Selecting a WSDL view

You can use two views to edit a WSDL file, Simplified view or Detailed view. Use the Simplified view if you are accustomed to programming interfaces using functions and parameters. In this view, you do not require a detailed understanding of WSDL or XML schema concepts. Use the Detailed view if you want to define an interface using WSDL constructs such as parts and elements.

Switching between WSDL views

Open a WSDL file. Select Simplified or Detailed from the View list in the top right corner of the editor.

Designing your WSDL in the Simplified view

In the Simplified view, the editor displays a WSDL portType as a list of operations with input and output parameters. The graphical representation is similar to the programmatic definition of an interface in languages such as Java or C++. In the following example, the BookSearch interface has a single operation, getBooks. The getBooks operation takes three input parameters of type string (title, author, and publisher) and returns BookList.

WSDL editor Simplified view

To examine the structure of the BookList type, click the arrow icon to the right of BookList. The XML schema editor opens and displays the BookList type structure.

The following code snippet is a Java representation of the BookSearch interface:
  public interface BookSearch
{
  BookList getBooks(String title,
                String author, 
                String publisher) 
  throws InvalidInput;
}

Designing your WSDL in the Detailed view

In the Detailed view, the editor exposes lower level constructs of the WSDL portType, such as the message parts and elements. In this view, the editor displays the following detailed information about the BookSearch interface:
  • The interface is authored using the document-literal style.
    Note: When you edit document-literal style interfaces, the WSDL editor creates operations using the wrapped style which is considered a best practice.
  • The operation’s input and output specify a single message part called body.
  • The part refers to an XML schema element.
WSDL editor Detailed view

To examine the structure of an element, click the arrow icon to the right of the element. The XML schema editor opens and displays the element’s structure. If you examine the structure of the getBooks element, then three child elements of type string (title, author, and publisher) are displayed in the editor.

WSDL editor Detailed view
Note: In the Simplified view, these parameters display directly within the interface.
Related information
WSDL interface styles and the document-literal wrapped style

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