Web ServicesWSDL Essentials

WSDL Essentials

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This is Chapter 6: WSDL Essentials from the book Web Services Essentials
(ISBN:0-596-00224-6) written by Ethan Cerami, published by O’Reilly & Associates.


Chapter 6
WSDL Essentials


WSDL is a specification defining how to describe web services in
a common XML grammar. WSDL describes four critical pieces of data:



  • Interface information describing all publicly available
    functions


  • Data type information for all message requests and
    message responses


  • Binding information about the transport protocol to be
    used


  • Address information for locating the specified service


In a nutshell, WSDL represents a contract between the service
requestor and the service provider, in much the same way that a Java interface
represents a contract between client code and the actual Java object. The
crucial difference is that WSDL is platform- and language-independent and is
used primarily (although not exclusively) to describe SOAP services.


Using WSDL, a client can locate a web service and invoke any of
its publicly available functions. With WSDL-aware tools, you can also automate
this process, enabling applications to easily integrate new services with
little or no manual code. WSDL therefore represents a cornerstone of the web
service architecture, because it provides a common language for describing
services and a platform for automatically integrating those services.


This chapter covers all aspects of WSDL, including the following
topics:



  • An overview of the WSDL specification, complete with
    detailed explanations of the major WSDL elements


  • Two basic WSDL examples to get you started


  • A brief survey of WSDL invocation tools, including the
    IBM Web Services Invocation Framework (WSIF), SOAP::Lite, and The Mind
    Electric’s GLUE platform


  • A discussion of how to automatically generate WSDL
    files from existing SOAP services


  • An overview of using XML Schema types within WSDL,
    including the use of arrays and complex types


The WSDL Specification


WSDL is an XML grammar for describing web services. The
specification itself is divided into six major elements:



definitions
The definitions element
must be the root element of all WSDL documents. It defines the name of the
web service, declares multiple namespaces used throughout the remainder of
the document, and contains all the service elements described here.


types
The types element
describes all the data types used between the client and server. WSDL is not
tied exclusively to a specific typing system, but it uses the W3C XML Schema
specification as its default choice. If the service uses only XML Schema
built-in simple types, such as strings and integers, the types element is not required. A full discussion of the
types element and XML Schema is deferred to the
end of the chapter.


message
The message element
describes a one-way message, whether it is a single message request or a
single message response. It defines the name of the message and contains
zero or more message part elements, which can
refer to message parameters or message return values.


portType
The portType element
combines multiple message elements to form a
complete one-way or round-trip operation. For example, a portType can combine one request and one response
message into a single request/response operation, most commonly used in SOAP
services. Note that a portType can (and
frequently does) define multiple operations.


binding
The binding element
describes the concrete specifics of how the service will be implemented on
the wire. WSDL includes built-in extensions for defining SOAP services, and
SOAP-specific information therefore goes here.


service
The service element
defines the address for invoking the specified service. Most commonly, this
includes a URL for invoking the SOAP service.


To help you keep the meaning of each element clear, Figure
6-1 offers a concise representation of the WSDL specification. As you
continue reading the remainder of the chapter, you may wish to refer back to
this diagram.






Figure 6-1. The WSDL specification in a nutshell

 


In addition to the six major elements, the WSDL specification
also defines the following utility elements:



documentation
The documentation element
is used to provide human-readable documentation and can be included inside
any other WSDL element.


import
The import element is used
to import other WSDL documents or XML Schemas. This enables more modular
WSDL documents. For example, two WSDL documents can import the same basic
elements and yet include their own service
elements to make the same service available at two physical addresses. Note,
however, that not all WSDL tools support the import functionality as of yet.



TIP:   WSDL is not an official recommendation
of the W3C and, as such, has no official status within the W3C. WSDL
Version 1.1 was submitted to the W3C in March 2001. Original submitters
included IBM, Microsoft, Ariba, and a half dozen other companies. Most
probably, WSDL will be placed under the consideration of the new W3C Web
Services Activity’s Web Services Description Working Group, which will
decide if the specification advances to an official recommendation status.
The WSDL Version 1.1 specification is available online at http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl.


Basic WSDL Example:
HelloService.wsdl


To make the previously described WSDL concepts as concrete as
possible, let’s examine our first sample WSDL file.

Example
6-1 provides a sample HelloService.wsdl document.
The document describes the HelloService from Chapter 4.

As you may recall, the service provides a single publicly
available function, called sayHello. The function
expects a single string parameter, and returns a single string greeting. For
example, if you pass the parameter world, the
service returns the greeting, “Hello, world!”

Example 6-1: HelloService.wsdl

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
<definitions name=”HelloService”
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl”

xmlns_soap=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/”
xmlns_tns=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl”
xmlns_xsd=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”>
 
<message name=”SayHelloRequest”>
<part name=”firstName” type=”xsd:string”/>
</message>
<message name=”SayHelloResponse”>
<part name=”greeting” type=”xsd:string”/>
</message>
 
<portType name=”Hello_PortType”>
<operation name=”sayHello”>
<input message=”tns:SayHelloRequest”/>
<output message=”tns:SayHelloResponse”/>
</operation>
</portType>

<binding name=”Hello_Binding” type=”tns:Hello_PortType”>
<soap:binding style=”rpc”
transport=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http”/>
<operation name=”sayHello”>
<soap:operation soapAction=”sayHello”/>
<input>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:helloservice”
use=”encoded”/>
</input>
<output>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:helloservice”
use=”encoded”/>
</output>
</operation>
</binding>
 
<service name=”Hello_Service”>
<documentation>WSDL File for HelloService</documentation>
<port binding=”tns:Hello_Binding” name=”Hello_Port”>
<soap:address
location=”http://localhost:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter”/>
</port>
</service>
</definitions>

The WSDL elements are discussed in the next section of this
chapter. As you examine each element in detail, you may want to refer to Figure
6-2, which summarizes the most important aspects of Example
6-1.






