Understanding Web Service References

To utilize Web services in Oracle Application Express, you create a Web service reference using a wizard. Web service references can be based on a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) document, RESTful style or created manually by supplying information about the service.

When you create a Web service reference based on a WSDL, the wizard analyzes the WSDL and collects all the necessary information to create a valid SOAP message, including:

• The URL used to post the SOAP request over HTTP(S)

• A Universal Resource Identifier (URI) identifying the SOAP HTTP request

• Operations of the Web Service

• Input parameters for each operation

• Output parameters for each operation

When you create a Web service reference manually, you supply the necessary information to create a valid SOAP request, including:

• The URL used to post the SOAP request over HTTP(S)

• A Universal Resource Identifier (URI) identifying the SOAP HTTP request

• The SOAP envelope for the request, including any item substitutions

• Optionally the name of a collection to store the response from the Web service

When you create a RESTful Web service reference, you supply the necessary information about the structure of the request and response including:

• A Universal Resource Identifier (URI) identifying the RESTful request

• The HTTP method identifying the method of the Web service

• HTTP Headers, if required, that are part of the request

• The type of input expected by the Web service

• The format of the response and how to identify the response parameters