The keywords "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [].

When describing abstract data models, this specification uses the notational convention used by the XML Infoset []. Specifically, abstract property names always appear in square brackets (e.g., [some property]).

When describing concrete XML schemas [, ], this specification uses the notational convention of WS-Security []. Specifically, each member of an element's [children] or [attributes] property is described using an XPath-like notation (e.g., /x:MyHeader/x:SomeProperty/@value1). The use of {any} indicates the presence of an element wildcard (<xs:any/>). The use of @{any} indicates the presence of an attribute wildcard (<xs:anyAttribute/>).

This specification uses a number of namespace prefixes throughout; they are listed in . Note that the choice of any namespace prefix is arbitrary and not semantically significant (see []).

WS-Addressing is defined in terms of the XML Information Set []. WS-Addressing may be used with SOAP [] as described in Web Services Addressing 1.0 - SOAP Binding[]. The examples in this specification use an XML 1.0 [] representation but this is not a requirement.

All information items defined by this specification are identified by the XML namespace URI [] "http://www.w3.org/2005/03/addressing/wsdl". A normative XML Schema [, ] document can be obtained by dereferencing the XML namespace URI.

The WSDL binding of Web Services Addressing introduces the following element and attribute information items for referencing WSDL metadata from an EPRs metadata section:

The element information items defined above are used in an EPRs metadata section. The following shows an example endpoint reference. This references the interface named "fabrikam:Inventory" at the endpoint IRI "http://example.com/www.fabrikam/acct". Note the use of the WSDL[] wsdlLocation attribute.

WSDL 1.1 or 2.0 definitions can be embedded in the metadata section of an EPR to provide a consuming application with WSDL information that applies to the referenced endpoint. To do so, the creator of an EPR MAY include a WSDL 2.0 description element (or a WSDL 1.1 definitions element) in the metadata property of the EPR. The semantics of the embedded WSDL is as defined by the WSDL 2.0 or 1.1 specifications.

In particular, embedding a WSDL service component description MAY be used by EPR issuers to indicate the presence of alternative addresses and protocol bindings to access the referenced endpoint. The alternatives are provided by the different endpoints of the embedded service. In the case of WSDL 1.1, additional ports may be conveyed by the WSDL 1.1 service definition which are not alternative access channels to the endpoint. In that case, if the InterfaceName or ServiceName elements are also included in the metadata section of the EPR, only the ports with the same interface as that specified are to be considered alternative access channels.

If the ServiceName element appears in the EPR’s [metadata] and an embedded WSDL service component is also provided inside a descriptions or definitions component, then the ServiceName SHOULD match the name of (one or more of) the WSDL service(s) included therein; the endpoint (port) name SHOULD match as well if present. The behavior of an EPR consumer when the ServiceName doesn’t match an embedded description is undefined.

WS-Addressing defines a global attribute, wsa:Action, that may be used to explicitly define the value of the [action] property for messages in a WSDL description. The type of the attribute is xs:anyURI and it is used as an extension on the WSDL input, output and fault elements.

For example consider the following WSDL excerpt:

The action for the input of the GetLastTradePrice operation within the StockQuoteInterface is explicitly defined to be http://example.com/GetQuote. The action for the output of this same operation is http://example.com/Quote.

The action for the input of the GetLastTradePrice operation within the StockQuotePortType is explicitly defined to be http://example.com/GetQuote. The action for the output of this same operation is http://example.com/Quote.

In the absence of the wsa:Action attribute, the following pattern is used in WSDL 2.0 documents to construct a default action for inputs and outputs. The general form of an action URI is as follows:

For fault messages, the general form of an action IRI is as follows:

Where:

For example consider the following WSDL excerpt:

In the absence of the wsa:Action attribute, the following pattern is used to construct a default action for inputs and outputs. The general form of an action IRI is as follows:

For fault messages, the general form of an action IRI is as follows:

Where:

For example consider the following WSDL excerpt:

WSDL defines rules for a default input or output name if the name attribute is not present. Consider the following example:

This section describes which of the core message properties are mandatory or optional for messages in the various MEPs defined by WSDL 1.1.

This section describes which of the core message properties are mandatory or optional for messages in the various MEPs defined by WSDL 2.0.