Figure 6-2. A bird’s-eye view of HelloService.wsdl

 


definitions


The definitions element specifies
that this document is the HelloService. It also
specifies numerous namespaces that will be used throughout the remainder of
the document:

<definitions name=”HelloService”
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl”

xmlns_soap=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/”
xmlns_tns=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl”
xmlns_xsd=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”>

The use of namespaces is important for differentiating elements,
and it enables the document to reference multiple external specifications,
including the WSDL specification, the SOAP specification, and the XML Schema
specification.

The definitions element also
specifies a targetNamespace attribute. The targetNamespace is a convention of XML Schema that
enables the WSDL document to refer to itself. In Example
6-1, we specified a targetNamespace of http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl. Note,
however, that the namespace specification does not require that the document
actually exist at this location; the important point is that you specify a
value that is unique, different from all other namespaces that are defined.

Finally, the definitions element
specifies a default namespace: xmlns=http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/.
All elements without a namespace prefix, such as message or portType, are
therefore assumed to be part of the default WSDL namespace.

message


Two message elements are defined. The
first represents a request message, SayHelloRequest,
and the second represents a response message, SayHelloResponse:

<message name=”SayHelloRequest”>
<part name=”firstName” type=”xsd:string”/>
</message>
<message name=”SayHelloResponse”>
<part name=”greeting” type=”xsd:string”/>
</message>

Each of these messages contains a single part element. For the request, the part specifies the
function parameters; in this case, we specify a single firstName parameter. For the response, the part specifies
the function return values; in this case, we specify a single greeting return value.

The part element’s type attribute specifies an XML Schema data type. The
value of the type attribute must be specified as an
XML Schema QName–this means that the value of the
attribute must be namespace-qualified. For example, the firstName type attribute is
set to xsd:string; the xsd prefix references the namespace for XML Schema,
defined earlier within the definitions element.

If the function expects multiple arguments or returns multiple
values, you can specify multiple part elements.

portType


The portType element defines a single
operation, called sayHello. The operation itself
consists of a single input message (SayHelloRequest) and a single output message (SayHelloResponse):

<portType name=”Hello_PortType”>
<operation name=”sayHello”>
<input message=”tns:SayHelloRequest”/>
<output message=”tns:SayHelloResponse”/>
</operation>
</portType>

Much like the type attribute defined
earlier, the message attribute must be specified as
an XML Schema QName. This means that the value of the attribute must be
namespace-qualified. For example, the input element
specifies a message attribute of tns:SayHelloRequest; the tns
prefix references the targetNamespace defined
earlier within the definitions element.

WSDL supports four basic patterns of operation:


One-way
The service receives a message. The operation
therefore has a single input element.


Request-response
The service receives a message and sends a response.
The operation therefore has one input element,
followed by one output element (illustrated
previously in Example
6-1). To encapsulate errors, an optional fault element can also be specified.


Solicit-response
The service sends a message and receives a response.
The operation therefore has one output element,
followed by one input element. To encapsulate
errors, an optional fault element can also be
specified.


Notification
The service sends a message. The operation therefore
has a single output element.


These patterns of operation are also shown in Figure
6-3. The request-response pattern is most commonly used in SOAP services.






Figure 6-3. Operation patterns supported by WSDL 1.1

 


binding


The binding element provides specific
details on how a portType operation will actually
be transmitted over the wire. Bindings can be made available via multiple
transports, including HTTP GET, HTTP POST, or SOAP. In fact, you can specify
multiple bindings for a single portType.

The binding element itself specifies
name and type
attributes:

<binding name=”Hello_Binding” type=”tns:Hello_PortType”>

The type attribute references the
portType defined earlier in the document. In our
case, the binding element therefore references
tns:Hello_PortType, defined earlier in the
document. The binding element is therefore saying, “I will provide specific
details on how the sayHello operation will be
transported over the Internet.”

SOAP binding


WSDL 1.1 includes built-in extensions for SOAP 1.1. This enables
you to specify SOAP-specific details, including SOAP headers, SOAP encoding
styles, and the SOAPAction HTTP header. The SOAP
extension elements include:


soap:binding
This element indicates that the binding will be made
available via SOAP. The style attribute indicates
the overall style of the SOAP message format. A style value of rpc specifies
an RPC format. This means that the body of the SOAP request will include a
wrapper XML element indicating the function name. Function parameters are
then embedded inside the wrapper element. Likewise, the body of the SOAP
response will include a wrapper XML element that mirrors the function
request. Return values are then embedded inside the response wrapper
element.


A style value of document specifies an XML document call format. This
means that the request and response messages will consist simply of XML
documents. The document style is flatter than the rpc style and does not require the use of wrapper
elements. (See the upcoming note for additional details.)


The transport attribute
indicates the transport of the SOAP messages. The value
http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http

indicates the SOAP HTTP transport, whereas http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/smtp indicates the SOAP
SMTP transport.


soap:operation
This element indicates the binding of a specific
operation to a specific SOAP implementation. The soapAction attribute specifies that the SOAPAction HTTP header be used for identifying the
service. (See Chapter 3 for details on the SOAPAction header.)


soap:body
This element enables you to specify the details of
the input and output messages. In the case of HelloWorld, the body element specifies the SOAP encoding style and the
namespace URN associated with the specified service.



TIP:  The choice between the rpc style and the document
style is controversial. The topic has been hotly debated on the WSDL
newsgroup (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wsdl).
The debate is further complicated because not all WSDL-aware tools even
differentiate between the two styles. Because the rpc style is more in line with the SOAP examples from
previous chapters, I have chosen to stick with the rpc style for all the examples within this chapter.
Note, however, that most Microsoft .NET WSDL files use the document style.


service


The service element specifies the
location of the service. Because this is a SOAP service, we use the soap:address element, and specify the local host address
for the Apache SOAP rpcrouter servlet: http://localhost:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter.

Note that the service element includes a documentation element to provide human-readable
documentation.

WSDL Invocation Tools, Part I


Given the WSDL file in Example
6-1, you could manually create a SOAP client to invoke the service. A
better alternative is to automatically invoke the
service via a WSDL invocation tool. (See Figure
6-4.)






Figure 6-4. WSDL invocation tools

 


Many WSDL invocation tools already exist. This section provides
a brief overview of three invocation tools.

