Why CTDATA Switched from SOAP to XML Over HTTP When Using Amazon Web Services
Dave Aiello wrote, "One of the more interesting aspects of the time I spent with Amazon Web Services was the realization that the SOAP interface provided by Amazon.com doesn't implement as many search methods as the XML over HTTP interface does. I discovered this when I built a Perl script that iterates through Amazon Marketplace offers for a given item in order to get specific details about each offer. This is easily done using REST, but not possible using SOAP."
"Apparently, I am not the only one who discovered this. There is a useful article on CYBAEA called Which interface should I use: XML/HTTP (REST) or SOAP? that comes to the same conclusion:"
SOAP... Does not provide access to the full AWS functionality (specifically the XSLT service is not available through SOAP)....
"The CYBAEA article goes into more detail on the pros and cons of using the AWS SOAP and REST implementations. Even more useful information is found in the CYBAEA Amazon Web Services FAQ, which includes the article I just mentioned. The FAQ is definitely worth exploring if you are using Amazon Web Services for anything more than experimentation."