What is WSDL?
WSDL is an XML notation for describing a web service. A WSDL definition tells a client how to compose a web service request and describes the interface that is provided by the web service provider.
IBM® Integration Bus supports WSDL 1.1, as defined in the following document issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.1. IBM Integration Bus support for WSDL also adheres to the Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) Basic profile 1.1; see Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I).
A WSDL definition is divided into separate sections that specify the logical interface and the physical details of a web service. The physical details include both endpoint information, such as HTTP port number, and binding information, which specifies how the SOAP payload is represented and which transport is used.
- Import of WSDL to create message roots in an application or library; see Importing from WSDL.
- Generation of WSDL from a message set; see Message Sets: WSDL generation.
- WSDL editor with text and graphical design views.
- Use of WSDL to configure nodes in the SOAP domain; for example, you can drag WSDL onto a node, and a client can request the WSDL that was used to configure a SOAPInput node. For more details, see Message flow configuration with a WSDL file
- Create a service based on imported WSDL. For more details, see Creating an integration service based on a WSDL file.
When you import or generate WSDL, the WSDL is validated against the WS-I Basic Profile. You must fix validation errors before the application, library, or message set can be deployed. Validation warnings do not prevent deployment, but can indicate potential interoperability problems. The validated WSDL becomes an integral part of the application, library, or message set.
The WSDL editor supports a graphical design view so that you can navigate from the WSDL to its associated message roots. The application or library contains all the message roots (or the message set contains all the message definitions) required by message flows that are working with the web service described by the WSDL. At development time, the message roots or definitions support ESQL Content Assist and the creation of mappings. At run time, the deployed application, library, or message set supports schema validation in the SOAP, XMLNSC, and MRM domains. In the SOAP domain, runtime checks are also made against the WSDL itself, and WSDL information is included in the SOAP logical tree.