Building Web Services in Java

Andy Longshaw
Blue Skyline
andy@blueskyline.com

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Some important questions
• Who am I?
• Who are you?
– Developers and technical architects wanting to build
Java-based Web Services
• Why are you here?
– Creating Java-based Web Services
– Mapping between WSDL and Java
– Use of SOAP from Java
– Deployment and use of a Java-based Web Service

– Demos using IBM WSTK, Apache SOAP and Apache

Axis
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Web Services in Java motivation
• What do we mean by "Web Service"?
• Why use Web Services?
• Why use Java?

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Developer view of Web Services
• Extension of component model onto the Web
– Your applications rely on 3rd party "components"
– Component functionality is hosted remotely
– Solution code calls on functionality as necessary
• Service-oriented view
– Locally installed components are more like libraries
– Sliding scale of business<->infrastructure services
• Standards are defined/emerging
– WSDL/SOAP/UDDI
– ebXML

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Benefits of Java Web Services
• Why use Web Services?
– Language- and platform-neutral framework
– Component drivers: faster development
– Potential easing of application integration
– The vendors are pushing you that way
• Why use Java?
– One of the principal developer languages
– Lots of activity around Java Web Services
– Java-based Web Services are portable
– You like Java!

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Developing with Web Services
• What steps do I need to follow?
• What APIs are there?
• Creating a Web Service
• Deploying a Web Service
• Using a Web Service
• What tools are there to help me?

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Web Service roles
• What do I need to do?
• Service providers
– Have a good idea for a service!
– Implement the service being offered
– Describe the service being offered
– Publish the description
– Wait for customers
• Service users
– Discover an interesting service
– Retrieve the description
– Plug it into your application
– Use the service
• Must have a framework for all this to take place under
otherwise it is chaos
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Where are you starting from?
• Steps and tools required depends on your
situation
• The functionality already exists
– EJB, servlet or Java class
– Need to wrap the existing component as a Web Service
• The functionality is new
– Create a new Web Service from scratch…
– … or write it as an EJB/servlet/class and wrap it

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Architecture
Web Service Candidate
Client Web Services
Invoke
target method
Java SOAP
methods Router & servlets
Dispatcher
Web SOAP Request
Web
Service
Service SOAP Response
Proxy
Proxy EJBs
servlet

Java
WSDL
WSDL classes
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Describing a Web Service
• Create a Web Service Description Language
(WSDL) document
• WSDL describes possible operations…
– messages, parameters, return values, complex types
• …and how to access them
– binding information, ports, portTypes

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Creating a WSDL document
• Create the document by hand…
• Automatic generation from an existing class
– Example: IBM WSTK WSDL Generator Tool (wsdlgen)
• wraps EJBs, classes or COM dispinterfaces
• Uses SOAP 2.2 functionality under the covers
• Define your business operations and generate
WSDL from them
– Completely Java-independent

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Creating the Web Service
• If WSDL was generated from an existing class,
skip this step
• If WSDL is new, need to generate Java "skeleton"
– Example: IBM WSTK Service Implementation Template
Generator Tool (servicegen)
• Creates Java interface from WSDL
• WSDL message names are mapped to Java
methods
• Service class implements interface
– Example: Axis Wsdl2java

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Deploying the Web Service
• Service must be deployed to endpoint(s) defined
in WSDL
• Server-side proxy must
– listen on endpoint
– process SOAP message and unmarshal parameters
– route messages to correct Java method
– capture return value(s) and marshal them back
– Example: IBM WSTK servicegen and wsdlgen
• Both create deployment descriptor for target
environment, e.g. Apache SOAP
– Example: Apache ServiceManagerClient to deploy

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Complex datatypes
• Need to marshal between WSDL/SOAP datatypes
and Java types
– Mapping of Java types corresponding to XML Schema
data types is simple
– Complex and custom types need specific marshaling
• Again, tool generation of Java classes is
preferable
– Example: IBM WSTK wsdlgen and servicegen
• Generates Java serializer classes for use with target
client and server, in this case Apache
– Example: Use of bean serializer in Axis

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Creating a Java client proxy
• Use a client-side proxy to hide SOAP complexity
– Proxy implements same methods as server
• Best option is for tool to generate proxy
– Example: IBM WSTK Service Proxy Generator Tool
(proxygen)
• Generates proxy and serializers
– Example: Axis Wsdl2java

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Using the Java Proxy
• Instantiate and call client-side proxy
• Relatively little Web Service-specific code needed
– Address and location
– Complex type conversion
• Caveats
– Network latency
– Error handling
– Style of calls

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Alternative clients
• You may have other clients
– Direct SOAP clients in Java
– Calls from non-Java clients
• Direct SOAP clients
– Read and understand the WSDL :-(
• Clients in other languages
– Use the WSDL to generate a proxy (e.g. C#)
– This is the whole point of it!

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Dynamic lookup
• Fully dynamic Web Services model has service
information retrieved from UDDI registry

• Now things get a bit trickier…

• There is no standard Java API to access UDDI

– Currently some vendor-specific solutions, e.g. UDDI4J
– See JAXR later
• There is no standard Java API to access WSDL
– Currently some vendor-specific solutions, e.g. WSDL4J
– See JSR110 later

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Registering the service
• WSDL information in two parts
– Interface definition: reusable general description
– Implementation definition: specific endpoints
• tModel represents interface definition
– tModel structure points to WSDL document
– tModel registered separately from implementation info
– tModel has unique key
• Service creator builds UDDI businessService
– Contains bindingTemplates which reference tModels
– Stored under businessEntity
– save_service, save_binding, save_tmodel

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Retrieving the service information
• Search UDDI registry for information…
– find_business, find_service, find_binding, find_tmodel
– Returns relevant XML structure(s)
• … or retrieve specific binding
– Obtain bindingTemplate details via get_bindingDetail
– Provide unique key to identify entry required
• Parse and use XML returned

• A good case for using vendor-specific APIs!

