what is the difference between webservice and webapplication?

can you please tell me 开发者_JS百科what is the difference between webservice and webapplication.

---

A web service:

• Typically returns XML or JSON or something like that, something that is easily decoded by a program
• The results you get from a web service is typically not just shown to a person in its raw form (ie. since it isn't HTML, the results have to be reformatted, like placed into a form)
• The intended usage of a web service is that it is something an application can talk to

A web application

• Typically returns HTML or image data or similar
• The results you get from a web application is usually shown to a person, through a web browser

As for similarities:

• Both typically use HTTP(S) as the transport
• Both typically use HTTP authentication/authorization to secure data
• Both are typically hosted by a web server

So the main difference is who usually talks to them. A web service usually by another application, a web application usually by a web browser. Other than that they're pretty similar.

---

Here is the Web Application and here is Web Service

Web application: any application which resides on a server, and mainly used by human using web browser. All user interactivity is done through web pages.

Web service: server-based application (as above) which may be accessed over the web via HTTP, but is meant primarily for interaction with other programs. Generally it is WEB API for other applications.

---

In a nutshell, a Webservice uses special HTTP transport protocols to communicate to other servers. Webservices are meant to be used by other applications.

In the ASP.Net world, a web application is a type of Visual Studio project that allows building ASP.Net websites in a particular configuration. E.g. A Webservice can be built using a Web Application type project. Or a Web Application can also refer to a website that is meant to be used directly by an end-user ( unlike web services ).

Here are a few links and related SO questions...

What is the difference between an asp.net web method and a wcf service?

ASP.NET Web Site or ASP.NET Web Application?

Introduction to Web Services and ASP.NET

---

check this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_service

http://www.w3schools.com/webservices/ws_intro.asp