SOAP based FTP server , academic concerns , opinios needed!

Hi!

I have posted my questions/concernes to another newsgroup but no-one
respond.Well here is my case.
I would like your opinions or
suggestions if available.I am in the design phase of a File Transfer server
(similar to FTP) that will implement its protocol through SOAP.What I mean?
That the server will exhange protocol commands with its clients through
SOAP-XML envelopes.
I have to say I quite familiar with XML parsers and Java too.The whole
implementation will be in Java.In tha last 2 weeks I am investigating SOAP
through books , web resources , etc. Most of the resources I have found ,
are dealing with SOAP as part of the Web Services thing!Thats fine with
me.But in my case I have some concernes!

As you can understand  I want only to use SOAP messages , for my server and
clients.Imagine that my envelopes will have some FTP like commands.Thats
all.I will have to implement bith server and client .

I am in the design phase of the protocol itself , and I am bit stuck in way
, on how my messages will be travelling through the wire.The thing that
worries me about is tha SOAP is almost bound top HTTP.In my case I dont
think that I really need HTTP? What do you think about that?
My solution is to send SOAP envelopes, through plain socket /stream
connections .The other thing that worries me about is that  i still dont
know if existing JAVA SOAP libraries like APACHE , JAXM can help me deal
easily with SOAP messages that are not bind to HTTP wrapper..has anyone
tried something like that?
So probably using Apache Xerces I have to provide a mechanism for
marshalling and demarshalling my SOAP over the wire!I know it sounds like
reinventing the wheel.

I really understand the use of HTTP when it comes to Web Services , but in
my case I dont think is neccesary.I am really trying to find out , if that
use of SOAP can be described as message-style SOAP .

For those who might ask why SOAP , you can use any custom XML protocol , I
shall answer that is the spec and I cant do anything about that.It is going
to be a weird use of SOAP anyway!

Thank  you in advance and I am sorry for the huge message

A.P

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