in Hardcore Web Services is about ASP.NET Web Services and Sessions. By default, Web Services are stateless. However, that doesn't mean that they can't maintain state. Although you'll often be told that a stateful Web Service is a Bad Thing, it doesn't hurt to know that the possibility exists. In this article, I show how to add state management and session support to your Web Services, explaining what to do and what not to do, so you can decide for yourself whether, where, and when you want to use this ability.


2003/08/22 - C++Builder 6 meets C# ASP.NET Web Services
In this August 2003 Dr.Bob Examines column, I use the .NET Framework SDK and C# together with C++Builder and examine how C# and C++Builder can be "connected" to each other using ASP.NET web services.


2008/08/15 - Mindreef SOAPscope 2.0
Mindreef, Inc. announced the availability of Mindreef SOAPscope 2.0. This emerging category of products addresses the challenges of isolating and solving problems of applications built with Web Services.


2003/07/14 - C#Builder TicTacToe Web Service Client
There's a C#(Builder) specific area on the Borland Developer Network now, featuring an article I wrote about one the examples that ships with C#Builder (made by me), namely consuming the TicTacToe Web Service with C#Builder.
In this article, I'll show you how to use C#Builder to import a web service, and turn it into a TicTacToe game client. Source code (which can also be compiled using the C# command-line compiler from the .NET SDK) is already available in the BDS\1.0\Examples\C#\Web Services\Tic Tac Toe directory, as well as CodeCentral.


2003/07/12 - RemObjects SDK 2.0
RemObjects Software, Inc. has announced the immediate availability of the RemObjects SDK 2.0 for Borland Delphi and Kylix. This is the second version of the RemObjects SDK remoting framework, and includes many enhancements and new Enterprise-level features such as advanced new channels, session management, server discovery, asynchronous communication, and more.
RemObjects Client SDK for .NET is also available (as well as on the C#Builder Partner CD), allowing developers to take the step to .NET and build native RemObjects clients for the .NET Framework and the Compact Framework, now. RemObjects Client SDK for .NET is the first step in providing a seamless cross-platform solution for both Delphi/Kylix and .NET, client-and server-side.
For more information of the previous version of RemObjects, you can read my review of RemObjects SDK 1.0


2003 July - The Delphi Magazine #95
My Under Construction column in the July issue of The Delphi Magazine is about ASP.NET Web Services. In this article, I show how to build, test and deploy a Delphi for .NET web service on the .NET framework, as well as how to import such web services with Delphi 7 in order to illustrate some potential compatibility issues between Delphi 7 and Delphi for .NET.


2003/06/25 - C#Builder ASP.NET Web Services demos
The C#Builder demos have been made public on CodeCentral, and you can now download seven of my C#Builder projects. Two of the demos are C#Builder Web Service clients based on SOAP servers that I've written before (the roman numerical conversion and tic-tac-toe game engine), namely:

Articles to cover the steps (and more details about C#Builder) are published on the Borland Developer Network.

2003/05/09 - Dr.Bob Examines C# Web Services
In this article, I'll show how web services can be written and consumed in C# and using nothing but the .NET Framework SDK (i.e. without using a C# IDE at this time) to demonstrate the syntax and techniques using the C# language.


2003/05/05 - Hardcore Web Services
You know Web Services will cross tools and platforms, but have you actually done it? In this article for Hardcore Web Services, I show how Web Services written in C# can be consumed and used by Borland's Delphi (on Windows) or even Kylix (on Linux). Using a simple Echo Web Service, I show how the Delphi and Kylix clients can connect and interact with the C# Web Service.


2003/04/14 - Dr.Bob Examines ASP.NET Web Services
Two months ago, we explored the Delphi for .NET as scripting language for ASP.NET applications. This time, in my April 2003 Dr.Bob Examines column, I'll show that apart from producing server side scripted web pages, Delphi for .NET and ASP.NET can also play an important role when it comes to .NET web services.


