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restsoapwsdl

Do both SOAP and/or REST refer back to WSDL?

Do both SOAP and REST refer back to the WSDL? I'm having trouble distinguishing between SOAP and REST.

Solution

  • No, only SOAP does.

    Essentially SOAP is a protocol with the client and server making agreements as to the kinds of data types transmitted and what actions should be taken by the server for a request. This agreement is specified in the WSDL file.

    With REST, there is no agreement as the point of REST is to talk to a resource using only GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. Nothing about the underlying implementation as specified by a WSDL file should be known to a REST client.