JAX-WS stands for Java API for XML Web Services.
Originally part of the Java EE platform developed by Sun Microsystems (later Oracle), JAX-WS uses annotations (introduced in Java SE 5) to simplify the development and deployment of web service clients.
Today, this API has evolved into Jakarta XML Web Services under the Eclipse Foundation. The reference implementation, originally part of the GlassFish project, continues to be developed as open source within the Metro project.
For modern enterprise applications, migrating to Jakarta EE ensures continued support for these robust XML-based protocols.