2003/03/26 - RemObjects Enterprise SDK
RemObjects Enterprise SDK is now available for pre-order. RemObjects Enterprise SDK is the next logical step in the evolution of RemObjects SDK, and contains many enhancements and new features in order to build powerful enterprise applications.
RemObjects Enterprise SDK contains:

By pre-ordering Enterprise SDK now, you will get immediate access to the current and future beta versions of the software, as well as of course the full version, once it has reached Gold state.

2003/03/03 - RemObjects SDK in The Delphi Magazine
My Under Construction column in the March issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Distributed Apps On The Cheap, examining how to use the RemObjects SDK to build multi-tier applications in Delphi 7 Professional.

Important Note: In this article, I suggested that Delphi 7 Professional developers could purchase a DataSnap licence to be able to deploy the applications that make use of the ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider. Unfortunately, it turns out that it is not possible to purchase a DataSnap licence for Delphi 7 Professional. Technically, the presence of ClientDataSet and DataSetProvider in the product makes it possible to create a multi-tier application with Delphi 7 Professional (plus a third-party tool like RemObjects SDK) using these components, but it would not be legal to deploy such an application because the required runtime licence for DataSnap cannot be obtained without purchasing Delphi 7 Enterprise or Architect. I apologise for any confusion caused.


2003/01/29 - DSOAP discontinued and available for free
After the creation of the RemObjects SDK, further development on the DSOAP toolkit has been discontinued. For a better remoting solution that doesn't depend on the Microsoft SOAP Toolkit or COM, make sure to check out RemObjects SDK and my detailed review.


2003/01/15 - RemObjects SDK 1.0.7 and Trial Version
Version 1.0.7 of the RemObjects SDK is available for download, and contains - among other new features - Kylix 3 support, which was one of my wishes in the RemObjects SDK review I wrote for the UK-BUG Borland User Group Developer's Magazine. There are lots of other new features, enhancements, and bug fixes, so check out the RemObjects SDK website.


2002/01/13 - Book Review: Programming .NET Web Services
This book review was published by O'Reilly in September 2002, and the review is published in the January/February issue of UK-BUG Developer's Magazine. The book shows how to create web services in the .NET Framework with ASP.NET, and does a good job at that - see the detailed review for details.


2003/01/01 - Review: RemObjects SDK
In the past few months, I've played with RemObjects SDK from RemObjects Software, and have written a detailed review. RemObjects SDK allows you to produce multi-tier and SOAP applications even in the Professional version of Delphi.


2002/12/31 - IBM's DB2 and DataSnap
I've written a new article on the IBM DB2 - Borland portal: DB2 and Delphi/Kylix — SOAP and Database Web Services. This article shows you how to create a cross-platform Web service with SOAP using IBM DB2 and Borland Delphi & Kylix.


2002/12/10 - Delphi for .NET Web Service
My first Delphi for .NET (preview command-line compiler) "Euro Conversion" web service is up and running using ASP.NET. You can see the simple source code, and import the WSDL with Delphi, C++Builder, JBuilder, C# or any other SOAP-enabled development environment.


2002/12/09 - Web Services Enhancements 1.0 for Microsoft .NET
We can now download a new set of libraries, samples, and documentation for Visual Studio .NET, which delivers functionality for the development of advanced Web services solutions. Web Services Enhancements 1.0 for Microsoft .NET is the released and supported version of the Web Services Development Kit Technology Preview (WSDK).


2002/11/24 - Mindreef SOAPscope Personal 1.0
Mindreef, LLC announced at SD East the availability of Mindreef SOAPscope Personal 1.0, the first offering in the company's flagship product family and the industry's first Web Services Diagnostics System. This emerging category of products addresses the challenges of isolating and solving problems of applications built with Web Services.


