WSDL Full Form
What is Full Form of WSDL ?
The full form of WSDL is Web Service Description Language. This specification describes networking using Extensible Markup Language (XML) based services. IBM and Microsoft developed this concept on 26th June, 2007. Web Service Description Language describes an XML format for elaborating the function of network services as a combined set of endpoints. These endpoints are message-based operations containing document or procedure-oriented information. These descriptions provide details on the service location and methods. This language is extensible and allows the description of endpoints regardless of the kinds of formats used. The WSDL documents support the developers in exposing their applications as network-accessible services on the internet.
WSDL Features
It is an XML-based protocol for the exchange of pieces of information.
It helps access the services of the web and its operations.
It helps to describe how to interface with XML-based services.
It contains information definitions, datatypes, messages, services, bindings, and port types.
Web Services
It is the document of WSDL that describes a web service. Different elements are used to specify the methods and services. Some of the elements are as below:
<types>- this is used to define data types
<messages>- this is used to define data elements for each operation
<binding>- this describes the protocol and data type for each port
<portType>- this describes all operations that can be performed and also those which involve messages
Subset WSDL
This is a type of WSDL that will have the subset operations of the original WSDL. This can also be represented as SWSDL. This is usually used for testing the web service and for top-down development. A web service can be sliced using Subset WSDL. The services of this can be categorised into different layers. One too used to create SWSDL is AWSCM.
WSDL Advantages
Helps in systematically defining web services.
WSDL allows users to upgrade to new patterns.
This reduces the lines of codes normally required to access web services.
As the file type is XML, all programming languages can easily access the same.
Disadvantages
One-way messaging is prohibited.
Requires both input and output.
It does not include more than one file, it doesn't support overloading operations.
It does not support output mapping.
Can not include more than one element of file <wsdl:include>