News Release - World Wide Web Consortium Publishes First Public Working Draft of Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.2

W3C's Web Services Working Groups have produced 11 Technical Working 
Drafts in the last five months, including the first Public Working 
Drafts of Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.2.

WSDL 1.2 is an XML-based language that describes a Web Service - the 
data exchanged, the protocol to use, and its location on the Web. It 
was developed at W3C, ensuring public review and interoperability with 
existing open infrastructure of the Web.

For more information on these and other W3C Web Services efforts, please 
contact Janet Daly, W3C, at +1 617 253 5884, or refer to the complete 
contact list at the bottom of this release.

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World Wide Web Consortium Publishes First Public Working Draft
of Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.2

W3C Produces Open Web Services Vocabulary with Improved XML
Interoperability

Web resources

This Press release
        in English: 
http://www.w3.org/2002/07/wsdl12-pressrelease.html.en
        in French:
http://www.w3.org/2002/07/wsdl12-pressrelease.html.fr
        in Japanese:
http://www.w3.org/2002/07/wsdl12-pressrelease.html.ja

Web Services Activity Homepage:
http://www.w3.org/2002/ws/

Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 1.2:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wsdl12-20020709/

Web Services Description Language (WSDL) Version 1.2: Bindings
http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-wsdl12-bindings-20020709/


http://www.w3.org/ -- 9 July 2002 -- The World Wide Web Consortium 
(W3C) has issued Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.2 and 
WSDL 1.2 Bindings as W3C Public Working Drafts. WSDL 1.2 is an 
XML-based language that describes a Web Service - the data 
exchanged, the protocol to use, and its location on the Web. 
WSDL 1.2 Bindings describes how to use WSDL1.2 with SOAP 1.2, HTTP, 
and MIME. These are the first in the series of WSDL 1.2 drafts; W3C 
invites the Web development community to review and comment on these 
and subsequent versions.

W3C's Web Services Activity Works on Architecture and Components,
Including WSDL 1.2

W3C has been at work developing an architecture for Web Services 
which takes into account the needs of users as well as technology 
vendors, pursuing the development of open standardized components 
for Web Services, as it has done for HTML, the XML family of 
technologies, Scalable Vector Graphics, and Voice-Web technologies.  
"'Web Services' begin with the Web," remarked W3C Web Services
Activity Lead, Hugo Haas. "W3C's success depends on the commitment 
to Web architectural principles of extensibility, openness and 
interoperability. "

The W3C Web Services Activity currently consists of three 
Royalty-Free Working Groups whose focus is to develop an open, 
interoperable and extensible model for Web Services (Web Services 
Architecture Working Group), as well as critical components, 
such as an XML-based protocol for data to be exchanged and 
processed by applications (XML Protocol Working Group, developing 
SOAP 1.2), and technologies for providing descriptions of Web 
Services (Web Services Description Working Group). Each W3C Web 
Services Working Group is chartered to conduct its technical work 
in public, with discussion lists, meeting reports, and drafts of 
work in progress.

WSDL 1.2 Provides Improved Interoperability, Better Component Definition

Many developers and IT managers learned about WSDL as a 
specification created by individual companies. After WSDL 1.1 was 
published as an informational document at W3C, companies and 
developers expressed interest in W3C pursuing the development of 
a Web services description language that could be based on WSDL 1.1, 
but would be subject to the W3C Process and technical requirements, 
such as support for W3C Recommendations, and coordination with other 
W3C technical Activities. Others were interested in seeing Web 
Services components developed with a mandate for Royalty-Free 
technologies.

As a result, the W3C Web Services Description Working Group was
chartered to make an open, stable Web Services Description Language,
based in part on Requirements and Usage Scenarios set by the full 
group. Today's publication includes better component definition, 
which was the result of having open participation in the framing of 
requirements and review of WSDL 1.1, and the Working Group 
requirements for an unencumbered specification.

WSDL 1.2 provides improvements over WSDL 1.1 in distinct ways.

       * WSDL 1.2 includes language clarifications, which makes it 
easier for developers to understand and use.
       * WSDL 1.2 provides support for W3C Recommendations, 
including XML Schemas and XML Information Set.
       * WSDL 1.2 adopts a conceptual framework approach to define 
the description components, which makes them simpler and more 
flexible.
       * WSDL 1.2 removes unnecessary and non-interoperable features 
from WSDL 1.1.
       * WSDL 1.2 provides a better definition for the HTTP 1.1 
binding and will soon provide a binding for SOAP 1.2 , which allows 
description of services using the most current version of SOAP.

Upcoming Plans Include Mapping to Semantic Web Foundations, Outside
Coordination

The W3C Web Services Description Working Group, as one of over 
thirty W3C Working Groups, must ensure that their work results in a
specification that interoperates cleanly with existing W3C work,
including that of both the XML and Semantic Web Activities. For the 
XML Activity, the Web Services Description Working Group continues 
to track the evolution of the XML Family of specifications. For the 
Semantic Web Activity, the Working Group is chartered to cooperate 
with the Resource Description Framework (RDF) Interest Group to 
produce a mapping of WSDL 1.2 to RDF, the language which provides 
interoperability between applications that exchange 
machine-understandable information - the foundation for the Semantic 
Web.

Like other W3C Web Services Working Groups, the Web Services 
Description Working Group is also expected to establish coordination 
with outside organizations, including the Global Grid Forum and the 
Object Management Group.

Over Thirty W3C Members and Invited Experts Involved in WSDL 1.2

To ensure that a Web services description language meets the needs 
of diverse users, W3C relies on the diversity of its Membership 
and of the wider Web developer community. Together, they have 
contributed in providing a variety of use cases and practical 
examples of the problems end users would like to have solved, and 
in the resulting drafts.

The participants include AT&T; Canon; Cisco Systems; Citigroup; 
Computer Associates; Cyclone Commerce; DaimlerChrysler Research and 
Technology; L'Échangeur; Electronic Data Systems; Global Grid Forum; 
W.W. Grainger; Hewlett-Packard Company; Intel Corporation; IONA 
Technologies; IBM; Lexmark; Macromedia; University of Maryland; 
Microsoft Corporation; Nokia; Oracle Corporation; Rogue Wave Software; 
SAP; Software AG; Sun Microsystems; Systinet; TIBCO Software; Verisign; 
webMethods, Inc.; Xerox; as well as the many contributors to the W3C 
Web Services Description public mailing list.

More progress is also expected on Usage Scenarios and Requirements.

About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by 
developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly 
run by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, 
the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control 
(INRIA) in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by 
the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World 
Wide Web for developers and users, and various prototype and sample 
applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, nearly 500 
organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information 
see http://www.w3.org/

Contact Americas, Australia --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613

Contact Europe --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94

Contact Asia --
Saeko Takeuchi <saeko@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

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Received on Tuesday, 9 July 2002 10:34:35 UTC