Abstract and Concrete WSDL Documents

WSDL documents are described as either abstract or concrete:

  • An abstract WSDL document describes what the web service does, but not how it does it or how to contact it. An abstract WSDL document defines:
    • the operations provided by the web service.
    • the input, output and fault messages used by each operation to communicate with the web service, and their format.
  • A concrete WSDL document adds the information about how the web service communicates and where you can reach it. A concrete WSDL document contains the abstract WSDL definitions, and also defines:
    • the communication protocols and data encodings used by the web service.
    • the port address that must be used to contact the web service.