Rama is reporting that the most recent JDK 6 update now comes with JAX-WS 2.1 and JAXB 2.1. JAX-WS 2.0 has been part of JDK 6 from the beginning but GlassFish v2 and Metro 1.x moved on to newer, more performant, and mainly a much more extensible JAX-WS.

JDK 6 now includes JAX-WS 2.1.1 FCS and JAXB 2.1.1 FCS (versions from Metro 1.1). This means no more use of the endorsed mechanism is required.

OpenJDK is still a little behind with JAX-WS 2.0. GlassFish is still a little ahead with JAX-WS 2.1.3. Download JDK 6 Update 4 here.

Much like EJB interceptors, JAX-WS handlers (both SOAP and Logical) provide an elegant extension point to the developer. But that flexibility does come at a performance price since DOM is used to apply this handler logic.

In his latest entry, Rama explains how Metro takes advantage of the extensible Handler framework provided by the JAX-WS specification to provide Message-based handlers using a lightweight Tube.

This is all part of the upcoming Metro 1.1 release recently mentioned.

Heard at the JavaPosse Google group: I think JAX-WS is one of the more amazing hidden secrets of Web Services. I guess because the SOA pushers would find their business collapsing if Web Services became easy, and JAX-WS makes them incredibly easy indeed. Some might argue that contract-first is the proper methodology for web services, but I myself find JAX-WS too convenient to ignore.

Over at InfoQ, Stefan Tilkov has a nice article based on interviews he conducted with lead developers of various open source stacks - Axis2, CXF, Spring Web Services, JBossWS, and obviously GlassFish's Metro. Koshuke "I have many hats" Kawaguchi Clearly explain how Metro had standard support (both WS-* and JAX-WS) and interoperability as design goals. Others recognize JAXB's full support for XML Schema as a very strong point.

One question asked relates to support for the REST principles. You could consider the Provider/Dispatch APIs to be good enough to work with the HTTP protocol without using SOAP, but as Kohsuke points out, the RESTful work at Sun is going on in the Jersey project (now in version 0.3) which is closely tracking the evolution of JSR 311 and involving much more than just Sun.

The article has both a summary and the un-edited answers from all participants. Some interesting tidbits here and there.

javapassion.com is the home of many free courses for anyone who wants to enhance their Java skills. Sang Shin, the man behind all this, does an amazing job at revamping the content on a very regular basis (probably the best way for him to stay current!). The last set of updates are for Metro Web Services - JAX-WS, WSIT, ... If you're wondering what taking such a class is like, check out the FAQ.

Among the many topics covered for this class called Web Services Programming (with Passion!), I'd recommend the following : JAX-WS Features on GlassFish, WS-I, and WSIT. You may also be interested in taking the Java EE Programming (with Passion!) class (EJB3, JPA, JSF, Facelets, Spring, Hibernate, etc.)

Ask the Experts (April 30-May 1): WSIT and Project Tango. Got a question about Web Services Interoperability Technology (WSIT, aka Project Tango) for Web Services-based interoperability between Java EE and .Net? Post it during this session from April 30 to May 4 on the Ask the Experts page and get answers from Sun experts Arun Gupta, Harold Carr, and Marek Potociar.

Parleys.com is the website where JavaPolis presentations are being made available. They are presented in a nice format with slides, audio and even video (of the speaker so it doesn't work all that well for demos). The "Real world web services with JAX-WS" presentation didn't exactly get the best time slot (afternoon of last day), so whether you didn't make it to Antwerpen or are interested in a JAX-WS presentation from an architect who has actually implemented the technology, listen to this talk by Stijn Van den Enden from ACA IT-Solutions. Stijn covers from basics of the programming model to more advanced topics such as Handlers, JAXB customization, Provider/Dispatcher APIs for asynchronous communication, and touches on a few best practices. Really worth your time.

If slides are a little hard to read, go to the JavaPolis 2006 web site and get the PDF.