eBay adds SOAP

A year ago, there would have been a big fuss over eBay's announcement this week that it will add SOAP and Java APIs to its third-party integration options. Instead, there's been a muted reaction — partly because the announcement was expected, and those who knew it was coming will save their excitement until the APIs are published — mainly because SOAP is now such an accepted part of the landscape that its advent was more or less inevitable.

That marks a big change from the days when there was still a debate about whether SOAP was overkill for everyday web services operations, and advocates of the simpler REST architecture lambasted Google for supporting only SOAP when it launched its API. Nowadays, both approaches are acknowledged to have their place. Even the Atom content publishing specification — jointly authored by a community that includes several passionate supporters of RESTian architecture — allows for SOAP.

It also marks a change from the days when announcing a SOAP interface was considered a landmark event. The lack of reaction is itself notable. There's no better evidence that web services is emerging into the mainstream. EBay quite simply is responding to market pressures:

• EBay To Add Soap API's And Java Integration Tools — Information Week
• eBay to Expand Developers' Access With Beefier Web Services — eWeek
• eBay Expands Web Services for Software Developers — AuctionBytes.com