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Data Quality Web Service
Version 2 Frequently Asked Questions
 What is a Web Service?
Answer
A Web service is a software application whose interfaces are capable
of being defined, described, and discovered in the XML language. A Web
service supports direct interactions with other software using XML based
messages exchanged via standard Internet-based protocols.
What
is XML?
Answer
eXtensible Mark-up Language, a specification developed by the W3C.
XML is a pared-down version of Standard Generalized Mark-Up
Language, designed especially for Web documents. XML is a universal
format for structured documents and data on the Web.
What
is SOAP?
Answer
SOAP is an acronym for Simple Object Access Protocol and is a
standard based exchange protocol for the discovery and
implementation of web services with XML. SOAP is a current web
service standard and behind it stands industry heavyweights such as
Microsoft and IBM ™.
What
is REST?
Answer
REST stands for Representational State Transfer. It conforms to the
WC3 Web Services Architecture. A REST request is a simple HTTPS
request containing parameters in the URL Query. The response
returned is in XML format and is identical to the results returned
by our XML service. REST was considered an alternative web service
implementation to SOAP and XML, until recently where its popularity
has significantly grown.
Do
you have a DTD available for the XML Data Quality Web Service?
Answer
There is no DTD available. Due to the fact that you can send just
the tags you require, the use of a DTD is not applicable since we
would have to create a DTD for every possible permutation of tag
selections. However our new SOAP interface is provided with a WSDL
document for clear definitions of all functions of the service.
Why
are there several web service options? XML, SOAP and REST: which do
I need?
Answer
Since Melissa Data is at the forefront of innovative technologies,
we released our DQWS web service before any industry standards had
been finalized. The DQWS web service is very easy to utilize from
any language and platform. Those installations using .NET or the
various SOAP toolkits and requiring a WSDL, would be better served
with our new improved SOAP interface. Those without SOAP toolkits
are recommended to use the XML or REST version of the web service.
The main difference between XML and REST is that XML is able to
handle requests in batches while REST does not. Thus if you are in
need of processing requests in batches such as verifying a large
address database, then XML is a more viable solution.
What
can the Data Quality Web Service do for my company?
Answer
By scrubbing and enhancing your important customer data you maximize
and increase the quality of your bottom line. We know that your most
important asset is your customers and making sure they are reachable
for your invoicing or direct mail campaigns is critical. There are
no updates to install as the service is online, real-time, and
headache free.
What
are some common applications of our Data Quality Web Service?
Answer
DQWS Version 2 provides real-time address verification from web
forms or call centers so that the address is verified at the point
of entry. Also the SOAP and XML interfaces support batch lookups to
perform faster processing of large data quantities.
DQWS2 also provides the following services:
GeoCoder: Used for retrieving the latitude and longitude as
well as other information. This service is commonly used to compare
the distances between two or several locations. The latitude and
longitude information is also commonly used to locate specific
points in a map.
RBDI: Determines whether an address is a residence or a
business.
IPLocator: Returns the information linked to a given IP
Address such as latitude and longitude, ISP Name, Domain Name,
Country and City. This information can be used to determine what
region and country your website is mostly getting its hits from
When
should I choose a locally based programmers tool ( Such as Address
Object) or a Web service based address solution.
Answer
Those customers that require high security and maximum batch
processing performance will wish to implement a local solution. Real
time entry of data from a website or call center is the perfect use
of the web based solution. Also, the web service is perfect for
those who do not with to maintain/update their data files
periodically. Since we take care of updating the data files in our
servers, you are assured to always have the latest information.
What
type of performance can I expect with the DQWS2?
Answer
This solution is in real-time so each individual record sent from
your site to ours is corrected and enhanced on the spot. Depending
on factors such as bandwidth, routing and traffic there will be some
fluctuation. However, the average processing time to send a request
and receive a response back is still normally in sub-seconds.
What
server architecture and what type of redundancy are in place with
this Web Service?
Answer
Our web servers run Windows 2003 and utilize load balancing so
incoming requests are sent immediately to the next available server.
Melissa Data provides monitoring and real time testing of all
servers so that any problems will be flagged and technicians
notified. This design allows for no single point of failure and
helps ensure high availability for your critical data.
I am worried about the security of my address data. Can Melissa Data
provide me with a secure solution?
Answer
HTTPS is a secure version of the HTTP Protocol which provides an
extra layer of security. DQWS Version 2 is implemented only on
Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTPS). Also, DQWS2 utilizes SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer), which is a cryptographic protocol to encrypt
the segments of network connections at the Transport Layer
end-to-end.
Where
can I get sample code on how to submit data to the DQWS2?
Answer
Whether you just signed up for our free trial or if you are an
existing customer we will make code available on request. Currently
we have sample code available in VB.net, Java, JavaScript, and C#.
They can be found at:
http://www.melissadata.com/tech/dqwssamplecode-v2.htm
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