The Web Services Plug-in 2.0 is now streamlined and offers some elegant new ways to interact with loading and unloading functions, and continues to amaze people on just how easy it is to use. With the release of our 2.0 version, we have taken a bold approach to documentation, by hosting the documentation in the form of a WIKI. The WIKI is visible to everyone, but those who have purchased a license of the plug-in will receive an account so they can add or make changes to the documentation.

Because there are literally thousands of WSDLs available, it would be a daunting task to try to document all the possible functions that one can use. So we have put together a WIKI Examples area where anyone can download examples and those who have purchased a license of the plug-in will be able to share their examples with the community.

The Web Services Plug-in delivers a vast array of possibilies to FileMaker developers who want to integrate web services into their solutions. If you can write FileMaker calculations, then you can interact with web services.

Today's customers demand rich and seamless connectivity with all the web has to offer. Creating a call center application and need to look up the city and state for a ZIP code? Need live information for a financial services product? The Web Services Plug-in will cut your development time to shreds.

What is a WSDL?

The Web Services Plug-in is an interpreter and client for the Web Services Description Language, a standard XML-based format for describing web services that is in wide use by many major players in business and technology. "WSDLs" are definitions of data type formats (aka "XML Schema") and of the SOAP calls necessary to access them. With the FM::Nexus Web Services Plug-in, any service described by a WSDL can be accessed by your FileMaker application using ordinary FileMaker function calls defined by the WSDL itself.

Among the many sites that provide downloadable WSDLs are xmethods.com, strikeiron.com, and soahub.com. Major web companies such as eBay, Amazon, PayPal and Google often provide WSDLs to help application developers embed and extend their services.

With Web Services, installing WSDLs is a simple matter of drag-and-drop.