Generating Java artifacts for JAX-WS applications from a WSDL file

Generating Java artifacts for JAX-WS applications from a WSDL file

Use JAX-WS tools to generate the Java artifacts that are needed to develop JAX-WS web services when starting with a WSDL file.

When using a top-down development approach to developing JAX-WS web services by starting with a WSDL file, obtain the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the WSDL file.
(zos) If the WSDL file is a local file, the URL looks like this example: file:drive:\path\file_name.wsdl.
(iseries) If the WSDL file is a local file, the URL looks like this example: file:/path/file_name.wsdl.
We can also specify local files using the absolute or relative file system path.

We can use the JAX-WS tool, wsimport, to process a WSDL file and generate portable Java artifacts used to create a web service. The portable Java artifacts created using the wsimport tool are:

Service endpoint interface (SEI)

Service class

Exception class that is mapped from the wsdl:fault class (if any)

JAXB generated type values which are Java classes mapped from XML schema types

Supported configurations: The wsimport, wsgen, schemagen and xjc command-line tools are not supported on the z/OS platform. This functionality is provided by the assembly tools provided with WebSphere Application Server running on the z/OS platform. Read about these command-line tools for JAX-WS applications to learn more about these tools.
Best practice: WebSphere Application Server provides JAX-WS and JAXB tooling. The wsimport, wsgen, schemagen and xjc command-line tools are located in the app_server_root\bin\ directory in full profile. The wsimport and wsgen commands are located in the app_server_root\jaxws\bin\ directory in Liberty profile. The xjc and schemagen commands are located in the app_server_root\jaxb\bin\ directory in Liberty profile. Similar tooling is provided by the Java SE Development Kit (JDK) 6. On some occasions, the artifacts generated by both the tooling provided by WebSphere Application Server and the JDK support the same levels of the specifications. In general, the artifacts generated by the JDK tools are portable across other compliant runtime environments. However, it is a best practice to use the tools provided with this product to achieve seamless integration within the WAS environment and to take advantage of the features that may be only supported in WebSphere Application Server. To take advantage of JAX-WS and JAXB V2.2 tooling, use the tools provided with the application server that are located in the app_server_root\bin\ directory.bprac
In addition to using the tools from the command-line, we can invoke these JAX-WS tools from within the Ant build environments. Use the com.sun.tools.ws.ant.WsImport Ant task from within the Ant build environment to invoke the wsimport tool. To function properly, this Ant task requires that you invoke Ant using the ws_ant script.

Run the wsimport command to generate the portable client artifacts. The wsimport tool is located in the app_server_root\bin\ directory.

app_server_root\bin\wsimport.bat wsdl_URL

app_server_root/bin/wsimport.sh wsdl_URL
(iseries)
app_server_root/bin/wsimport wsdl_URL

(Optional) Use the following options with the wsimport command:

Use the -verbose option to see a list of generated files when you run the command.

Use the -keep option to keep generated Java files.

Use the -wsdlLocation option to specify the location of the WSDL file.
Best practice: A best practice for ensuring that you produce a JAX-WS web services client EAR file that is portable to other systems is to package the WSDL document within the application module such as a web services client JAR file or a WAR file. We can specify a relative URI for the location of the WSDL file using the -wsdllocation annotation attribute. For example, if the MyService.wsdl file is located in the META-INF/wsdl/ directory, then run the wsimport tool and use the -wsdllocation option to specify the value to be used for the location of the WSDL file. This ensures that the generated artifacts contain the correct -wsdllocation information needed when the application is loaded into the console; for example:
wsimport -keep -wsdllocation=META-INF/wsdl/MyService.wsdl
bprac

Use the -b option if you are using WSDL or schema customizations to specify external binding files containing our customizations.
We can customize the bindings in the WSDL file to enable asynchronous mappings or attachments. To generate asynchronous interfaces, add the client-side only customization enableAsyncMapping binding declaration to the wsdl:definitions element or in an external binding file defined in the WSDL file. Use the enableMIMEContent binding declaration in the custom client or server binding file to enable or disable the default mime:content mapping rules. For additional information on custom binding declarations, see chapter 8 the JAX-WS specification.

