What is Web Services for Mobile App?
A Web service is a type of software that can help streamline every aspect of a mobile application and integrate it for other Web Services.
Mobile applications are continually emerging and changing as a result of the increased needs of the users for connectivity features and Web Services. In brief, it can be said that Web Services are the part of the server (API) that handles data for mobile apps. As a broad term, a web service is a type of software that can help streamline every aspect of a mobile application and integrate it for other Web Services. Web Services include protocols, standards, and requirements for the exchange of web-based information, data, and communications. For example, a web service for a mobile app can help to contain, publish, distribute, process, and communicate across the web.
Typically, Web Services for mobile apps are built on top of already-existing development languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. As Web Services are more and more needed in the mobile world, specific attention is placed on their testing, as this could make the difference in user experience, safety and performance.
Requirements of Web Services
In order to be considered as a “Web Service”, the software application must meet the following requirements:
- It must use an XML messaging system to communicate and correspond to all commands
- It is not based on any single programming language or operating system
- It is a self-describing and self-contained program that uses XML language
- It must be easily discoverable with a search or find feature
- It must be available over the Internet and can include availability over private or intranet networks as well
Components and Functionalities of a Web Service for Mobile Apps
There are a few basic components of Web Services that make it easy to identify and apply to mobile applications. The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), the Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration tool (UDDI), and the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) are the main components of a web service that make it available for use. These features help the application communicate and run on any web-based service, such as an Internet browser or web-based device.
Web Service Programs are often categorized as a backend development, offering a framework that works specifically in mobile app development. Other types of applications that are not mobile-based have a longer history of frameworks and features that help to streamline it – but in the world of mobile apps, there are still many developments in their infancy. This is why the dawn of Web Services is so important for the future of mobile applications.
Some popular Web Services tools for mobile applications include iCloud and Dropbox, as well as Urban Airship and AWS SDK, which is great for both iOS and Android application developments.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Web Services?
The advantages and disadvantages of Web Services are as follows:
Advantages
- It gives more sporadic updates. One can update the data from Web Services.
- It restricts the decision making in your app; as some of the filterings, ordering and validating can be done on the server-side.
- It consists of more reliable security since the user has no access to security measures.
- One can get a more dynamic application with the choice to disable or allow features from the Web Services.
- It makes the mobile app “lighter” as some of the code is server-side.
- It gets synchronized with Desktop and Web.
Disadvantages:
- There are more possible failure points.
- For this, it needs a sound documentation system, based on which developing and testing the application is done.
- It requires more testing resources.
- There is a lack of tools for testing.
How can Web Services be tested?
For testing, you might need to install some licenses to be prepared to intercept the calls and edit them. The device might warn you if someone is checking out your network traffic – this is because related to the Man in the central penetration testing process. If you notice that all calls are declined due to SSL, it means you have forgotten to install the certificate, or the license is void.
Mostly, the developers manage these issues, but after a refactoring, some fail-safes are removed unnecessarily. Another neglected aspect you should also test is caching. Some libraries store the data and automatically present it if they get the header from the API. For example, “Cache-control: max-age=31536000” will save the response for one year, which might not be such a useful purpose if you need to change it quickly.
These are just some tips and essential aspects that are noticed and gathered over the years while performing Web Services testing. It is always more beneficial to test for basic human mistakes than to create a data update and receive objections that the app is not working.
Things to Consider
After understanding the details of Web Services for mobile applications, it is important to know that there are several things that must be considered when it comes to choosing a Web Services framework for your mobile application. You will need:
- A REST API – this is something that can be incorporated on to your backend server that will help you apply your data to a web service hosting platform.
- A data parse – parsing data is essential for effective web translation, especially when it comes to iOS platforms.
- Internet availability – this goes without saying, but part of Web Services features is the ability to connect your mobile app to the web, and without it, your app would not be available for download.
Web Services are still, all things considered, in the development stage. There has not yet been a generic Web Services framework built for mobile app developments, so it can be difficult to choose a current system that works best.