2002/11/18 - RemObjects SDK SOAP Server
I've just published another SOAP Server, a Metric Conversion web service, this time implemented using RemObjects SDK from RemObjects Software. Apart from the fact that the functionality of my Metrics Converter is available as both SOAP and (RemObjects) binary format, another benefit of RemObjects SDK is that I could have written the SOAP server with the Professional version of Delphi (no Enterprise edition required).
A detail review of RemObjects SDK, where I show step-by-step how to build RemObjects servers and clients will be published in the next UK-BUG Developer's Magazine (and afterwards also on this website).


2002/11/13 - Mindreef Web Services Diagnostics Technology
Mindreef, a startup founded by Frank Grossman and Jim Moskun, the founders of NuMega Technologies, has assembled a team of high-tech veterans with a record of success in building debugging, profiling, automatic error detection and distributed applications. Mindreef is now applying that experience to the diagnosis of distributed applications being built with Web services.
Mindreef will be delivering its SOAPscope product family over the next quarter, enabling client application developers, service developers, testers and support staff to quickly isolate and solve problems at any point in an application's life cycle. A beta release of Mindreef SOAPscope Personal Edition is available for download at www.mindreef.com.


2002 November - The Delphi Magazine #87
My Under Construction column in the November issue of The Delphi Magazine is about Delphi 7 SOAP And UDDI. In this article I describe the changes and enhancements to SOAP in Delphi 7, most notably the UDDI browser, as well as a workaround for an ISAPI SOAP problem.


2002/10/24 - At Your Service: Versioning Options
Scott Seely walks through the steps of implementing a new version of a Web service, showing how to add extra methods, change method signatures, and update the data model.


2002/10/18 - Web Services Development with Delphi
Web Services Development with Delphi A new book has been published about Web Services Development with Delphi, written by Peter Darakhvelidze, and Eugene Markov. I have ordered my own copy, and should be able to publish a review here soon, but in the meantime, here's some information from Amazon.com about this book: "Intended for professional developers working in Delphi who are looking for a way to move into the sphere of new programming technology for e-business, this guide discusses specific Delphi tools and technologies and enables developers to take advantage of the RAD technique with the new version of Delphi for creating Web services. Emphasis is given to the development of data processing using the XML and SOAP protocol and to the creation of Web services based on its capabilities. Also covered are all aspects of working with databases-data presentation; local, client-server, and distributed systems; and technologies of accessing data, from BDE to dbExpress and dbGO."


2002/09/30 - Dr.Bob Examines GoogleSearch again
In this article I'll use the official Google Web Service Search API with Delphi. The implementation using C++Builder 6 is part of my SOAP and Web Services chapter in the C++Builder 6 Developer's Guide


2002/09/19 - Web Service of the Day
My Tic-Tac-Toe Web Service is mentioned on the Web Service of the Day website. The aim of this website is simple: Web Services are cool - but some are going to be more cool than others. Every day, a special Web Services is featured that is a bit out of the ordinary.


2002/08/31 - Dr.Bob Examines Google Search WebService with C++Builder
In this article I'll use the unofficial Google Web Service Search API with C++Builder 6 (note: unfortunately, this Web Service has been taken down since I wrote this article and the client application).


2002/08/06 - Borland Delphi 7 Studio Announced
The official press release with the announcement is now published by Borland, and the Delphi 7 Studio information is available on the Borland website.
Kylix News: Kylix 3 Enterprise (only the Delphi language) will be included in the Architect and Enterprise box, while Kylix 3 Pro (again only the Delphi language) will be included with Delphi 7 Pro.


2002/08/02 - Amazon.com Web Services
Build your own Amazon.com Product Detail Page with Amazon.com Web Services! Powered by XML, this new platform enables you to display dynamic product information and Amazon.com's best merchandising features (Customer Reviews, Customers Also Bought, Add to Shopping Cart, and more).


2002/07/29 - UDDI.org releases UDDI version 3
UDDI.org has released the UDDI Version 3 specification. UDDI Version 3 builds on the vision of UDDI: a "meta service" for locating web services by enabling robust queries against rich metadata.


