Final answer:
Web services are software technologies that enable machine-to-machine communication over a network, allowing information exchange between different systems. They are key in creating applications that integrate various organizational systems using open standards, with HTTP being a common protocol used.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Web Services
Web services are a critical component of modern computing, allowing for interoperable machine-to-machine communication across a network. The term generally refers to a set of software technologies designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.
One of the key features of web services is their ability to facilitate the exchange of information between different systems, which may be built on varying operating systems or use different programming languages. This makes them incredibly versatile and a vital tool for creating applications that can link different systems, regardless of their underlying technology.
Moreover, web services are often utilized to create open-standard based web applications. These applications are developed using widely accepted standards that ensure they can operate across diverse environments and platforms without compatibility issues.
Finally, HTTP, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is indeed commonly used as a means of communication in the creation of web services. HTTP is the foundational protocol for data communication on the World Wide Web, making it a default choice for web service communication.