This is a single archived entry from Stefan Tilkov’s blog. For more up-to-date content, check out my author page at INNOQ, which has more information about me and also contains a list of published talks, podcasts, and articles. Or you can check out the full archive.

Strongly Typed Message Properties in Web Services

Stefan Tilkov,

John McDowall believes that being able to use WSDL to specify strongly typed message properties is what separates REST from web services. I disagree. First, you can use WSDL for describing REST-based services; secondly, SOAP and REST are not in conflict; and third, IMO neither WS-Addressing nor WS-ReliableMessaging need to be in conflict with REST principles either, if used accordingly. Lastly, if you use WSA and WS-RM, message properties are not specified in WSDL; rather, the communication characteristics are attached via policy.