XML-RPC is a remote procedure call protocol which uses XML to encode its calls and HTTP as a transport mechanism. It is a very simple protocol, defining only a handful of data types and commands, and the entire description can be printed on two pages of paper. This is in stark contrast to most RPC systems, where the standards documents often run into the thousands of pages and require considerable software support in order to be used.
It was first created by Dave Winer of UserLand Software in 1998 with Microsoft. As new functionality was introduced, the standard evolved into what is now SOAP.
| Name | Tag Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| array | Array of values, storing no keys | |
| base64 | Base 64-encoded binary data | |
| boolean | Boolean logical value (0 or 1) | |
| date/time | Date and time | |
| double | Double precision floating number | |
| integer | Whole number, integer | |
| string | String of characters. Must follow XML encoding. | |
| struct | Array of values, storing keys | |
| nil | Discriminated null value; an XML-RPC extension |
An example of a typical XML-RPC request would be:
An example of a typical XML-RPC response would be:
A typical XML-RPC fault would be:
XML-based standards | Web services | Inter-process communication
XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC | XML-RPC