WSDL - what exactly is it?

louie · 18-07-2006 11:12pm #1

Just wondering. Looking to get something like that for a new website project, but there are only a few companies like IBM that offer this type of software and can not understand what exactly it is.

Amazon is using it as well.
Just wondering what programing language does it need to be designed in?

leeroybrown · 18-07-2006 11:27pm

WSDL is just an XML schema for describing Web Services. It essentially describles a public interface to the service. The underlying implemetation language for the service should be irrelevant so long as the code responds in the manner described in the WSDL description document.

louie · 19-07-2006 12:02am

That's exactly what I thought myself, but searching google for answers has been so dificult. Nothing explained in an easier way of understanding.
Even W3school about wsdl is so vague.

What I can not understand is why only few website is using it, if is just xml?

leeroybrown · 19-07-2006 12:25am

Well the XML itself just describes the interface to the Web Service. The actual web service itself needs to be implemented. Implementing a webservice (perhaps based on SOAP) for a website is often just more work for website/webapp developers in situations where they can use just use a database directly.

louie · 19-07-2006 1:10am

that will be the case when you want a direct link to the main website, but what about making your products available to others on-line, as amazon do?

bonkey · 19-07-2006 11:03am

louie wrote:

What I can not understand is why only few website is using it, if is just xml?

Because its not "just xml". Its xml used for a specific purpose - that being Web Services. If you ain't got Web Services, you won't be using WSDL.

but what about making your products available to others on-line, as amazon do

That is exactly one type of functionality that Web Services are meant to simplify.

amen · 19-07-2006 2:36pm

WSDL (Web Service Description Language) just describes in XML the method calls on a web service, parameters etc.
They can be written in several languaged. I have written some in C# that are used in a production environment everyday. Some are used to receive document data from remote agents, some are used to batch process certain data.
They can be very handy.

louie · 19-07-2006 2:40pm

I am looking to build one for an existing project done in php /mysql and found so litlle information of what and how about the wsdl which is very frustrating.

mewso · 19-07-2006 3:40pm

Thing is .net makes providing web services a doddle. I'm not sure of other techs and how easy/difficult it is.

Hobbes · 19-07-2006 4:08pm

If you know what your doing most of them can create web services as a doddle.

http://java.sun.com/webservices/docs/2.0/tutorial/doc/

and is the stuff you would download.

http://java.sun.com/webservices/downloads/webservicespack.html

mewso · 19-07-2006 7:44pm

Don't worry hobbes I wasn't doing an A is better than B post. It's just what I use.

Hobbes · 19-07-2006 7:46pm

musician wrote:

Don't worry hobbes I wasn't doing an A is better than B post. It's just what I use.

Didn't think it was.

bonkey · 20-07-2006 9:58am

louie wrote:

I am looking to build one for an existing project done in php /mysql and found so litlle information of what and how about the wsdl which is very frustrating.

Doing a google on "WSDL PHP MySQL" seems to throw links to tutorials on this right from the first page.

If these aren't what you need, maybe you need to ask more specific questions.

jc

WSDL - what exactly is it?

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