GLUE


The Mind Electric provides a complete web service platform
called GLUE (available at http://www.themindelectric.com/).
The platform itself provides extensive support for SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI. Some
of its advanced functionality, including support for complex data types, will
be explored later in this chapter.

For now, you can try out the GLUE invoke command-line tool. Here is the command-line usage:

usage: invoke URL method arg1 arg2 arg3…

For example, to invoke the HelloService, make sure that your
Apache Tomcat server is running, and place the HelloService.wsdl file within a publicly available
directory. Then, issue the following command:

invoke http://localhost:8080/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl sayHello World

Once invoked, GLUE will immediately download the specified WSDL
file, invoke the sayHello method, and pass World as a parameter. GLUE will then automatically
display the server response:

Output:  result = Hello, World!

That’s all there is to it!

GLUE also supports an excellent logging facility that enables
you to easily view all SOAP messages. To activate the logging facility, set
the electric.logging system property. The easiest
option is to modify the invoke.bat file. The original
file looks like this:

call java electric.glue.tools.Invoke %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6 %7 %8 %9

Modify the file to include the logging property via the -D option to the Java interpreter:

call java -Delectric.logging=”SOAP” electric.glue.tools.Invoke %1 %2 %3 %4
%5 %6 %7 %8 %9

When you invoke the HelloService, GLUE now generates the
following output:

LOG.SOAP: request to http://207.237.201.187:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter
<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<soap:Envelope
xmlns_xsi=’http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance’
xmlns_xsd=’http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema’
xmlns_soap=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/
envelope/’ xmlns_soapenc=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’
soap_encodingStyle=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’>
<soap:Body>
<n:sayHello xmlns_n=’urn:examples:helloservice’>
<firstName xsi_type=’xsd:string’>World</firstName>
</n:sayHello>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>
 
LOG.SOAP: response from http://207.237.201.187:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter
<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope
xmlns:SOAP-ENV=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/’
xmlns_xsi=’http://www.w3.org/1999/XMLSchema-instance’
xmlns_xsd=’http://www.w3.org/1999/XMLSchema’>
<SOAP-ENV:Body>
<ns1:sayHelloResponse
xmlns_ns1=’urn:examples:helloservice’
SOAP-ENV:encodingStyle=
‘http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’>
<return xsi_type=’xsd:string’>Hello, World!</return>
</ns1:sayHelloResponse>
</SOAP-ENV:Body>
</SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
 
result = Hello, World!

To view additional HTTP information, just set electric.logging to SOAP,HTTP.

SOAP::Lite for Perl


SOAP::Lite for Perl, written by Paul Kulchenko, also provides
limited support for WSDL. The package is available at http://www.soaplite.com.

Example
6-2 provides a complete Perl program for invoking the HelloService.

Example 6-2: Hello_Service.pl

use SOAP::Lite;
 
print “Connecting to Hello Service…n”;
print SOAP::Lite
-> service(‘http://localhost:8080/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl’)
-> sayHello (‘World’);

The program generates the following output:

Connecting to Hello Service…
Hello, World!

IBM Web Services Invocation Framework (WSIF)


Finally, IBM has recently released WSIF. The package is
available at http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/wsif.

Much like GLUE, WSIF provides a simple command-line option for
automatically invoking WSDL services. For example, the following command:

java clients.DynamicInvoker http://localhost:8080/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl
sayHello World

generates the following output:

Reading WSDL document from ‘http://localhost:8080/wsdl/HelloService.wsdl’
Preparing WSIF dynamic invocation
Executing operation sayHello
Result:
greeting=Hello, World!
 
Done!

Basic WSDL Example: XMethods eBay Price Watcher Service


Before moving on to more complicated WSDL examples, let’s
examine another relatively simple one. Example
6-3 provides a WSDL file for the XMethods eBay Price Watcher Service. The
service takes an existing eBay auction ID, and returns the value of the
current bid.

Example 6-3: eBayWatcherService.wsdl (reprinted with permission of
XMethods, Inc.)

<?xml version=”1.0″?>
<definitions name=”eBayWatcherService”
targetNamespace=
“http://www.xmethods.net/sd/eBayWatcherService.wsdl”
xmlns_tns=”http://www.xmethods.net/sd/eBayWatcherService.wsdl”
xmlns_xsd=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”
xmlns_soap=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/”
>
 
<message name=”getCurrentPriceRequest”>
<part name=”auction_id” type = “xsd:string”/>
</message>
<message name=”getCurrentPriceResponse”>
<part name=”return” type = “xsd:float”/>
</message>
 
<portType name=”eBayWatcherPortType”>
<operation name=”getCurrentPrice”>
<input
message=”tns:getCurrentPriceRequest”
name=”getCurrentPrice”/>
<output
message=”tns:getCurrentPriceResponse”
name=”getCurrentPriceResponse”/>
</operation>
</portType>
 
<binding name=”eBayWatcherBinding” type=”tns:eBayWatcherPortType”>
<soap:binding
style=”rpc”
transport=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http”/>
<operation name=”getCurrentPrice”>
<soap:operation soapAction=””/>
<input name=”getCurrentPrice”>
<soap:body
use=”encoded”
namespace=”urn:xmethods-EbayWatcher”
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”/>
</input>
<output name=”getCurrentPriceResponse”>
<soap:body
use=”encoded”
namespace=”urn:xmethods-EbayWatcher”
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”/>
</output>
</operation>
</binding>
 
<service name=”eBayWatcherService”>
<documentation>
Checks current high bid for an eBay auction
</documentation>
<port name=”eBayWatcherPort” binding=”tns:eBayWatcherBinding”>
<soap:address
location=”http://services.xmethods.net:80/soap/servlet/rpcrouter”/>
</port>
</service>
</definitions>

Here is an overview of the main WSDL elements:


messages
Two messages are defined: getCurrentPriceRequest and getCurrentPriceResponse. The request message contains a
single string parameter; the response message contains a single float
parameter.


portType
A single operation, getCurrentPrice, is defined. Again, we see the
request/response operation pattern.


binding
The binding element
specifies HTTP SOAP as the transport. The soapAction attribute is left as an empty string (“”).


service
This element specifies that the service is available
at http://services.xmethods.net/soap/servlet/rpcrouter.


