Web Services Service Provider (WSSP)

The Web Services Service Provider extends Workflow capabilities by allowing you to use SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) web services that provide WSDL (Web Services Description Language) metadata.

Important: The Call Web Method that was provided in earlier versions of Workflow is still available. You can continue to use it for your legacy web services; however, it is recommended that for all new web services configurations, you should use the Web Services Service Provider to add and configure web service definitions.

The Web Services Service Provider defines the methods and displays used to add and remove web services to and from Workflow, and to configure the security, location URL, and endpoint information used to connect to the web service. It is responsible for publishing information about the web services and their methods to the Directory of Resources so that they can be accessed in the navigator and the method selection dialog boxes (that is, for call methods and forms).

You can add a web service by associating the Web Services Service Provider with a WSDL file located at a specified URL. The WSDL file is downloaded and read to determine the configuration of the web service. The Web Services Service Provider then publishes methods that correspond to the methods described in the web service.

Note: You can create up to 100 web services definitions in your system.

After adding and configuring your web service, you can use the web service by configuring its methods in the existing Workflow call method activity, or by configuring the methods as server methods in forms.

The published web service methods are available in the Configure Method dialog box and are listed under an interface that corresponds with the web service definition they are associated with. For example, if you create a web service definition named WebService1, then the interfaces configured for the associated WSDL appear in the Configure Method dialog box with the methods listed below it, as WebService1_<contract of service>. If you use the methods with the call method activity, the input and output parameters that were configured for each method are displayed in the activity configuration panel. If you use the methods as server methods in WPF or Silverlight forms, the input and output parameters are displayed in the Properties panel of the forms designer.

If the data types configured in the web service are not compatible with Silverlight (for example, Datatable), then the collection types generated in the methods appear formatted as arrays.

Web Service Security

When a web service is added, endpoint information is automatically generated based on the service configuration. If the WSDL file provides multiple endpoints, then in the Web Service Editor you can select the one you want to use. If the web service uses a user name/password authentication scheme, then the User Name and Password fields are available on the Overview tab of the Web Service Editor where you can enter the optional user credentials. If the web service uses a client certificate authentication scheme, then the Client Certificate Details fields are available on the Overview tab of the Web Service Editor.

The security/authentication mode used by the server determines the binding required by the Workflow client to create a connection. Unsecured web services use the BasicHTTPBinding; all other security modes use the WSHttpBinding. The supported security modes used by both binding types are:

  • None
  • Message
  • Transport