soap

What is soap?

The 'soap' npm package is a SOAP client and server library for Node.js. It allows you to create SOAP clients to consume web services and also create SOAP servers to expose your own web services.

What are soap's main functionalities?

Create a SOAP Client

This feature allows you to create a SOAP client that can consume a SOAP web service. You provide the WSDL URL, and the client can then call the web service methods.

const soap = require('soap');
const url = 'http://example.com/wsdl?wsdl';
soap.createClient(url, function(err, client) {
  if (err) throw err;
  client.MyFunction({name: 'value'}, function(err, result) {
    if (err) throw err;
    console.log(result);
  });
});

Create a SOAP Server

This feature allows you to create a SOAP server that exposes your own web service. You define the service and its methods, and provide the WSDL file.

const soap = require('soap');
const express = require('express');
const app = express();
const myService = {
  MyService: {
    MyPort: {
      MyFunction: function(args) {
        return { name: args.name };
      }
    }
  }
};
const xml = require('fs').readFileSync('myservice.wsdl', 'utf8');
soap.listen(app, '/wsdl', myService, xml);
app.listen(8000);

Handle SOAP Headers

This feature allows you to add custom SOAP headers to your SOAP client requests. This can be useful for authentication or other custom header requirements.

const soap = require('soap');
const url = 'http://example.com/wsdl?wsdl';
soap.createClient(url, function(err, client) {
  if (err) throw err;
  const soapHeader = { 'MyHeader': 'value' };
  client.addSoapHeader(soapHeader);
  client.MyFunction({name: 'value'}, function(err, result) {
    if (err) throw err;
    console.log(result);
  });
});

Other packages similar to soap

strong-soap

The 'strong-soap' package is another SOAP client and server library for Node.js. It is similar to 'soap' but offers additional features like better WSDL handling and support for more complex SOAP scenarios. It is maintained by the StrongLoop team.

easy-soap-request

The 'easy-soap-request' package is a lightweight SOAP client for Node.js. It focuses on simplicity and ease of use, making it a good choice for simple SOAP requests. However, it does not offer server-side capabilities like 'soap'.

node-soap-client

The 'node-soap-client' package is a minimalistic SOAP client for Node.js. It is designed to be easy to use and integrates well with modern JavaScript features like Promises and async/await. It is a good alternative if you only need client-side functionality.

README

This module lets you connect to web services using SOAP. It also provides a server that allows you to run your own SOAP services.

Current limitations:

• Only the document style is supported (no rpc support yet)
• Only a few XSD Schema types are supported
• Only WS-Security is supported using UsernameToken and PasswordText encoding

Install

Install with npm:

npm install soap

Module

soap.createClient(url, callback) - create a new SOAP client from a WSDL url

var soap = require('soap');
var url = 'http://example.com/wsdl?wsdl';
var args = {name: 'value'};
soap.createClient(url, function(err, client) {
    client.MyFunction(args, function(err, result) {
        console.log(result);
    });
});

soap.listen(server, path, services, wsdl) - create a new SOAP server that listens on path and provides services. wsdl is an xml string that defines the service.

var myService = { 
    MyService: { 
        MyPort: { 
            MyFunction: function(args) {
                return {
                    name: args.name
                };
            }
        }
    }
}

var xml = require('fs').readFileSync('myservice.wsdl', 'utf8'),
    server = http.createServer(function(request,response) {
        response.end("404: Not Found: "+request.url)
    });
    
server.listen(8000);
soap.listen(server, '/wsdl', myService, xml);

Client

An instance of Client is passed to the soap.createClient callback. It is used to execute methods on the soap service.

Client.describe() - description of services, ports and methods as a JavaScript object

client.describe() => 
    { MyService: {
        MyPort: {
            MyFunction: {
                input: {
                    name: 'string'
                }
            }}}}

Client.setSecurity(security) - use the specified security protocol (see WSSecurity below)

client.setSecurity(new WSSecurity('username', 'password'))

Client.method(args, callback) - call method on the SOAP service.

client.MyFunction({name: 'value'}, function(err, result) {
    // result is a javascript object        
})

Client.service.port.method(args, callback) - call a method using a specific service and port

client.MyService.MyPort.MyFunction({name: 'value'}, function(err, result) {
    // result is a javascript object                
})

WSSecurity

WSSecurity implements WS-Security. Currently, only UsernameToken and PasswordText is supported. An instance of WSSecurity is passed to Client.setSecurity.

new WSSecurity(username, password)