XML Interface for Network Services

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XML Interface for Network Services (XINS) — a quick guide

XINS is an open-source framework that lets you define internet applications using a specification-first approach. You write specifications in XML and XINS uses them to generate server code, client code, and documentation.

Key ideas
- Specifications describe projects, environments, APIs, functions, data types, and error codes.
- The standard way to call a XINS API is HTTP-based RPC: inputs come as HTTP parameters and the response is XML, so it works from regular web browsers.

How it works
- The XINS/Java Server Framework supports different call styles, including POX (plain XML over HTTP), SOAP, and XML-RPC. It can convert between formats with XSLT.
- Since version 2.0, XINS also supports JSON and JSON-RPC.

File format and license
- All specifications are written in plain XML.
- XINS is open-source and distributed under the BSD license.

Learning resources
- There is an introductory XINS Primer with easy-to-follow steps and screenshots.
- Examples show how to define a project, an environment list, an API, and a function.

Technology details
- Written in Java and cross-platform.
- Available in English.

Similar tools
- There isn’t another product that provides the exact same integrated approach, though many libraries cover individual parts of XINS.