Output templates allow you to insert output values from a service into a document that you define. They work much like server-side includes (SSIs) in that they contain special “tags” that webMethods Integration Server processes before passing the document back to the client.

Output templates are similar to DSPs. In fact, the tags you use to compose DSPs are the same ones you use to compose output templates. However, DSPs have one additional tag—the %invoke% tag—that distinguishes them from output templates. This tag allows a DSP to invoke a service.

Output templates are used most frequently to customize the HTML page that a service returns to a browser-based application. However, you can also use them to generate other types of documents. For example, if you have a service that retrieves a record from a relational database, you might use an output template to format your results as an XML document or a comma-delimited record before returning it to the requestor.

You can also use output templates to return WML or HDML content to wireless devices, such as an Internet-enabled wireless phone or an Internet-enabled personal digital assistant.