What is SOAP-based web services?

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a messaging protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services in computer networks. It relies on XML for its message format and typically uses other application layer protocols, most notably HTTP or SMTP, for message transmission. SOAP allows applications to communicate with each other over a network, regardless of the operating system or technologies they are built with. It is often used in enterprise environments where security and reliability are paramount, and is known for its verbosity and complexity compared to other web service architectures like REST.