Solutions in this chapter:

• Message Routing

• Establishing a Connection to a JAXM Provider

• ProviderConnections

• Writing a SOAP Server Servlet

• Writing a SOAP EJB

• Example SOAP Servlet

Introduction

Just as the last chapter looked at standalone SOAP clients, this chapter will explore hosted SOAP servers. You may recall we talked about the synchronous request-response model being the only model supported for standalone servers; this is because JAXM leverages a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) container when routing messages for the more complicated SOAP usages. In particular, JAXM supports the routing of messages to message-driven EJBs and servlets.

In the JAXM model, the J2EE container has the additional responsibility of either being or hosting a SOAP Provider. SOAP providers form the underlying infrastructure for the routing of messages from remote clients to the message responder. They also provide for routing messages from the message responder to a different remote host; in this way J2EE-based SOAP servers can also act as SOAP clients.

In this chapter, we are going to explore the hosted SOAP environment, including connections to JAXM providers. Further, we will discuss imposing a standard set of body and header elements on a SOAP message. Known in JAXM as a profile, this allows for an explicit contract between a client and server without which there is no guarantee that a SOAP message would contain meaningful data in well-known locations. Profiles simplify the use of higher-level protocols such as ebXML; the profile acts to make sure that meaningful information is provided...