Binary Data to Go: Using XML-RPC to Serve Up Charts on the Fly:
“Where SOAP is a generalized, object-oriented, messaging protocol that is designed to carry arbitrary XML payloads across any network protocol, XML-RPC is a simple procedural protocol designed only to make remote function calls. Lest you get the impression that XML-RPC is inferior to SOAP, there are a good number of everyday problems that XML-RPC can solve adroitly.”
“For instance, XML-RPC can transport binary data as base64-encoded messages, much the way email clients send attachments. Because this feature is somewhat rarely used in XML-RPC applications, it’s worth taking a look at a Web service that creates simple charts for client programs using this technique.”