Web services

Since its inception, the Internet has allowed people to access content stored on remote computers. This content can be static, such as a document represented by an HTML file, or dynamic, such as content returned from a ColdFusion page or CGI script.

Web services let you access application functionality that someone created and made available on a remote computer. With a web service, you can make a request to the remote application to perform an action.

For example, you can request a stock quote, pass a text string for translation, or request information from a product catalog. The advantage of web services is that you do not have to re-create application logic that someone else has already created and, therefore, you can build your applications faster.

Referencing a remote web service within your ColdFusion application is called consuming web services. Since web services adhere to a standard interface regardless of implementation technology, you can consume a web service implemented as part of a ColdFusion application, or as part of a .NET or Java application.

You can also create your own web services and make them available to others for remote access, called publishing web service. Applications that consume your web service can be implemented in ColdFusion or by any application that recognizes the web service standard.