2002/07/24 - Borland Kylix 3 Announced
Borland has announced Kylix 3 - the Delphi and C++ IDE for Linux. Apart from the press release, there's now also Kylix 3 information available in PDF-format, such as the Data Sheet, the FAQ, the System Requirements, the Features & Benefits, and the Feature Matrix itself.


2002/07/01 - C++Builder 6 and Web Services
Two recent issues of C++Builder Developer's Journal publishes two of my C++Builder 6 and Web Services articles - which are now also available as online articles on the web (with free guest access at this time). The June 2002 issue contains Using Web Services, while the July 2002 issue contains the Building Web Services article.


2002/06/24 - Borland Speeds Deployment of Web Services
Borland announced a new version of Borland Enterprise Server 5.1, a J2EE 1.3 compliant application server designed for highly scaled deployment of distributed applications and Web Services. The latest version of Borland Enterprise Server 5.1 features enhanced support for Web Services, proactive application management, and improved performance. Borland Enterprise Server will be available during summer 2002.


2002/06/15 - Borland Web Services Kit for Java (3)
The Borland Web Services Kit for Java (release 3), in conjunction with JBuilder 7, provides features that assist you in creating and consuming web services. Find out more from this article on the Borland Community website, and/or download it free and try for yourself!
An earlier article using the first release of this Web Services Kit for Java in JBuilder 6 shows how to consume a Web Service previously written in Delphi 6 to demonstrate the interoperability between JBuilder 6 and Delphi (using SOAP).


2002/06/13 - Results of Borland Web Services Survey
Borland has released the results of the customer survey conducted at BorCon 2002 last month. No less than 80% of respondents are either currently using Web Services or are planning to use them in the very near future. Borland customers are using Web Services across many industries, but of those surveyed, a surprising 24% are in healthcare, 14% are in finance, and 14% are in government. These customers use Web Services for image retrieval, online tax preparation, e-filing for tax returns, 401K administration, medical record retrieval, e-learning, human resources facilitation, e-commerce, and financial aid, among others.
Contrary to what other reports have indicated; only 19% said that security was a main barrier to using Web Services. Of the survey respondents, 36% were from large enterprises, 24% were individual developers and 24% claimed "other." Small to medium enterprises and value added resellers comprised 10% and 7% respectively.


2002/05/26 - BorCon 2002 SOAP News: Charlotte
Summary: Kylix 3 (codename Cortez) will ship in 2002, and will contain a Delphi as well as C++ IDE. Delphi 7 (codename Aurora) will ship in (the second half of) 2002 (and will contain a preview edition of Delphi for .NET, consisting of DCCIL command-line compiler and VCL for .NET). A .NET Development Studio (codename Galileo) will ship in 2003 - supporting multiple populair .NET languages (including Delphi for .NET).
Finally, Borland previewed a programming language for Web Services creation & scripting (codename Charlotte).


2002/05/14 - Kylix 3 - C++Builder for Linux
At the CttM in The Netherlands, Jason Vokes of Borland EMEA talked about Kylix 3, which will combine Delphi (Kylix) and C++Builder for Linux in one box! Jason even showed how to build a WebService using C++Builder for Linux. According to Jason Vokes, Kylix 3 could be expected in "Summer 2002"!
For those who can read Dutch, I have written a more detailed report (which also mentions the .NET command-line compiler from Borland) on my eBob42 website.


2002/04/23 - Dr.Bob Examines Euro WebService
Two months ago, we used Kylix 2 Enterprise to build a special Euro-conversion Web Service with two methods: FromEuro and ToEuro. This time, we'll consume this web service by writing a client in Delphi 6 Enterprise as well as Kylix 2 Enterprise.


2002/04/21 - Kylix 2 BizSnap Chapter (XML & SOAP)
I have been working on an BizSnap chapter for the Kylix Developer's Guide - adding more coverage of Kylix 2 to this book. The BizSnap chapter is now published on my website (in six parts), covering XML Document Programming and Web Services support.