To access the eBay watcher service, you can use any of the WSDL
invocation tools defined earlier. For example, the following call to GLUE:

invoke http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/EBayWatcherService.wsdl
getCurrentPrice 1271062297

retrieves the current bid price for a Handspring Visor Deluxe:

result = 103.5


TIP:  The XMethods web site (http://www.xmethods.net/) provides
dozens of sample SOAP and .NET services. Nearly all of these services
include WSDL files and therefore provide an excellent opportunity for
learning WSDL in detail. As you browse the XMethods directory, try
interfacing with the specified services via any of the WSDL invocation tools
described here. Quite likely, you will be amazed at how easy it is to
integrate and invoke new services.

WSDL Invocation Tools, Part II


Our initial discussion of WSDL invocation tools focused on
programming and command-line invocation tools. We now move on to even simpler
tools that are entirely driven by a web-based interface.

The GLUE Console


In addition to supporting a number of command-line tools, the
GLUE platform also supports a very intuitive web interface for deploying new
services and connecting to existing services.

To start the GLUE console, just type:

console

This will automatically start the GLUE console on the default
port 8100. Open a web browser and you will see the GLUE console home page.
(See Figure
6-5.)






Figure 6-5. The GLUE console: index page

 


In the text box entitled WSDL, you can enter the URL for any
WSDL file. For example, try entering the URL for the eBay Price Watcher
Service, http://www.xmethods.net/sd/2001/EBayWatcherService.wsdl.

Click the WSDL button, and you will see the Web Service overview
page. (See Figure
6-6.) This page includes a description of the specified service (extracted
from the WSDL document element) and a list of
public operations. In the case of the eBay service, you should see a single
getCurrentPrice method.






Figure 6-6. The GLUE console: Web Service overview page for the eBay
Price Watcher Service

 


Click the getCurrentPrice method, and
you will see the Web Method overview page. (See Figure
6-7.) This page includes a text box where you can specify the input
auction ID.






Figure 6-7. The GLUE console: Web Method overview page for the
getCurrentPrice method

 


Enter an auction ID, click the Send button, and GLUE will
automatically invoke the remote method and display the results at the bottom
of the page. For example, Figure
6-8 shows the current bid price for the Handspring Visor Deluxe. Note that
the price has already gone up $10 since invoking the service via the GLUE
command-line tool!






Figure 6-8. The GLUE console: invoking the getCurrentPrice method
(results of the invocation are displayed at the bottom of the screen)


 


SOAPClient.com


If you would like to try out a web-based interface similar to
GLUE, but don’t want to bother downloading the GLUE package, consider the
Generic SOAP Client available at SOAPClient.com.

Figure
6-9 shows the opening screen to the Generic SOAP Client. Much like the
GLUE console, you can specify the address for a WSDL file in this screen.






Figure 6-9. The Generic SOAP Client, available from SOAPClient.com

 


Specify the same eBay Price Watcher Service WSDL file, and the
SOAP Client will display a text box for entering the auction ID. (See Figure
6-10.)






Figure 6-10. The Generic SOAP Client: Displaying information on the
XMethods eBay Price Watcher Service

 


Figure
6-11 displays the result of the eBay service invocation. The Handspring
Visor is up another $4!






Figure 6-11. The Generic SOAP Client: Response from the XMethods eBay
Price Watcher Service

 


Automatically Generating WSDL Files


One of the best aspects of WSDL is that you rarely have to
create WSDL files from scratch. A whole host of tools currently exists for
transforming existing services into WSDL descriptions. You can then choose to
use these WSDL files as is or manually tweak them with your favorite text
editor. In the discussion that follows, we explore the WSDL generation tool
provided by GLUE.


TIP:  If you create WSDL files from scratch or
tweak WSDL files generated by a tool, it is a good idea to validate your
final WSDL documents. You can download a WSDL validator from http://pocketsoap.com/wsdl/. This
package requires that you have an XSLT engine and the zvonSchematron (http://www.zvon.org/), but installation only
takes a few minutes. Once installed, the validator is well worth the effort
and creates nicely formatted HTML reports indicating WSDL errors and
warnings.


GLUE java2wsdl Tool


The GLUE platform includes a java2wsdl command-line tool for transforming Java
services into WSDL descriptions. The command-line usage is as follows:

usage: java2wsdl <arguments>
 
where valid arguments are:
classname name of java class
-d directory output directory
-e url endpoint of service
-g include GET/POST binding
-m map-file read mapping instructions
-n namespace namespace for service
-r description description of service
-s include SOAP binding
-x command-file command file to execute

Complete information on each argument is available online within
the GLUE User Guide at http://www.themindelectric.com/products/glue/releases/GLUE-1.1/docs/guide/index.html.
For now, we will focus on the most basic arguments.


For example, consider the PriceService class in Example
6-4. The service provides a single getPrice( )
method.


Example 6-4: PriceService.java

package com.ecerami.soap.examples;
 
import java.util.Hashtable;
/**
* A Sample SOAP Service
* Provides Current Price for requested Stockkeeping Unit (SKU)
*/
public class PriceService {
protected Hashtable products;
 
/**
* Zero Argument Constructor
* Load product database with two sample products
*/
public PriceService ( ) {
products = new Hashtable( );
// Red Hat Linux
products.put(“A358185”, new Double (54.99));
// McAfee PGP Personal Privacy
products.put(“A358565”, new Double (19.99));
}
 
/**
* Provides Current Price for requested SKU
* In a real-setup, this method would connect to
* a price database. If SKU is not found, method
* will throw a PriceException.
*/
public double getPrice (String sku)
throws ProductNotFoundException {
Double price = (Double) products.get(sku);
if (price == null) {
throw new ProductNotFoundException (“SKU: “+sku+” not found”);
}
return price.doubleValue( );
}
}

To generate a WSDL file for this class, run the following
command:

java2wsdl com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceService -s -e http://localhost:
8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter -n urn:examples:priceservice

The -s option directs GLUE to create
a SOAP binding; the -e option specifies the address
of our service; and the -n option specifies the
namespace URN for the service. GLUE will generate a PriceService.wsdl file. (See Example
6-5.)



