SOAP - Why do I need to query for the original values for an update?

Question

I'm taking over a project and wanted to understand if this is common practice using SOAP. The process that is currently in place I have to query all the values before I do an update cause I need to pass back all the values that are not being updated. Does this sound right?

Example Values:

fname=phill
lname=pafford
address=123 main
phone:222-555-1212

So if I just wanted to update the phone number I need to query for the record, get all the values and submit these values for an update.

Example Update Values:

fname=phill
lname=pafford
address=123 main
phone:111-555-1212

I just want to know if this is common practice or should I change the functionality of this?

Answer 1

I don't think that it is a very "common" practice. However I've seen cases where the old values are posted together with the new values, in order to validate that noone else has updated the values in the meantime.

Answer 2

This is not specific to SOAP. It may simply be how the service is designed. In general, there will be fields that can only be updated if you have the original value: you can't add one to a field unless you know the original value, for instance. The service seems to have been designed for the general case.