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Re: SOAP: what is appropriate for the header and the body

• From: "Fraser Goffin" <goffinf@g...>
• To: xml-dev <xml-dev@l...>
• Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 08:57:32 +0100

Your business data payload goes in the body, and meta-data goes in headers.

Business data is that which is specifically required for executing the
business processing, meta-data tends to be more about delivery.

There might be a few occasions where the same data might appear in
both, but is used for different purposes. For example, you may have a
agent code that is used to calculate a discount within your business
process. This should go in the business payload. However, you may also
use the agent code for routing purposes [say, which quality of service
is provided, or routing to a particular handling part of your
organisation]. This data should go into a header.

The basic rule I use is that I don't want to have to 'crack open' the
busines payload just to make decisions like where to pass the message
(for example your payload may very well be encrypted). Other typical
header data include security tokens.

SOAP is intended to be 'composable' such that you can apply as much or
as little of the additional stuff as you need. It is important IMO not
to muddle meta-data in with business data since this tends to lead to
muddled service contracts that are prone to volatility.

HTHs

Fraser.

2008/5/21 Robert Koberg <rob@k...>:
> Hi,
>
> I was trying to use the latest java ee web service code generators that
> take a WSDL and generate the java code necessary to send/recieve a SOAP
> message. I am running them against WSDLs that were generated from
> Microsoft code (I really don't know what they used (NET, ASP ??) and I
> don't have access to the code). In the past (maybe 3 years ago), I
> couldn't get the java code generators to generate something that could
> process the necessary parts of the message. I still can't. So, I used
> saaj and still need to use saaj. I don't get the disconnect.
>
> The MS code generates a WSDL that puts most of the required information
> in the header with a few necessary things in the body. Java seems to
> assume things go in the body.
> 
> What is appropriate to put in a SOAP header and what is appropriate for
> the body? I am not saying one or the other is correct... Just curious
>
> Don't know if this makes sense to anybody... I probably haven't
> explained things well. Just getting back into SOAP after not touching it
> for more than a few years...
>
> (ufff... just to add insult to injury: It's all communicating on an
> internal network... using SSL...)
>
> best,
> -Rob
>
>
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• References:
  • SOAP: what is appropriate for the header and the body
    • From: Robert Koberg <rob@k...>