TIP:   If your service is defined via a Java
interface and you include your source files within your CLASSPATH, GLUE will
extract your Javadoc comments, and turn these into WSDL documentation elements.


Example 6-5: PriceService.wsdl (automatically generated by GLUE)

<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<!–generated by GLUE–>
<definitions name=’com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceService’
targetNamespace=’http://www.themindelectric.com/wsdl/com.ecerami.soap.
examples.PriceService/’
 
xmlns_tns=’http://www.themindelectric.com/wsdl/com.ecerami.soap.
examples.PriceService/’
xmlns_electric=’http://www.themindelectric.com/’
xmlns_soap=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/’
xmlns_http=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/http/’
xmlns_mime=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/mime/’
xmlns_xsd=’http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema’
xmlns_soapenc=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’
xmlns_wsdl=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/’
>
<message name=’getPrice0SoapIn’>
<part name=’sku’ type=’xsd:string’/>
</message>
<message name=’getPrice0SoapOut’>
<part name=’Result’ type=’xsd:double’/>
</message>
<portType name=’com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceServiceSoap’>
<operation name=’getPrice’ parameterOrder=’sku’>
<input name=’getPrice0SoapIn’ message=’tns:getPrice0SoapIn’/>
<output name=’getPrice0SoapOut’ message=’tns:getPrice0SoapOut’/>
</operation>
</portType>
<binding name=’com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceServiceSoap’
type=’tns:com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceServiceSoap’>
<soap:binding style=’rpc’
transport=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http’/>
<operation name=’getPrice’>
<soap:operation soapAction=’getPrice’ style=’rpc’/>
<input name=’getPrice0SoapIn’>
<soap:body use=’encoded’
namespace=’urn:examples:priceservice’
encodingStyle=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’/>
</input>
<output name=’getPrice0SoapOut’>
<soap:body use=’encoded’
namespace=’urn:examples:priceservice’
encodingStyle=’http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/’/>
</output>
</operation>
</binding>
<service name=’com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceService’>
<port name=’com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceServiceSoap’
binding=’tns:com.ecerami.soap.examples.PriceServiceSoap’>
<soap:address location=’http://207.237.201.187:8080
/soap/servlet/ rpcrouter’/>
</port>
</service>
</definitions>

You can then invoke the service via SOAP::Lite:

use SOAP::Lite;
 
print “Connecting to Price Service…n”;
print SOAP::Lite
-> service(‘http://localhost:8080/wsdl/PriceService.wsdl’)
-> getPrice (‘A358185’);

Hopefully, this example illustrates the great promise of web
service interoperability. We have a WSDL file generated by GLUE, a server
running Java, and a client running Perl, and they all work seamlessly
together.

Connecting to Price Service…
54.99


WARNING:   The IBM Web Services Toolkit
(available at http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/webservicestoolkit)
provides a WSDL generation tool called wsdlgen.
This tool can take existing Java classes, Enterprise JavaBeans, and
Microsoft COM objects and automatically generate corresponding WSDL files.
However, as this book goes to press, the wsdlgen
tool creates files based on the 1999 version of the W3C XML Schema. The WSDL
files are therefore incompatible with other WSDL invocation tools, such as
SOAP::Lite and GLUE. If you choose to use the IBM tool, make sure to
manually update your WSDL files to reflect the latest version of XML Schema
(http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema).

XML Schema Data Typing


In order for a SOAP client to communicate effectively with a
SOAP server, the client and server must agree on a data type system. By
default, XML 1.0 does not provide a data type system. In contrast, every
programming language provides some basic facility for declaring data types,
such as integers, floats, doubles, and strings. One of the greatest challenges
in building web services is therefore creating a common data type system that
can be used by a diverse set of programming languages running on a diverse set
of operating systems.

WSDL does not aim to create a standard for XML data typing. In
fact, WSDL is specifically designed for maximum flexibility and is therefore
not tied exclusively to any one data type system. Nonetheless, WSDL does
default to the W3C XML Schema specification. The XML Schema specification is
also currently the most widely used specification for data typing.

The more you know about XML Schemas, the better you can
understand complex WSDL files. A full discussion of XML Schemas is beyond the
scope of this chapter. However, two facts are crucially important.

First, the XML Schema specification includes a basic type system
for encoding most data types. This type system includes a long list of
built-in simple types, including strings, floats, doubles, integers, time, and
date. This list, shown in Table
6-1, is excerpted from the XML Schema Part 0: Primer (http://www.w3org/TR/2000/WD=xmlschema=0=20000407/).
If your application sticks to these simple data types, there is no need to
include the WSDL types element, and the resulting
WSDL file is extremely simple. For example, our first two WSDL files use only
strings and floats.






































































Table 6-1: A list of the main XML Schema built-in simple types

Simple type


Example(s)


string


Web Services


Boolean


true, false, 1, 0


float


-INF, -1E4, -0, 0, 12.78E-2, 12, INF, NaN


double


-INF, -1E4, -0, 0, 12.78E-2, 12, INF, NaN


decimal


-1.23, 0, 123.4, 1000.00


binary


100010


integer


-126789, -1, 0, 1, 126789


nonPositiveInteger


-126789, -1, 0


negativeInteger


-126789, -1


long


-1, 12678967543233


int


-1, 126789675


short


-1, 12678


byte


-1, 126


nonNegativeInteger


0, 1, 126789


unsignedLong


0, 12678967543233


unsignedInt


0, 1267896754


unsignedShort


0, 12678


unsignedByte


0, 126


positiveInteger


1, 126789


date


1999-05-31


time


13:20:00.000, 13:20:00.000-05:00


Second, the XML Schema specification provides a facility for
creating new data types. This is important if you want
to create data types that go beyond what is already defined within the Schema.
For example, a service might return an array of floats or a more complex stock
quote object containing the high, low, and volume figures for a specific
stock. Whenever your service goes beyond the simple XML Schema data types, you
must declare these new data types within the WSDL types element.

