I am new to APEX classes and have a few questions.  I posted once in the PHP forums to try and find a solution, but the answers were not clear

1)  If I create an APEX class can I access this from an external server/system or set of scripts that I write?  The script can be written in any language: PHP, Perl, etc....
2) Once I create the class and generate the WSDL from the class, do I download it and then use this like I do the Partner WSDL file


Any help or guidance would be appreciated.

I hope this is not too generic to answer my questions

Thanks,
Mike