8296 2009-11-14 02:51:46 +0000 MEX: services can't know what metadata a consumer might need 2010-01-27 14:14:12 +0000 1 1 1 Unclassified WS-Resource Access MetadataExchange FPWD All All CLOSED WONTFIX hasProposal P2 normal --- 1 gilbert.pilz gilbert.pilz public-ws-resource-access-notifications oldest_to_newest 29569 0 gilbert.pilz 2009-11-14 02:51:46 +0000 The description of [Body]/mex:GetMetadata/mex:Dialect has the following sentence: "When this element is not present, the endpoint SHOULD return all the types of metadata that it deems necessary to communicate with it." The phrase “deems necessary” is problematic. Except for simple services, there are generally a number of ways to interact with any service. Metadata of different types and scopes may or may not be “necessary” depending upon how the consumer intends to interact with the service. How can the “endpoint” (more accurately “service instance”) be expected to know how the consumer intends to interact with it and which metadata is or isn't "necessary"? For example, if WS-RM is optionally supported, is it "necessary" to return the WS-RM feature WSDL? Proposal: "When this element is not present, the endpoint MUST return all available types of metadata".