In the next two sections of this chapter, we present two
specific examples of using XML Schemas to create new data types. The first
focuses on arrays; the second focuses on a more complex data type for
encapsulating product information.

Arrays


Example
6-6, shown later in this section, is a sample WSDL file that illustrates
the use of arrays. This is the Price List Service we created in Chapter 5. The
service has one public method, called getPriceList,
which expects an array of string SKU values and returns an array of double
price values.

The WSDL file now includes a types
element. Inside this element, we have defined two new complex types. Very
broadly, the XML Schema defines simple types and complex types. Simple types
cannot have element children or attributes, whereas complex types can have
element children and attributes. We have declared complex types in our WSDL
file, because an array may have multiple elements, one for each value in the
array.

The XML Schema requires that any new type you create be based on
some existing data type. This existing base type is specified via the base attribute. You can then choose to modify this base
type using one of two main methods: extension or
restriction. Extension simply means that your new
data type will have all the properties of the base type plus some extra
functionality. Restriction means that your new data type will have all the
properties of the base data type, but may have additional restrictions placed
on the data.

In Example
6-6, we’ll create two new complex types via restriction. For example:

<complexType name=”ArrayOfString”>
<complexContent>
<restriction base=”soapenc:Array”>
<attribute ref=”soapenc:arrayType”
wsdl_arrayType=”string[]”/>
</restriction>
</complexContent>
</complexType>

Example 6-6: PriceListService.wsdl

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
<definitions name=”PriceListService”
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/PriceListService.wsdl”

xmlns_soap=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/”
xmlns_tns=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/PriceListService.wsdl”
xmlns_xsd=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”
xmlns_xsd1=”http://www.ecerami.com/schema”>
 
<types>
<schema
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/schema”
xmlns_wsdl=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/”
xmlns_soapenc=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”>
 
<complexType name=”ArrayOfString”>
<complexContent>
<restriction base=”soapenc:Array”>
<attribute ref=”soapenc:arrayType”
wsdl_arrayType=”string[]”/>
</restriction>
</complexContent>
</complexType>
<complexType name=”ArrayOfDouble”>
<complexContent>
<restriction base=”soapenc:Array”>
<attribute ref=”soapenc:arrayType”
wsdl_arrayType=”double[]”/>
</restriction>
</complexContent>
</complexType>
</schema>
</types>
 
<message name=”PriceListRequest”>
<part name=”sku_list” type=”xsd1:ArrayOfString”/>
</message>
 
<message name=”PriceListResponse”>
<part name=”price_list” type=”xsd1:ArrayOfDouble”/>
</message>
 
<portType name=”PriceList_PortType”>
<operation name=”getPriceList”>
<input message=”tns:PriceListRequest”/>
<output message=”tns:PriceListResponse”/>
</operation>
</portType>
 
<binding name=”PriceList_Binding” type=”tns:PriceList_PortType”>
<soap:binding style=”rpc” transport=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http”/>
<operation name=”getPriceList”>
<soap:operation soapAction=”urn:examples:pricelistservice”/>
<input>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:pricelistservice”
use=”encoded”/>
</input>
<output>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:pricelistservice” use=”encoded”/>
</output>
</operation>
</binding>

<service name=”PriceList_Service”>
<port name=”PriceList_Port” binding=”tns:PriceList_Binding”>
<soap:address location=”http://localhost:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter”/>
</port>
</service>
</definitions>

The WSDL specification requires that arrays be based on the SOAP
1.1 encoding schema. It also requires that arrays use the name ArrayOfXXX, where XXX is the
type of item in the array. The previous example therefore creates a new type
called ArrayOfString. This new type is based on the
SOAP array data type, but it is restricted to holding only string values.
Likewise, the ArrayOfDouble data type creates a new
array type containing only double values.

When using the WSDL types element,
you need to be particularly aware of XML namespace issues. First, note that
the root schema element must include a namespace
declaration for the SOAP encoding specification (http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/).
This is required because our new data types extend the array definition
specified by SOAP.

Second, the root schema element must
specify a targetNamespace attribute. Any newly
defined elements, such as our new array data types, will belong to the
specified targetNamespace. To reference these data
types later in the document, you must refer back to the same targetNamespace. Hence, our definitions element includes a new namespace declaration:

xmlns:xsd1=”http://www.ecerami.com/schema”>

xsd1 matches the targetNamespace and therefore enables us to reference the
new data types later in the document. For example, the message element references the xsd1:ArrayOfString data type:

<message name=”PriceListRequest”>
<part name=”sku_list” type=”xsd1:ArrayOfString”/>
</message>


TIP:  For an excellent and concise overview of
W3C Schema complex types and their derivation via extension and restriction,
see Donald Smith’s article on “Understanding W3C Schema Complex Types.” The
article is available online at http://www.xml.com/pub/a/2001/08/22/easyschema.html.


Automatically invoking array services


Once you move beyond basic data types, the simple WSDL
invocation methods described previously in this chapter no longer work quite
as easily. For example, you cannot simply open the GLUE console, pass an array
of strings, and hope to receive back an array of doubles. Additional work is
necessary, and some manual code is required. Nonetheless, the additional work
is minimal, and the discussion that follows focuses on the GLUE platform. We
have chosen to focus on the GLUE platform because it represents the most
elegant platform for working with complex data types; other tools, such as the
IBM Web Services Toolkit, do, however, provide similar functionality.

To get started, you should become familiar with the GLUE wsdl2java command-line tool. The tool takes in a WSDL
file and generates a suite of Java class files to automatically interface with
the specified service. You can then write your own Java class to invoke the
specified service. Best of all, the code you write is minimally simple, and
all SOAP-specific details are completely hidden from your view. (See Figure
6-12.)