– Or waiting until JAXR appears

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IBM WSTK
• Version 2.4 features and functionality
– Tools and utilities
– Java WSTK API to simplify things a bit
– SOAP
– UDDI4J
– WSDL4J
– Binds to servlet container, e.g. Tomcat or WebSphere
• See also IBM's XML and Web Services
Development Environment

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Apache SOAP
• Version 2.2 features and functionality
– Supports SOAP 1.1 and SOAP Messages with
attachments
– Java API for invoking SOAP RPC services
– Java API for sending and receiving SOAP messages
– Expose Java classes as SOAP RPC servers
– Create SOAP message servers in Java
– Supports HTTP and SMTP transports
– Plug it into a servlet container, e.g. Tomcat

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Apache Axis
• Next generation Apache SOAP
– Alpha 2 release Sept 2001
• Improved performance
• Improved deployment
– JWS files
– Heading to Web Service Deployment Descriptor
(WSDD)
• WSDL support
– Wsdl2java tool creates stubs and skeletons
– ?wsdl suffix on service URL presents WSDL to caller

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Other Tools
• Web Service capabilities in IDEs and Tools
– Forte for Java 3.0
– Together Control Center 5.5
– Visual Age
– WebGain
– Jbuilder
– CapeClear (Studio and Connect)
• Web Service capabilities in App Servers
– WebLogic 6.1
– WebSphere 4.0
– iPlanet
– Oracle 9i

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The JAX Pack: JAX-RPC
• Essentially a Java binding for RPC over SOAP
• Feed WSDL description into compiler
– Produces stubs and skeletons
– Java mappings for complex types
– APIs for invocation, marshaling etc.
– Forwards and reverse mappings
• Looks very similar to existing support from IBM
WSTK and seems to be tracked by Apache Axis
• JCP JSR101 still in progress (Sept 2001)
– Public spec 10th October 2001 (0.5 release)
– No EA release as yet

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The JAX Pack: JAXM
• Document-centric SOAP-based messaging
– Synchronous
– Asynchronous
• Profiles for specific messaging systems
– ebXML is the notable one
– JAXM began life as a mapping for ebXML
• JCP JSR067 close to completion (Sept 2001)
– Spec. publicly available
• Early access release available (EA2)
– Raw SOAP messaging capability
– Sample profile for ebXML

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The JAX Pack: JAXR
• Generic XML-based registry access
– UDDI
– ebXML Registry
– Others, including eCo Framework, ISO 11179
• Multiple levels of registry
– Business and generic
– Specific mappings for UDDI and ebXML Registry
• JCP JSR093 still in progress (Sept 2001)
– Spec. publicly available
– No EA release

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What's next: Java
• JAX Pack delivery in J2EE 1.4 (JSR151)
• JSR110: WSDL API
• JSR109: Programming model for Web Services
• JSR156 XML Transactioning API for Java
(JAXTX)
• JSR155 Web Services Security Assertions
• JSR105: XML Dsig
• JSR106: XML Encryption
• JSR157: ebXML CPP/A APIs for Java

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What's next: Web Services
• Current state of standards
– Many still in formative stages
– XML Protocol (XMLP) to upgrade SOAP
• Higher-level metadata
– Business process integration and business objects
– Web Service Flow Language (WSFL)
– Automatic code generation
• End-to-end security
– XML Digital Signature
• Context propagation

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Summary
• Web Services extends component model onto the
Internet
• Java is a good language for building Web
Services
– Lots of activity around the combination
– Portable implementations
• We are only just coming out of the "banging rocks
together" stage

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Further information
• Java Community Process
– http://www.jcp.org
• Sun
– http://java.sun.com/j2ee/webservices/index.html
• IBM
– http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/
• Apache XML
– http://xml.apache.org/soap/index.html
• Web Services Architect
– http://www.webservicesarchitect.com/
• Web Services Portal
– http://www.webservices.org
• ebXML home and resources
– http://www.ebxml.org
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An alternative approach
• OASIS and UN/CEFACT joint venture
– http://www.ebxml.org
• Creating the framework
– Initial 18 month project to create standards
– Use existing technology where possible

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Components identified
Technical
Architecture

Registry
And Core
Repository Components

Business
Collaboration
Process
Modelling Messaging
Protocol

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 Company A
How it works 1
<XML>
Business components Request Business Details
Business scenarios
Business profiles

2 Implement
System
3
ebXML Register Implementation
registry Details and Co. A profile

4
Query for 5
Download Co. A profile Agree business
scenarios arrangement
and profiles
6
Do business
Company B transactions
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ebXML and Web Services
• How does ebXML fit with the world of Web Services?

• UDDI can be used to locate appropriate CPP

– Will all CPP info really be stored in global UDDI registry?
– If not, need a second tier
• SOAP provides some wire-level compatibility
– However, you lose security and reliability extensions defined in
ebXML message

• Other parts largely overlap

– WSDL and CPP/CPA
– UDDI and Registry & Repository

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