The <portType> element combines multiple message elements to form a complete oneway or round-trip operation.
For example, a <portType> can combine one request and one response message into a single request/response operation. This is most commonly used in SOAP services. A portType can define multiple operations.
Lets take a piece of code from the Example Session:
<portType name="HelloWorld_PortType"> <operation name="sayHelloWorld"> <input message="tns:SayHelloRequest"/> <output message="tns:SayHelloResponse"/> </operation> </portType>
- The portType element defines a single operation, called sayHelloWorld.
- The operation itself consists of a single input message SayHelloRequest
- The operation itself consists of a single output message SayHelloResponse
Operation Types
The request-response type is the most common operation type, but WSDL defines four types:
Type | Definition |
---|---|
One-way | The operation can receive a message but will not return a response |
Request-response | The operation can receive a request and will return a response |
Solicit-response | The operation can send a request and will wait for a response |
Notification | The operation can send a message but will not wait for a response |
One-way :
The service receives a message. The operation therefore has a single input element. The grammar for a one-way operation is:
<wsdl:definitions .... > <wsdl:portType .... > * <wsdl:operation name="nmtoken"> <wsdl:input name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> </wsdl:operation> </wsdl:portType > </wsdl:definitions>
Request-response:
The service receives a message and sends a response. The operation therefore has one input element, followed by one output element. To encapsulate errors, an optional fault element can also be specified. The grammar for a request-response operation is:
<wsdl:definitions .... > <wsdl:portType .... > * <wsdl:operation name="nmtoken" parameterOrder="nmtokens"> <wsdl:input name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> <wsdl:output name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> <wsdl:fault name="nmtoken" message="qname"/>* </wsdl:operation> </wsdl:portType > </wsdl:definitions>
Solicit-response:
The service sends a message and receives a response. The operation therefore has one output element, followed by one input element. To encapsulate errors, an optional fault element can also be specified. The grammar for a solicit-response operation is:
<wsdl:definitions .... > <wsdl:portType .... > * <wsdl:operation name="nmtoken" parameterOrder="nmtokens"> <wsdl:output name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> <wsdl:input name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> <wsdl:fault name="nmtoken" message="qname"/>* </wsdl:operation> </wsdl:portType > </wsdl:definitions>
Notification :
The service sends a message. The operation therefore has a single output element. Following is the grammar for a notification operation:
<wsdl:definitions .... > <wsdl:portType .... > * <wsdl:operation name="nmtoken"> <wsdl:output name="nmtoken"? message="qname"/> </wsdl:operation> </wsdl:portType > </wsdl:definitions>
References
Wikipedia for WSDL