Figure 6-12. The GLUE wsdl2java tool and the GLUE architecture

 


Here is the wsdl2java command-line
usage:

usage: wsdl2java <arguments>
 
where valid arguments are:
http://host:port/filename URL of WSDL
-c checked exceptions
-d directory output directory for files
-l user password realm login credentials
-m map-file read mapping instructions
-p package set default package
-v verbose
-x command-file command file to execute

Complete information on each argument is available online within
the GLUE User Guide at http://www.themindelectric.com/products/glue/releases/GLUE-1.1/docs/guide/index.html.
For now, we will focus on the most basic arguments. For example, to generate
Java class files for the PriceListService.wsdl file,
first make sure that the WSDL file is available publicly on a web site or
locally via a web server such as Tomcat. Then, issue the following command:

wsdl2java.bat http://localhost:8080/wsdl/PriceListService.wsdl -p com.
ecerami.wsdl.glue

The first argument specifies the location of the WSDL file; the
second argument specifies that the generated files should be placed in the
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue.

GLUE will automatically download the specified WSDL file and
generate two Java class files:

write file IPriceList_Service.java
write file PriceList_ServiceHelper.java

The first file, IPriceList_Service.java,
is shown in Example
6-7. This file represents a Java interface that mirrors the public methods
exposed by the WSDL file. Specifically, the interface shows a getPriceList( ) method that receives an array of String values, and returns an array of double values.

Example 6-7: IPriceList_Service.java

// generated by GLUE
 
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue;
 
public interface IPriceList_Service
{
double[] getPriceList( String[] sku_list );
}

The second file, PriceList_ServiceHelper.java, is shown in Example
6-8. This is known as a GLUE helper file, and it can dynamically bind to
the service specified by the WSDL file. To access the service, simply call the
static bind( ) method.

Example 6-8: PriceList_ServiceHelper.java

// generated by GLUE
 
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue;
 
import electric.registry.Registry;
import electric.registry.RegistryException;
 
public class PriceList_ServiceHelper
{
public static IPriceList_Service bind( ) throws RegistryException
{
return bind( “http://localhost:8080/wsdl/PriceListService.wsdl” );
}
 
public static IPriceList_Service bind( String url )
throws RegistryException
{
return (IPriceList_Service)
Registry.bind( url, IPriceList_Service.class );
}
}

Once GLUE has generated the interface and helper files, you just
need to write your own class that actually invokes the service. Example
6-9 shows a sample application that invokes the Price List Service. The
code first calls PriceList_ServiceHelper.bind( ),
which then returns an IPriceList_Service object.
All subsequent code behaves as if the Price List Service is a local object,
and all SOAP-specific details are completely hidden from the developer.

Here is a sample output of the Invoke_PriceList application:

Product Catalog
SKU: A358185 –> Price: 54.99
SKU: A358565 –> Price: 19.99

Example 6-9: Invoke_PriceList.java

package com.ecerami.wsdl;
 
import com.ecerami.wsdl.glue.*;
 
/**
* SOAP Invoker. Uses the PriceListServiceHelper to invoke
* SOAP service. PriceListServiceHelper and IPriceListService
* are automatically generated by GLUE.
*/
public class Invoke_PriceList {
 
/**
* Get Product List via SOAP
*/
public double[] getPrices (String skus[]) throws Exception {
IPriceList_Service priceListService = PriceList_ServiceHelper.bind( );
double[] prices = priceListService.getPriceList(skus);
return prices;
}
 
/**
* Main Method
*/
public static void main (String[] args) throws Exception {
Invoke_PriceList invoker = new Invoke_PriceList( );
System.out.println (“Product Catalog”);
String skus[] = {“A358185”, “A358565” };
double[] prices = invoker.getPrices (skus);
for (int i=0; i<prices.length; i++) {
System.out.print (“SKU: “+skus[i]);
System.out.println (” –> Price: “+prices[i]);
}
}
}

Complex Types


Our final topic is the use of complex data types. For example,
consider a home monitoring service that provides a concise update on your
home. The data returned could include multiple data elements, such as the
current temperature, security status, and whether the garage door is open or
closed. Encoding this data into WSDL requires additional knowledge of XML
Schemas, which reinforces the main precept that the more you know about XML
Schemas, the better you will understand complex WSDL files.

To explore complex types, consider the WSDL file in Example
6-10. This WSDL file describes our Product Service from Chapter 5. The
complex types are indicated in bold.

Example 6-10: ProductService.wsdl

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
<definitions name=”ProductService”
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/ProductService.wsdl”

xmlns_soap=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/”
xmlns_tns=”http://www.ecerami.com/wsdl/ProductService.wsdl”
xmlns_xsd=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema”
xmlns_xsd1=”http://www.ecerami.com/schema”>
 
<types>
<xsd:schema
targetNamespace=”http://www.ecerami.com/schema”
>
<xsd:complexType name=”product”>
<xsd:sequence>
<xsd:element name=”name” type=”xsd:string”/>
<xsd:element name=”description” type=”xsd:string”/>
<xsd:element name=”price” type=”xsd:double”/>
<xsd:element name=”SKU” type=”xsd:string”/>
</xsd:sequence>
</xsd:complexType>
</xsd:schema>
</types>
 
<message name=”getProductRequest”>
<part name=”sku” type=”xsd:string”/>
</message>

<message name=”getProductResponse”>
<part name=”product” type=”xsd1:product”/>
</message>
 
<portType name=”Product_PortType”>
<operation name=”getProduct”>
<input message=”tns:getProductRequest”/>
<output message=”tns:getProductResponse”/>
</operation>
</portType>
 
<binding name=”Product_Binding” type=”tns:Product_PortType”>
<soap:binding style=”rpc”
transport=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http”/>
<operation name=”getProduct”>
<soap:operation soapAction=”urn:examples:productservice”/>
<input>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:productservice”
use=”encoded”/>
</input>
<output>
<soap:body
encodingStyle=”http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/”
namespace=”urn:examples:productservice” use=”encoded”/>
</output>
</operation>
</binding>
 
<service name=”Product_Service”>
<port name=”Product_Port” binding=”tns:Product_Binding”>
<soap:address location=”http://localhost:8080/soap/servlet/rpcrouter”/>
</port>
</service>
</definitions>

The service in Example
6-10 describes a getProduct operation that
returns a complex product type for encapsulating
product information, including product name, description, price, and SKU
number.

