Working with Operations
An operation is the WSDL element that exposes some functions of a web service and defines how data is passed back and forth. In a web service descriptor, an operation corresponds to a service on Integration Server.
Each operation contains a single request and a single response. Each request and response contains a single, read-only body element and one or more header elements. A response can also contain fault elements.
The body elements contain the application-defined XML data being exchanged in the SOAP message:
In a service first provider WSD, the body elements represent the signature of the service. The body element in the request contains the input properties. The body element in the response contains the output properties.
In a WSDL first provider WSD or a consumer WSD, the input/output properties and the body element are defined by the remote WSDL document. Neither the input/output definitions nor the operations can be changed, added, or deleted.
A header element defines the format of the SOAP headers that may be present in a SOAP message (request or response). Headers are optional and can be added to or deleted from any web service descriptor.
A fault element provides a definition for a SOAP fault (that is, the response returned to the sender when an error occurs while processing the SOAP message). Fault elements are optional and can be added to or deleted from any web service descriptor.