Web Service Definition Language

Intro

Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) defines services as collections of network endpoints (ports). It specifies an XML format for describing web services.

Key points:

• Standardizes service interfaces for interoperability.
• Enables tooling to generate clients and stubs.
• Common use cases across EA/BPM/Data/App/Tech include SOAP-based integrations and legacy service interoperability.
• Pitfall: tight coupling if changes to WSDLs are unmanaged.

Examples:

• Billing service WSDL shared with partners.
• Tool-generated clients consuming enterprise services.
• Contract-first service design using WSDL schemas.

In practice:

Version WSDLs, manage contracts, and provide documentation to consumers.

Related terms: Webservice; Service; Service Oriented Architecture

FAQs:

Q: Is WSDL used with REST APIs?
A: No; REST commonly uses OpenAPI/Swagger for definition.

Q: Does WSDL include data types?
A: Yes; via XML schema definitions.

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