Read about the wsimport command to learn more about this command and additional options that we can specify.

Results
You have the required Java artifacts to create a JAX-WS web service. To learn more about the usage, syntax, and parameters for the wsimport command, see the wsimport command for JAX-WS applications documentation.

Example

The following example illustrates how the wsimport command is used to process the sample Ping WSDL file to generate portable artifacts.
Copy the following ping.wsdl WSDL file to a temporary directory.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<wsdl:definitions xmlns:wsdl="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/"
 xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/"
 xmlns:tns="http://com/ibm/was/wssample/sei/ping/"
 xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" name="PingService"
 targetNamespace="http://com/ibm/was/wssample/sei/ping/">
 <wsdl:types>
  <xsd:schema
   targetNamespace="http://com/ibm/was/wssample/sei/ping/"
   xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
 
   <xsd:element name="pingStringInput">
    <xsd:complexType>
     <xsd:sequence>
      <xsd:element name="pingInput" type="xsd:string" />
     </xsd:sequence>
    </xsd:complexType>
   </xsd:element>
  </xsd:schema>
 </wsdl:types>
 <wsdl:message name="pingOperationRequest">
  <wsdl:part element="tns:pingStringInput" name="parameter" />
 </wsdl:message>
 <wsdl:portType name="PingServicePortType">
  <wsdl:operation name="pingOperation">
   <wsdl:input message="tns:pingOperationRequest" />
   </wsdl:operation>
 </wsdl:portType>
 <wsdl:binding name="PingSOAP" type="tns:PingServicePortType">
  <soap:binding style="document"
   transport="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/http" />
  <wsdl:operation name="pingOperation">
   <soap:operation soapAction="pingOperation" style="document" />
   <wsdl:input>
    <soap:body use="literal" />
   </wsdl:input>
  </wsdl:operation>
 </wsdl:binding>
 <wsdl:service name="PingService">
  <wsdl:port binding="tns:PingSOAP" name="PingServicePort">
   <soap:address
    location="http://localhost:9080/WSSampleSei/PingService" />
  </wsdl:port>
 </wsdl:service>
</wsdl:definitions>
Run the wsimport command from the app_server_root\bin\ directory.

app_server_root\bin\wsimport.bat -keep -verbose ping.wsdl

Operating systems such as AIX or Linux source the script to the parent shell to inherit the exported variables by running the following command:
. ./setupCmdLine.sh (Notice the space between the periods.)
from the . /app_server_root>/bin directory. Run the wsimport command,
app_server_root/bin/wsimport.sh -keep -verbose ping.wsdl

(iseries)
app_server_root/bin/wsimport -keep -verbose ping.wsdl
After generating the template files using the wsimport command, the following files are generated:
com\ibm\was\wssample\sei\ping\ObjectFactory.java
com\ibm\was\wssample\sei\ping\package-info.java
com\ibm\was\wssample\sei\ping\PingServicePortType.java
com\ibm\was\wssample\sei\ping\PingStringInput.java
com\ibm\was\wssample\sei\ping\PingService.java
The ObjectFactory.java file contains factory methods for each Java content interface and Java element interface generated in the associated ping package. The package-info.java file takes the targetNamespace value and creates the directory structure. The PingServicePortType.java file is the generated service endpoint interface (SEI) class containing the ping method definition. The PinStringInput.java file contains the JAXB generated type values which are Java classes mapped from XML schema types. The PingService.java file is the generated service provider class file used by the JAX-WS client.

What to do next
Complete the implementation of the web service application by completing the JavaBeans or enterprise beans implementation.

Subtopics

wsimport command for JAX-WS applications
The wsimport command-line tool processes an existing WSDL file and generates the required artifacts for developing JAX-WS web service applications. The generated artifacts are Java 5 compliant, making them portable across different Java versions and platforms.

Related concepts

Development and assembly tools
JAX-WS

Related tasks

Implement web services applications from existing WSDL files with JAX-WS
Complete the JavaBeans implementation for JAX-WS applications
Complete the EJB implementation for JAX-WS applications