2002/04/19 - Amazon.com XML interface
Amazon.com now offers an XML interface to Amazon.com associates (like me), so we now have the flexibility to display dynamic product information in any way you choose. Take a look at my example how to search Amazon.com using XML and WebSnap (implemented in Delphi 6 and Kylix 2).


2002/04/12 - WS-Security
At Tech-Ed, Microsoft today jointly announced with IBM and VeriSign the publication of a new XML Web services security specification, WS-Security (in PDF format) - the foundation for a comprehensive, flexible security model for Web services.


2002/04/02 - QualityCentral GUI Client and Web Service
Borland has released the QualityCentral public field test. QualityCentral is a community-supported repository of issues, suggestions, bugs, feature requests, ideas and feedback for Borland products.
The public beta consists of a GUI Client which communicates with QualityCentral using a Web Service interface.


2002/03/27 - Updated SOAP and DataSnap papers
My latest Delphi WebBroker application is the updated dynamic paper configurator and generator. The new version shows lots of different ways for a SOAP Server Application (in Delphi 6.02, C++Builder 6, Delphi 6/6.01, or Kylix 2 Enterprise) to use a SOAP Data Module to export the Biolife dataset to a SOAP Client Application (again in Delphi 6.02, C++Builder 6, Delphi 6/6.01, or Kylix 2 Enterprise) using a SoapConnection component.


2002/03/18 - Unofficial SOAP Bug Fixes
A Borland Developer Support document on the Borland Community website lists WebServices/SOAP updates by Bruneau Babet, one of the WebServices R&D developers at Borland.


2002/03/13 - Borland Joins WS-I
Borland has joined the Web Services Interoperability (WS-I) Organisation. Web Services are now supported in Delphi, C++Builder, Kylix, JBuilder and the Borland Enterprise Server. Borland's entrance into the WS-I builds on Borland's focus to provide seamless application interoperability between Web Services on Java, .NET, Windows and Linux.


2002/03/04 - Using Web Services with JBuilder 6
Just published in the UK-BUG Borland User Group Developer's Magazine, my latest Dr.Bob Examines article investigates the tools and techniques to use (consume) Web Services with JBuilder 6 Enterprise and the Borland Web Services Kit for Java. In this paper we'll consume a Web Service previously written in Delphi 6 (and also available in Kylix 2) to demonstrate the interoperability between JBuilder 6 and Delphi/Kylix (using SOAP).


2002/02/22 - Delphi 6 and Kylix 2 Web Services
When Borland shipped Delphi 6 in May of last year, one of its new features was support for SOAP - most notably in the form of Web Services. Kylix 2 is now also available with the same capabilities, and in an article for Web Services Journal, I demonstrate the ease of use of Delphi 6 and Kylix 2 by developing a Web service in a Delphi 6 server (running on Win32) and consuming it in a Kylix 2 client running on Linux. The example I'm using is the IRoman Web Service, converting roman numerals into integers and back.


2002/02/20 - Delphi 6 Update 2
Delphi 6 Update 2 has just been released. This is an important update, since it not only fixes a number of defects, but also makes sure that Delphi 6 and C++Builder 6 can co-exist on the same system! The Borland Community article contains the list of fixes.
A large number of SOAP issues have been resolved, and we can now write SOAP Clients with Delphi 6.02 Professional (but not SOAP Servers, for which you still need the Enterprise edition).


2002/02/13 - Borland's .NET Strategy
Borland has announced its .NET Strategy, which can also be read on the Borland Community website. According to this, the Borland strategy for the .NET platform features Delphi, C++Builder, Kylix and JBuilder, that support the capabilities of the Microsoft .NET Framework, including ASP.NET and application interoperability through XML Web Services. During the second half of 2002, Borland plans to release development products that support the .NET platform optimized on Intel Architecture.
For more information, read the first comments by SD Times, and the FAQ on the Borland .NET website.


2002/02/08 - C++Builder 6 Preview
The Borland Community website has just published an article with a preview of C++Builder 6, showing a number of new features that increase the speed of development (the IDE), enhancements to the Project Manager, STL Support, and last but not least Web Services.


