Chapter 11. Designing the Service Contract
Service contracts provide the glue that enables us to assemble disparate pieces of software or services into complete, composite applications. If we are to build a sustainable solution, that is, one that will achieve our goals of improved agility, reuse, and interoperability, then a careful design of the service contract is crucial.
The contract of a web service is made up of the following technical components:
- WSDL Definition: Defines the various operations which constitute a service, their input and output parameters, and the protocols (bindings) it supports.
- XML Schema Definition (XSD): Either embedded within the WSDL definition or referenced as a standalone component, this defines the XML elements and types which constitute the input and output parameters.
- WS-Policy Definition: An optional component that describes the service's security constraints, quality of service, and so on.
Additionally, the service contract may be supported...
