Web Services Description Language 2.0 (WSDL 2.0)
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has recommended the Web Services Description Language Version 2.0 (WSDL 2.0) as the best model for two web based systems to successful communicate with each other. WDSL is the foundation language from which web services are built from, it provides a machine readable description - in the form of a file - on how to communicate with the host service and which parameters it expects and how the data structures will be returned.
Why use WSDL?
The power of WSDL is realized when combined with Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and an XML Schema to provide web services over HTTP* (the Internet). The XML content is basically wrapped up in a SOAP envelope before being delivered to web service, ensuring that the data is successfully transmitted between the two web services.
The use of web services makes Intelledox one of the easiest Document Generation Systems to communicate with. Your document generation solutions are no longer stuck in a single vendor technology stack to be able to produce correspondence that is vital to operation of your business.
This diagram is an example of how a client program communicates to Intelledox via web services.
- Intelledox publishes its services as a WSDL Directory (file), this is used to define the communication rules between the client service and Intelledox.
- A Client service requests and reads the communication guidelines. Think of the guidelines to a traditional letter – Logo, date and receivers information at the top, introduction, body and summary content in the middle and a formal signature at the end.
- The client sends a request for information in the pre-determined format and waits for a response in that same pre-determined format from the WSDL directory.
*Other protocols can be used