Axis1.x and Axis2 have evolved from different architectures.
Speed - Axis2 is based on the StAX API, whichgives greater speed than the SAX event based parsing used inAxis1.x.
Stability - Axis2 has fixed phases as well asuser-defined phases for extensions. This allows far more stabilityas well as flexibility than Axis1.x.
Transport framework - Transports (i.e., sendersand listeners for SOAP over various protocols such as HTTP, SMTP,etc.), have been abstracted away from the Axis2 engine. Having atransport-independent Axis engine allows far more flexibility intransport options.
WSDL 2.0 support - Axis2 supports both WSDLversions 1.1 and 2.0, which are used by Axis2's code generationtools to create web service skeletons and client stubs.
Component-oriented architecture - Axis2components consist of handlers and modules in .mar and .aararchives. These easily reusable components allow extendedfunctionality such as pattern processing for your applications ordistribution to partners. Axis2 emphasizes the "Module" conceptover the "Handler" concept of Axis 1.x. Modules contain handlersthat are ordered by phase rules. These are attached to specificservice(s).