An overview of WSIF

The Web Services Invocation Framework (WSIF) provides a Java API for invoking Web services, independent of the format of the service or the transport protocol through which it is invoked. This framework addresses all of the issues identified in the goals of WSIF. WSIF provides the following features:

• An API that provides binding-independent access to any Web service.

• A close relationship with WSDL, so it can invoke any service that you can describe in WSDL.

• A stubless and completely dynamic invocation of a Web service.

• The capability to plug a new or updated implementation of a binding into WSIF at run-time.

• The option to defer the choice of a binding until run-time.

WSIF is designed to work both in an unmanaged environment (stand-alone) and inside a managed container. You can use the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) to find the WSIF service, or you can use the location described in the WSDL. For more conceptual information about WSIF and WSDL, see the following topics:

• WSIF and WSDL

• WSIF architecture

• Using WSIF with Web services that offer multiple bindings

• WSIF usage scenarios

• Dynamic invocation

WSIF supports Internet Protocol Version 6, and Java API for XML-based Remote Procedure Calls (JAX-RPC) Version 1.1 for SOAP.

Related concepts
Goals of WSIF

Related tasks
WSIF system management and administration