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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about OpenSOAP.
OpenSOAP
- What is OpenSOAP ?
- Support for UDDI ?
- Permission to link to this Web site
Refer to this page.
There are no plans to release it to the public as an open source from the OpenSOAP project. However, a collaborating project is starting between Hokkaido University Computing Center and Softbank Commerce Corp. to develop a directory service based on OpenSOAP (OpenSOAP Directory).
Feel free to link to any of the contents on this Web site. No special permission is required.
Installation
- Compilation with gcc-3
- Compilation with Cygwin
- How to install only the API ?
- Where are the pre-compiled binary packages, eg RPM for Linux, etc ?
As of opensoap-1.0-20020930, compilation of the API Server with gcc-3 and operation of the samples has been verified.
Currently the OpenSOAP Server will not compile with Cygwin. Only the API can be used. Also, as of opensoap-1.0-20020930, the option "--enable-buildin-mbfuncs" is not required for ./configure.
Do "make" in src/replace/, src/api/ and src/security/ of the package, then do "make install" in src/api/ and src/security/
Sorry, there are no pre-compiled binaries available at present. In order to reduce the installation time and effort we would like to make the binary packages available as soon as possible, and this issue will be addressed after the installation directory customization featues of the opensoap-1.0-20030110 release.
Installation images for Linux can be found in the respective directories compressed as tar+gz files, and at present, RPM source and i386 binary packages are available for download.
Currently under the Windows environment, installation from the source package is a rather involved process, and it is hoped to make binaries and installers available for both users and developers in the near future.
As for other platforms, the availability of packages will be considered based on feedback from users. Of course, any assistance in the creation of the various packages is always welcome.
API
- What styles of encoding are supported ?
- Handling C Language String types ?
Only SOAP encoding is supported. Only Simple types can be used on Ver.1.0.Beta1, but on versions later than 1.0., Compound types (Array and Structure) are planned to be available.
Use the OpenSOAPStringPtr type. OpenSOAPStringXXX functions can be applied for multiple uses.
The following table illustrates the SOAP encoding/C Language types compatibility as used by OpenSOAP.
| SOAP Type | C Lang Type |
|---|---|
| boolean | int(Non 0:true，0:false) |
| base64binary | OpenSOAPByteArrayPtr |
| byte | unsigned char |
| short | short int |
| int | long int |
| float | float |
| double | double |
| string | OpenSOAPStringPtr |
| dateTime | struct tm |
Security
- What about the security features ?
- XML elemnet encryption and decryption through the public key encryption algorithm used by RSA.(OpenSOAP independent implementation)
- SOAP Envelope Signature and verification using the same encryption.(Conforming to W3C:SOAP Security Extensions: Digital Signature)
- samples/Security : Basic usage of Security API example
- samples/HelloSec : Actual message generation example
- samples/GetCertSec : Implementation of a certification authority example for public key management
- Encryption (OpenSOAPSecEncWith*()) fails on Solaris
The following functions are implemented through the Security API.(Utilizing OpenSSL)
The following samples have been prepared.
Communication functions through http Basic Authentication, via proxy, and SSL/TLS protocol(https:) are not yet supported. Currently, conformity to the WS-Security Standard is being implemented.
As mentioned in OpenSSL FAQ, "PRNG not seeded" error occurs on Solaris without /dev/random By applying a patch provided by Sun Microsystems to the OS, encryption functions will work fine.
Development
- How to execute from a debugger ?
- I don't want the sample programs to be dynamically linked with libOpenSOAP.
Use Hello.mak
$ cd samples/Hello
$ make -f Hello.mak
(HelloClient created) -> static-linked
If you get a link error for the iconv object, you should uncomment the ICONV_LIBS in the .mak file.
Execute from libtool.
$ libtool gdb HelloClient
Troubleshooting
- CGI programs (soapInterface.cgi, sampleService.cgi, etc.) don't work.
Start a Web Server such as Apache.
On RedHat, TurboLinux, etc., the default CGI directory is different. (The default CGI directory of the OpenSOAP package is "/home/httpd/cgi-bin/")
When installing the OpenSOAP package, set the proper directory with the configure option.
$ ./configure --with-cgi-bin=DIR
Other configure options can be seen with "--help".