This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz by Michael Cote. Original Post: Re: Simple Web Services Anybody? Feed Title: Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc. Feed URL: https://cote.io/feed/ Feed Description: Using Java to get to the ideal state. Latest Java Buzz Posts Latest Java Buzz Posts by Michael Cote Latest Posts From Cote's Weblog: Coding, Austin, etc.

I was reading through Stephen O'Grady's weblog and came across this post on simple web services...

My feel is that the tension between heavy Web Services (SOAP) and light web services (REST) is very much the same as the currently conflict, in the Java community, between heavy frameworks (J2EE, esp. EJB) and light frameworks (Hibernate, Spring).

The defense of heavy frameworks often boils down to:

1. transactions - heavy frameworks are very transaction oriented...but light things certainly are now-a-days too.
2. messaging/events - heavy things have JMS, light weight things have...I don't know.

I'm not sure how far the analogy between WS and Java can be pushed, but the motivations for the arguments are very much the same. Us coders hate the complexity of SOAP and J2EE. But, we sure like the (promise of the) end result of transactional services and message systems.

I like light-weight things myself. But I wonder, at times, if those leanings are just a result of dealing with JBoss.