Mmm, SOAPy

Lots of interesting chatter about SOAP, XML, APIs, and Web Services right now:

Google’s Gaffe
(this article asks if Google’s API is overly complicated by SOAP)

SOAP Wars
(the converse take)

The always interesting Shirky with another take on Web Services/APIs

SOAP vs. REST (Representational State Transfer)

REST and Web Services

Some interesting reading. Though I’m not sure where any of this is going. I think Shirky has the best thing to say about Web Services – which is that it’s an infrastructure, not a business model. Ain’t nobody gonna get rich on this stuff, but it’s an interesting way to get coordination and communication between net entities which otherwise have no direct interaction.