WSDL document types

There are two different types of WSDL documents:

  • WSDL Service Interface documents
  • WSDL Service Implementation documents.

WSDL Service Interface documents contain type, portType, and binding elements.

The WSDL Service Implementation contains import and service elements, as well as a description of a service that implements a service interface. The import element imports a WSDL Service Interface definition.

The WSDL Importer gets its information from the import service interface and not from the service implementations. Both document types can be combined into a single document. If both document types are not combined into a single document, the Service Implementation document will include an import statement to import the Service Interface document. If a Service Implementation document is processed by the importer, the importer must be able to import the Service Interface document to obtain the message definitions.