2002/02/05 - C++Builder 6 Chess WebService
The Chess WebService IBorlandChess, implemented by Borland Software Engineer Dan Marinescu, is now also available in C++Builder 6 Enterprise edition.


2002/02/05 - C++Builder 6 Announced
Borland C++Builder 6 has just been announced, featuring all the goodies we know from Delphi 6 and Kylix 2 such as BizSnap (XML & SOAP), WebSnap, DataSnap, CLX and more (see the feature matrix and datasheet).
C++Builder 6 is expected to become available in the usual three editions (Enterprise, Professional and Personal) on February 8th, 2002 (that's this Friday!). A free 60-day trial version of C++Builder 6 Enterprise will be available for download (soon).


2002/01/24 - The Chess WebService is Back!
The Chess WebService IBorlandChess, implemented by Borland Software Engineer Dan Marinescu, is back in the new domain www.danmarinescu.com and listed on xmethods. The Chess WebService implements an extremely scalable SOAP interface to a fully featured, high performance (competition level) Chess Engine, which is completely stateless.
The Chess WebService is currently written in Delphi 6. Soon, we will have the very same WebService written in Kylix 2 & C++Builder 6 - very soon!.
Dr.Bob says... I've check out the source code for the client and server, and played a few games with the client binary, and am (again) very impressed by this amazing WebService. Well done!


2002/01/18 - Kylix 2 IEuro Web Service
A small bug was fixed in the the Kylix 2 IEuro Web Service (converting 12 European currencies to and back). The IEuro web services is implemented in Kylix 2 Enterprise and listed on both XMethods and Salcentral.
A Delphi 6 Enterprise Client for this web service will be described in an upcoming issue of Delphi Developer.


2001/12/19 - Web Services Development Environment for Java
Today, I received the official announcement for the Borland Web Services Kit for Java. Since I've also received my copy of JBuilder 6 Enterprise, I've installed JBuilder 6 as well as the Web Services Kit for Java add-on, and am working on some nice papers to demonstrate the interoperability between JBuilder and Delphi/Kylix (using SOAP), using the IEuro web service as example.


2001/12/13 - Borland Web Services Kit for Java
The Borland Web Services Kit for Java has just been made available as preview release, and is compatible with JBuilder 6 Enterprise.


2001/12/07 - Kylix 2 IEuro Web Service
My Kylix 2 IEuro Web Service is not only deployed on my Linux web server, but also in the list of my new Web Services at Salcentral, as well as the topic of my latest articles for the December issue of Delphi Developer.


2001/12/04 - Web Services e-Learning
There is a nice SOAP resource available on CD-ROM from Borland and Referentia, called The Borland e-Learning Series, which has a new title for Web Services written by Lino Tadros (and with me as Technical Editor, so I know it's good :-).


2001/11/26 - Kylix 2 Enterprise "IEuro" Web Service
I've deployed my first Kylix 2 Enterprise web service: with the IEuro interface (converting 12 European currencies to Euro and back). The IEuro interface contains two methods: FromEuro and ToEuro, both having a WideString as first argument (the European currency - FIM, ITL, NLG, ESP, BEF, ATS, LUF, DEM, FRF, IEP, PTE, and GRO) and a "double" amount as second argument, returning the result as "double" as well.


2001/11/21 - Delphi/Kylix SOAP & DataSnap papers
My latest Delphi WebBroker application is a dynamic (short) paper configurator and generator. The new version shows 14 different ways for a SOAP Server Application (in Delphi 6 or Kylix 2 Enterprise) to use a SOAP Data Module to export the Biolife datasets to a SOAP Client Application (again in Delphi 6 or Kylix 2) using a SoapConnection component.


