                     S O A P - P E R L
                   ---------------------

SOAP/Perl is a collection of Perl modules which provides a simple
and consistent application programming interface (API) to the 
Simple Object Access Protocl (SOAP).

To learn more about SOAP, see
<URL:http://www.w3.org/TR/SOAP>

This library provides tools for you to build SOAP clients and servers.

The library contains modules for high-level use of SOAP, but also modules
for lower-level use in case you need something a bit more customized.

SOAP/Perl uses Perl's object oriented features exclusively. There are
no subroutines exported directly by these modules.

This version of SOAP/Perl supports a subset of the SOAP 1.1 specification,
which is an IETF internet draft. See <URL:http://www.ietf.org>
for details. See below for SOAP/Perl's major limitations.

PREREQUISITES

This library has been tested by the author on Perl version 5.6.0.
Some modules within this package depend on other packages that are
distributed separately from Perl.  We recommend that you have the
following distributions installed before you install SOAP/Perl:

  libwww-perl
  XML-Parser

Specifically, if you plan on using Apache, you should also obtain:

  mod-perl

unless you're satisfied with CGI performance.

These distributions/modules should be available on CPAN.
For details on which versions are recommended, please see
MakeFile.PL.

INSTALLATION

You install SOAP/Perl as you would install any perl module library,
by running these commands:

   perl Makefile.PL
   make
   make test
   make install

During the "make test" phase, there is an optional test that makes a
live SOAP call over HTTP to an example server running on the author's
machine. If you aren't connected to the Internet, you should skip
this test.


DOCUMENTATION

See lib/SOAP.pm for an overview of the library. See Changes for
recent changes.  POD style documentation is included in all modules
and scripts.  These are normally converted to manual pages and
installed as part of the "make install" process.  You should also be
able to use the 'perldoc' utility to extract and read documentation
from the module files directly.

LIMITATIONS

SOAP/Perl currently does not support arrays. This will be added
in a future version.

SUPPORT

Questions about how to use this library should be directed to the
SOAP mailing list at <URL:http://discuss.develop.com/soap.html>.
Bug reports and suggestions for improvements can also be sent here.
This mailing list is also the place for general discussions and
development of the SOAP/Perl package and the SOAP protocol itself.

Instructions for joining the mailing list can be found at the 
<URL:http://discuss.develop.com/soap.html>.


AVAILABILITY

The latest version of SOAP/Perl should always be available from:

     http://soapl.develop.com/soap_perl_current

The library is also available from the Comprehensive Perl Archive
Network (CPAN).  Visit <URL:http://www.perl.com/CPAN/> to find a CPAN
site near you.


COPYRIGHT

  © 1999-2000 DevelopMentor. All rights reserved.

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the same terms as Perl itself.


Enjoy!