Web Services Consumers and Providers
You can be both a Web service consumer and a Web service provider by using Web services for Sterling B2B Integrator.
- Web services consumer – As a consumer, Sterling B2B Integrator consumes
external Web services and provides a way to check in external WSDL
and generate dynamic services that can be used in a business process
to generate a SOAP request.
Example: While browsing the UDDI directories, you locate a Web service you want to use. You can download the WSDL file that describes it. Next, you would need to check in and provide a version to the WSDL file in Sterling B2B Integrator. When the business process uses the Web service, the business process queries the checked in WSDL document for connection information. The Web service uses information from WSDL file (description, how to connect to it, and what the service requires and returns) to automate the connection to the Web service.
- Web services provider – The application, as a Web service provider,
exposes Sterling B2B Integrator business
processes, services, or both as Web service endpoints.
Example: You are the largest customer of a small company. They could run a query against your inventory each night at 2 a.m. and track your inventory levels, which would enable them to effectively plan their production for the upcoming days or weeks. If they see that your inventories levels are dropping faster than usual, they can prepare for a large order from you by putting on more shifts, and increasing production temporarily. If they see that some of your inventory levels are not moving, they can keep their production in line by running skeleton crews and only one shift—neither you nor the supplier ends up with an overloaded warehouse or inventory write-offs.