2001/11/13 - Borland Web Services Toolkit for Java
According to the official press release: JBuilder 6 will provide full support for Web Services with an upcoming release of the Borland Web Services Toolkit for Java. This add-on will automatically integrate into JBuilder 6 Enterprise and will enable developers to manage the complexity of Web Services, facilitate integration with non-J2EE applications and deploy Web Services to major architectures, based on the latest standards.


2001/11/09 - Delphi 6 and .NET Web Services
John Kaster has written a new article about Delphi 6 interoperability with .NET Web Services that use Document Literal encoding. John demonstrated improved Delphi 6 support for the "document literal" (Doc|Lit) invokation method for SOAP at Microsoft's Professional Developer's Conference earlier last month.


2001/11/02 - Interoperability with Delphi's SOAP implementation
Borland is participating in SOAP interoperability testing with vendors providing other SOAP protocol implementations like Apache SOAP, EasySoap++, GLUE, .NET, SOAP Lite, and others. According to an article on the Borland Community website, they have put up a Delphi-based SOAP server machine that everyone is welcome to test.


2001/10/05 - Delphi 6 XML Document Programming
With Delphi 6, new XML features have been added in the form of XML document programming, XML Data Binding Wizard, XML Mapper and BizSnap (SOAP/XML Web Services). My latest Dr.Bob Examines column is the first in a series of articles about Delphi 6 XML support, starting off with XML Document Programming in Delphi 6.


2001/09/26 - Web Services strategy for Java
Borland has announced its strategy to provide Web Services development and deployment solutions for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE). Borland will add Web Services support to JBuilder and Borland AppServer. This announcement could mean the bridge between J2EE and .Net in an industry standard way.


2001/09/21: Kylix 2, C++Builder 6 & JBuilder 6
On Monday, at the opening keynote of the European Borland Conference in London, some interesting pre-announcements were made by Nigel Brown of Borland UK. Nigel Brown showed a time-line and mentioned the upcoming releases of Kylix 2 (Q4 2001) and JBuilder 6 (Q4 2001) and the Borland Enterprise Studio for Java version 3 (with JBuilder 6) and a new Borland Enterprise Studio for Windows (containing both Delphi and C++Builder), both for Q1 2002.
Nigel Brown called Delphi 6 the first development environment from Borland with SOAP and web services support, but made it clear that this [SOAP and web services] would be available in the next versions of JBuilder (6) and Kylix (2).
Also, when asked, Jason Vokes (from Borland UK) confirmed that the next release of C++Builder is also in the works, with SOAP and web services support, of course. There were no comments on C++Builder for Kylix (or Kylix for C++), however.

No press releases or further information had been made available, but the announcement itself came from a reliable source (Nigel Brown and Jason Vokes, Borland UK), and was made at a public conference.


2001/09/03 - Delphi Developers Guide to XML
Delphi Developers Guide to XML by Keith Wood, published by WordWare is designed for the Delphi developer who wants to learn about XML; covering all aspects of utilizing the power of XML with Delphi. This book provides a solid introduction to the technologies that make up XML and its related specifications. In-depth coverage of the Document Object Model (DOM) includes investigation of the basic specification and three implementations: Microsoft's DOM, CUESoft's DOM, and Open XML's DOM. Similarly, both Microsoft's version and a native Delphi implementation are described for the Simple API for XML (SAX). Generating XML documents is detailed using simple text, Delphi's Web modules and XMLBroker, each of the DOMs, and SAX. Developing applications that make use of XML is also covered, including XSLT and SOAP examples.


2001/08/31 - Web Services and WebSnap
Daniel Polistchuck has written a guide to combining WebSnap and Web Services to create SOAP client web pages.


2001/08/28 - Web Services for Linux
Borland will provide Web Services support for Linux with "a RAD solution for Web Services that will expand the Internet capabilities of Apache web servers and applications for Linux using the Borland Kylix RAD development platform."
In other words, we'll probably see an announcement for Kylix Enterprise or something along those lines, with XML/SOAP/WSDL support in Kylix just as we can find in Delphi 6 Enterprise today.