The new product type is defined in much the same manner as the
array definition from the previous example. The main difference is that we are
now using the sequence element. The sequence element specifies a list of subelements and
requires that these elements appear in the order specified. XML Schemas also
enable you to specify cardinality via the minOccurs
and maxOccurs attributes. If these attributes are
absent (as in our example), they default to 1,
requiring that each subelement must occur exactly one time.

Each subelement can also have its own data type, and you can see
that we have mixed and matched string data types with double data types in our
example.

Automatically invoking complex type services


To automatically invoke the Product Service, we return to the
GLUE wsdl2java tool. This time around, GLUE will
generate a Java interface class and a Java helper class, along with two
additional files for handling the new complex type.

For example, the following command:

wsdl2java.bat http://localhost:8080/wsdl/ProductService.wsdl -p com.ecerami.
wsdl.glue

generates the following output:

write file IProduct_Service.java
write file Product_ServiceHelper.java
write file product.java
write file Product_Service.map

The first two files in the output listing are familiar. The
first file is a Java interface mirroring the service; the second file is a
helper class for dynamically binding to the specified service. (See Example
6-11 and Example
6-12.)

Example 6-11: IProduct_Service.java

// generated by GLUE
 
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue;
 
public interface IProduct_Service
{
product getProduct( String sku );
}

Example 6-12: Product_ServiceHelper.java

// generated by GLUE
 
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue;
 
import electric.registry.Registry;
import electric.registry.RegistryException;
 
public class Product_ServiceHelper
{
public static IProduct_Service bind( ) throws RegistryException
{
return bind( “http://localhost:8080/wsdl/ProductService.wsdl” );
}
 
public static IProduct_Service bind( String url )
throws RegistryException
{
return (IProduct_Service)
Registry.bind( url, IProduct_Service.class );
}
}

The third file in the output listing, product.java, represents a simple container class for
encapsulating product data. (See Example 6-13.) GLUE essentially takes all the
complex types defined within the WSDL file and creates a container class for
each type. Each subelement is then transformed into a public variable for easy
access. For example, the product class has four
public variables, name, description, price, and SKU, corresponding to our new complex data type. Note
also that the public variables match the XML Schema types specified within the
WSDL file; for example, name is declared as a String, whereas price is
declared as a double.

Example 6-13: product.java

// generated by GLUE
 
package com.ecerami.wsdl.glue;
 
public class product
{
public java.lang.String name;
 
public java.lang.String description;
 
public double price;
 
public java.lang.String SKU;
}

Finally, GLUE generates a Java-to-XML Schema mapping file. (See
Example
6-14.) The file itself is extremely concise and is responsible for
converting Java to XML Schema types and vice versa. (See Figure
6-13.) The root complexType element indicates
that elements of type product should be transformed
into the product class located in com.ecerami.wsdl.glue. Inside the root complex type,
there is a one-to-one mapping between the XML Schema type and the public Java
variable. For example, the element name is mapped
to the product.name variable, and the type is
specified as string. Likewise, the element price is mapped to the product.price variable, and the type is specified as
double.






Figure 6-13. The GLUE Java-to-XML Schema mapping file

 


Example 6-14: Product_Service.map

<?xml version=’1.0′ encoding=’UTF-8′?>
<!–generated by GLUE–>
<mappings >
<schema

targetNamespace=’http://www.ecerami.com/schema’
xmlns_electric=’http://www.themindelectric.com/schema/’>
<complexType name=’product’ electric_class=’com.ecerami.wsdl.glue.product’>
<sequence>
<element name=’name’ electric_field=’name’ type=’string’/>
<element name=’description’
electric_field=’description’ type=’string’/>
<element name=’price’ electric_field=’price’ type=’double’/>
<element name=’SKU’ electric_field=’SKU’ type=’string’/>
</sequence>
</complexType>
</schema>
</mappings>

To invoke the Product Service, you must first explicitly load
the mapping file via the GLUE Mappings class:

Mappings.readMappings(“Product_Service.map”);

You can then access the service just like in the previous
example. See Example
6-15 for the complete invocation program. Here is some sample output:

Product Service
Name: Red Hat Linux
Description: Red Hat Linux Operating System
Price: 54.99

Example 6-15: Invoke_Product.java

package com.ecerami.wsdl;
 
import java.io.IOException;
import electric.xml.io.Mappings;
import electric.xml.ParseException;
import electric.registry.RegistryException;
import com.ecerami.wsdl.glue.*;
 
/**
* SOAP Invoker. Uses the Product_ServiceHelper to invoke the Product
* SOAP service. All other .java files are automatically generated
* by GLUE.
*/
public class Invoke_Product {
 
/**
* Get Product via SOAP Service
*/
public product getProduct (String sku) throws Exception {
// Load Java <–> XML Mapping
Mappings.readMappings(“Product_Service.map”);
// Invoke Service
IProduct_Service service = Product_ServiceHelper.bind( );
product prod = service.getProduct(sku);
return prod;
}
 
/**
* Main Method
*/
public static void main (String[] args) throws Exception {
Invoke_Product invoker = new Invoke_Product( );
System.out.println (“Product Service”);
product prod = invoker.getProduct(“A358185”);
System.out.println (“Name: “+prod.name);
System.out.println (“Description: “+prod.description);
System.out.println (“Price: “+prod.price);
}
}

This is a very small amount of code, but it is capable of doing
very real work. Be sure to check The Mind Electric web site (http://themindelectric.com/) for new
releases of the GLUE product.

About the Author

Ethan Cerami is a Software Engineer at the Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and an Adjunct Faculty at NYU’s Department of Computer Science. He is also the author of Delivering Push (McGraw-Hill, 1998) and co-author with Simon St. Laurent of Building XML Applications (McGraw-Hill, 2000).

Source of this material

This is Chapter 6: WSDL Essentials from the book Web Services Essentials (ISBN:0-596-00224-6) written by Ethan Cerami, published by O’Reilly & Associates.

To access the full Table of Contents for the book

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