SOAP Overview TIBCO BusinessConnect SOAP Protocol supports both SOAP versions 1.1 and 1.2. SOAP 1.1 is a lightweight XML-based messaging protocol for exchanging structured data in a decentralized, distributed environment. Buyers, sellers, and intermediaries can use SOAP to share business documents and messages over the Internet. SOAP can also be used for other types of supply chain integration transactions, such as collaborative forecasting, inventory management, and design collaboration. SOAP 1.2 is an update version based on SOAP 1.1. SOAP transactions involve the exchange of documents, most of which are analogous to hardcopy documents traditionally used in business. These documents are simple text files, but they have well-defined structure and contents. SOAP has the following parts: • An envelope that defines a framework for describing what is in a message and how to process the message. This defines the message package. The SOAP envelope consists of an optional header and a mandatory body. The envelope is the first element in the document and identifies it as a SOAP message. The sender can add management or control information that can be used for routing, security, or correct handling by the recipient. The body contains the information sent to the receiver. • SOAP attachments which follow the SOAP with Attachment (SwA) standard. Businesses use SOAP attachments to exchange business documents in arbitrary formats, such as EDI, PDF, and JPG to facilitate business-to-business transactions. SwA is also used with MTOM to carry binary data originally contained in XML infoset. • A standard for representing request and response.