Envelope, SOAP envelope and destination address

[ This message is a follow-up to a message[1] I sent a few weeks ago. ]

Our document currently states that[320]:

| 2.3.1.4.3 Explanation
|
|    The message envelope is that information needed to actually deliver
|    messages. It must at least contain sufficient address information so
|    that the [241]message transport can deliver the message.

It also says[319]:

| 2.3.1.11.3 Explanation
[..]
|    For a message transport to function, the sending agent must place the
|    address of the initial recipient in the message envelope. Iin the case
|    of a [317]message path involving [318]intermediaries, then the initial
|    recipient is the first intermediary.

The issue with those two sentences is that the "information needed to
actually deliver the message" is not necessarily in a SOAP envelope.

The type of addressing that SOAP provides is a targetting mechanism,
using URIs, to designate which SOAP actor should process which part of
the message.

The job of delivering the message is entirely left either to the
binding. A routing extension can also be used.

There is therefore a mismatch between our envelope and SOAP's, and we
don't say anything about it.

I see two ways to deal with the problem:
- make our message envelope concept match SOAP's, and discuss how
  addressing is done.
- keep our current concepts, and divide it into a SOAP envelope + some
  addressing.

To avoid confusing everybody, I strongly prefer the former, which
calls for an additional concept which will be the glue between message
envelope and message path, such as an "addressing" feature or
something like that.

Comments?

Regards,

Hugo

  1. http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-ws-arch/2003Aug/0000.html
  319. http://dev.w3.org/cvsweb/~checkout~/2002/ws/arch/wsa/wd-wsa-arch-review2.html?rev=1.65#message_transport
  320. http://dev.w3.org/cvsweb/~checkout~/2002/ws/arch/wsa/wd-wsa-arch-review2.html?rev=1.65#envelope
-- 
Hugo Haas - W3C
mailto:hugo@w3.org - http://www.w3.org/People/Hugo/