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List:       php-soap
Subject:    [SOAP] Active Intermediary or Build from Scratch
From:       Jim Tromp <jimmy.tromp () googlemail ! com>
Date:       2009-06-16 9:04:09
Message-ID: 4A376008.6060807 () gmail ! com
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Hi,

Not so much a code question but more of a planning/strategic query.

I am wondering whether to set things on our LAMP server up as an active 
intermediary (http://www.w3.org/TR/soap12-part1/#activeinter) or just be 
the end node, do our parsing etc. and build a new message from scratch 
which we send on to the ultimate end node.

In a bit more detail, the situation is as follows. Various physical 
locations around the UK submit spreadsheets to our UK server over a VPN. 
Data protection law makes us strip those documents of various details 
before we send them on to a processor outside the EU (SOAP again, VPN 
again). This parsing of body data can mostly be done automatically but 
in certain cases, manual interference may be required to verify certain 
data.

This seems an ideal case for an active intermediary as we'll have to 
amend the body before sending it to the end node. What I'm unsure about 
it whether or not the potential manual interference, which could mean a 
delay of days, throws a spanner in the works. I could just pretend to be 
the end point, store the data in a DB, do our parsing thing and when a 
cron job sees it's ready to be moved on, create a new envelope from 
scratch and send it form us to the entity abroad like an entirely new one.

Could someone please elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of 
acting as an active intermediary vs rebuilding messages from scratch? In 
other words, can a SOAP message "linger" or does it expect to be sent in 
a matter of seconds? For example, if our server reboots while there were 
lingering messages, waiting to be given the go-ahead for being 
forwarded, what happens?

The framework's 2 paragraphs aside, I struggled to find good 
documentation on the practicalities of an active SOAP intermediary.

Thank you!

Regards,

Jim

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