Mapping between Java language, WSDL and XML for JAX-WS applications

Data for Java™ API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) applications flows as extensible Markup Language (XML). JAX-WS applications use mappings to describe the data conversion between the Java language and extensible Markup Language (XML) technologies, including XML Schema, Web Services Description Language (WSDL) and SOAP that are supported by the application server.

For web services based on the JAX-WS programming model, mappings between the Java language and XML are specified by the JAX-WS specification and the Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) specification for data bindings. JAX-WS leverages the JAXB API and tools as the binding technology for mappings between Java objects and XML documents. JAX-WS tooling relies on JAXB tooling for default data binding for two-way mappings between Java objects and XML documents.

The JAX-WS specification describes the mapping between Web Services Description Language (WSDL) files and the Java language. The supported mappings include WSDL-to-Java mappings and Java-to-WSDL mappings. WSDL 1.1 is required by the JAX-WS 2.0 specification. You can use annotations to customize the mapping from Java artifacts to their associated WSDL components. Refer to the JAX-WS specification for details describing the WSDL-to-Java mappings and Java-to-WSDL mappings.

Data binding mappings used by the JAX-WS programming model are described by the JAXB specification. Refer to the JAXB specification for details that describe the JAXB mappings for the Java representation of XML content, including the default and custom bindings between XML schema to Java representations.