Question

I am working on a Java EE project where there is a need to incorporate Web Services to transmit and receive data to/from external sources. I am not sure which way to go, Axis2 or JAX-WS.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Answer 1

The choice of a web services stack depends on what standards you actually need. Here are some stacks currently available:

• The JAX-WS reference implementation is part of Java and provides basic support, including WS-Addressing, but not WS-ReliableMessaging or WS-Security. The big advantage is that you do not get additional dependencies by using the RI.
• Another option is Axis2, which also provides support for these standards. As far as I know, the use of Axis2 is declining and personally, I found it rather hard to use (That’s basically an opinion, I do not want to start a flame war).
• I would suggest to consider a third option: CXF. It is another implementation of a web service stack and supports roughly the same as Axis2. I found it rather easy to set up and use and personally prefer it to Axis2.
• One more option is Metro. Metro bundles the JAX-WS reference implementation and the Web Services Interoperability Technologies (WSIT). WSIT provides an implementation for several more standards and is tuned to provide interoperability with WCF.

Here is an article that compares these stacks with a little more detail. My suggestion would be: If you only need basic stuff (no reliable messaging, security, etc.) use the reference implementation. If you need support for additional standards, go for CXF or Metro.