Category

Specification

Description

Basic

SOAP

Simple Object Access P rotocol. Defines an XML encoding for exchanging strongly typed and loosely typed data. Can be used in messaging and remote procedure call (RPC) protocols.

WSDL

Web Service Description L anguage. XML based interface definition language (IDL) for defining the API of a SOAP web service.

Discovery

UDDI

Universal Description, D iscovery, and Integration. SOAP-based web service for locating Web services. uddi.org specifications can be found at http://uddi.org/specification.html.

WS-Inspection

XML format document that describes available services on a web site. Typically references other SOAP or UDDI services.

Messaging

WS-Routing

Stateless protocol for routing asynchronous SOAP messages.
Supports one-way, two-way, peer-to-peer and long running dialogs.

WS-Referral

Protocol that enables dynamic routing of SOAP messages.
Allows SOAP servers to delegate processing to other SOAP services.

WS-Addressing

Transport-neutral mechanism to identify web service endpoints and to secure end-to-end endpoint identification in messages. Enables message transmission through endpoint managers, firewalls, and gateways.

WS-ReliableMessaging

Protocol that guarantees messages are delivered, properly ordered, and received without duplication. Based on WS-Addressing and WS-Policy. See Reliable Messaging RoadMap .

WS-MetadataExchange

A set of Web service mechanisms to exchange policies, WSDL, schema and other metadata between two or more parties. Not yet publicly released.

WS-EndpointResolution

A set of Web service mechanisms that support selecting a specific endpoint for an operation or message from a set of allowed candidates. This is particularly useful in server farms and mobile environments. Not yet publicly released.

WS-TransmissionControl

A set of constructs for controlling the exchange of messages between services to improve reliability by preventing message loss due to service unavailability, overloading queues and other causes. Not yet publicly released.

Transactions

WS-Coordination

Extensible framework for providing protocols that coordinate the actions of distributed applications.

WS-Transaction

WS-Coordination protocols for distributed transactions that are either short running (Atomic Transaction) or long running (Business Activity).

Documents

DIME

Direct Internet Message E ncapsulation. Lightweight encoding for binary documents. Includes MIME document type and URI reference.

WS-Attachments

Defines a mechanism for encapsulating a SOAP message and zero or more attachments in a DIME message.

Policy

WS-Policy

Constructs for use in other specifications to describe service requirements, preferences, and capabilities.

WS-PolicyAssertions

Common message policy assertions that can be specified within a policy.

WS-PolicyAttachment

Specifies how to associate policy expressions with WSDL type definitions and UDDI entities and how to associate implementation-specific policy with all or part of a WSDL port type when exposed from a specific implementation.

Security

WS-Security

Enhancements to SOAP envelope support message integrity, confidentiality and authentication. Includes an extensible framework for associating binary and XML encoded security tokens with messages. Describes encoding of X.509 certificates, Kerberos tickets, opaque encrypted keys and custom data extensions associated with an identity credential.

WS-Security XML Tokens

Framework for XML-based security tokens to be used with WS-Security.

WS-Trust

WS-Security extension to request and issue security tokens and to manage trust relationships.

WS-SecureConversation

WS-Security extension to provide secure communication including mechanisms for establishing and sharing security contexts, and deriving session keys from security contexts.

WS-SecurityPolicy

Policy assertions for WS-Policy that apply to WS-Security.

WS-Federation

Defines mechanisms to allow different security realms to federate by allowing and brokering trust of identities, attributes and authentication between participating Web services.

WS-Active-Profile

WS-Federation for Active Requestors. An active requestor in a Federation is an application (e.g. Web browser) capable of sending and/or receiving SOAP messages (e.g. WS-Security and WS-Trust messages)

WS-Passive-Profile

WS-Federation for Passive Requestors. A passive requestor in a Federation is an HTTP browser or HTTP enabled application.

Resource Management

WSMF (Overview)

Web Services Management Framework 2.0. Model neutral architecture for the management of resources and their relationships through Web services. Can be used to manage Web services themselves as resource objects.

WS-Events (pdf)

Web Services Events, XML syntax & processing rules for advertising, subscribing, producing and consuming notification events. Supports asynchronous or synchronous delivery (push/pull).

WSMF-Foundation (pdf)

Web service interfaces for managing resources. Describes discovery of manageable resources, resource capabilities, resource association, and domain specific management extension interfaces.

WSMF-WSM (pdf)

Web Services Management - WSMF-Foundation extension for management of web services.

B2B / Workflow

WSCI

Web Service Choreography I nterface. XML-based interface description language that describes the flow of messages exchanged by a Web Service participating in choreographed interactions with other services.

BPEL4WS

Business Process Execution L anguage for Web Services. Language for specifying business process behaviour based on Web Services. Can be used to model executable business processes or abstract business interaction processes that describe business protocols based on SOAP message exchanges.