Chapters 1 and 2 discusses the necessity of web services, differences between authentication and authorization, XML security standards, implementation of WS-Security in applications, need for centralizing WS-Security operations and the benefits out of it. The author provides a short overview to oracle web services manager at the end of chapter 2. Chapter 3 completely provides a detailed coverage of the manager tool with the help of numerous screenshots.

Chapter 4 and 5 examines the concept of authentication, authorization, encryption and decryption of messages in oracle web services manager. The author discusses the various types of cryptography and algorithm methods with the help of screenshots. The book will be of interest for .NET developers as the author examines the usage of web services manager with the help of a .NET client application using Visual Studio.

Chapter 6 helps you to implement digital signatures and message verification in web services. Chapter 7 examines the steps involved with the implementation of a custom policy using Oracle web services manager. While chapter 8 provides a brief outline of the components included with the manager being sued for deployment, chapter 9 examines the various runtime monitoring modules with the help of relevant screenshots.

Chapter 10 and 11 deeply examines the role of XML Encryption and Signature in web services. While chapter 12 discusses the techniques involved with signing and encryption of messages, the final chapter examines the security components and the integration of web services with web access management solution.

The author has written the book in a lucid style with lot of source codes, diagrams and screenshots. The book will be useful for advanced level developers who would like to explore web services using Oracle. I don’t think a beginner will be able to understand the concepts discussed in the book. They should purchase the book after understanding the fundamentals and the various tools which ships with Oracle.

The book is priced at $59.99 and I wonder why the publisher has fixed a higher price taking into account the amount of pages which is below 250. I am not sure whether readers invest a huge amount for a smaller book and I feel that the publisher should fix the price at a reasonable level so that readers of all categories could purchase them and gain knowledge of the discussed topic. As of this writing, the book is available for $53.99 from Amazon.com and BarnesandNobles.com.