If I need a web service to pass back and forth a complex object, is there a reason I should prefer SOAP over REST? Here is an example of the possible SOAP message:

<soap:Envelope>
  <soap:Header>
    <Credentials>
      <User>Joe</User>
      <Password>abc123</Password>
    </Credentials>
  </soap:Header>
  <soap:Body>
    <MyComplexBusinessObject>
      <Search>
        <First>Joe</First>
        <Last>Smith</Last>
      </Search>
      ...
      ...
    </MyComplexBusinessObject>
  </soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>

Using REST, I would be asking the client to POST the following xml and authenticate using Basic Authentication:

<MyComplexBusinessObject>
  <Search>
    <First>Joe</First>
    <Last>Smith</Last>
  </Search>
  ...
  ...
</MyComplexBusinessObject>

The SOAP message is slightly more complicated, but not by much. They are still both XML, but SOAP comes with a WSDL and most programming environments will generate proxy classes for you. However, most people I talk to say I should use REST instead because it's easier to use. But I don't see how SOAP is any harder to use.

Am I missing something?

web-services rest soap
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