2001/08/16 - Building Web Services with Delphi 6
The second part of a 2-part article about Delphi 6 Web Services has been published on the TechRepublic website. In this second part, I show how you can build (new) Web Services with Delphi 6.


2001/08/12 - Web Services and Session Information
Daniel Polistchuck has published an article on the Borland Community website showing how to manage session states and authentication with Delphi 6 Web services.


2001/08/08 - Using Web Services with Delphi 6
The first part of a 2-part article about Delphi 6 Web Services has been published on the TechRepublic website. In this first part, I show how you can use (existing) Web Services with Delphi 6.


2001 August - The Delphi Magazine #72
My latest "Under Construction" column in the August issue (#72) of The Delphi Magazine is about SOAP and Web Services. Web Services is very much the buzz phrase of today and this month I show how to use the new SOAP capabilities of Delphi 6 to create your very own Web Services as easy as pie.
And as you may have seen by now, I already have five Web Services up and running on my Win2000 website (hosted by TDMWeb).


2001/07/21-25: BorCon2001 Conference Report
The Borland Developers Conference 2001 will be held from July 21-25 in Long Beach (CA). Like previous years, I'll present a "live" Conference Report on this website including details (and photos) of all major events, Borland and third-party announcements and session details.


2001/07/19: Dr.Bob's Clinic News Service
Just implemented: Dr.Bob's Clinic News Headline Service, with the focus on six topics: Delphi, C++Builder, JBuilder, Kylix, SOAP and BorCon. News headlines can be obtained in three formats: plain ASCII, HTML and WML (for your WAP device).
You can download a sample Windows GUI here (including Delphi 6 source code) that even (optionally) translates the ASCII text from English to German, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.


2001/07/17: Delphi 6 Romulan Web Service
It's not Star Trek related (and in fact it's not even rocket science), but I've just finished my third Delphi 6 web service called Romulan, converting roman numerals into integers (and back).


2001/07/14: Delphi 6 Tic-Tac-Toe Web Service
I've just finished my second Web Service, a Tic-Tac-Toe web service. The description/instructions are available on xmethods and a more detailed article will be available shortly. You can already download and try a little Web Service client to see if you can beat the computer.


2001/07/13: Delphi 6 Developer's Guide
It's not available, yet, but it will be in a few months time: Delphi 6 Developer's Guide by Xavier Pacheco and Steve Teixeira. With a little help from my friend Micha Somers, I have written the Active Server Pages/Objects chapter for this book. Delphi 6 Developer's Guide can be pre-ordered now from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.


2001/07/10 - Sip From The Firehose: Web Services
In his recent Sip From The Firehose, DavidI takes a look at the hot topic of Web Services. Publishing your web application interfaces over the Internet is the next great evolution in the developent of distributed objects and applications.


2001/05/08 - Delphi 6 Announced
Borland has just announced Delphi 6, as what they call the industry's first RAD Web Services Development Platform, supporting XML, SOAP, WSDL and XSL. Delphi 6 contains many new features such as dbExpress/DataCLX, DataSnap, WebSnap, and BizSnap.
Delphi 6 will be shipping (on June 8th) in three editions:

Of course, for true cross-platform development using CLX, you should combine Delphi 6 with Kylix.

2001/04/08 - Dr.Bob Examines .NET and C#
In this Dr.Bob Examines column I'll share my first experiences with Microsoft Visual Studio.NET Beta 1, and especially C# (writing a classic demo).


2001/03/31 - Building Delphi 6 Applications
Available from Amazon.com (with a discount): the first book about Delphi 6 (or at least the first title that appears with Delphi 6 in the title - even before Delphi 6 itself is announced or available): Building Delphi 6 Applications by Paul Kimmel.
I have ordered this book myself, received it yesterday, and can only say one thing: do not buy this book! There is no real Delphi 6 information (a few mentions of Delphi 6 Beta 2 features), and even for a "regular" Delphi 5 book, it never raises above the "intro" level. The topics of the chapters are interesting, but the content itself is very disappointing.


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