Transformations > Web Services transformation
  

Web Services transformation

Use the Web Services transformation in the Mapping Designer to make a web service request and to map the web service response to a target.
A web service integrates applications and uses open standards, such as SOAP, WSDL, and XML. SOAP is the communications protocol for web services. Web Services Description Language (WSDL) is an XML schema that describes the protocols, formats, and signatures of the web service operations. Web service operations include requests for information, requests to update data, and requests to perform tasks.
A Web Services transformation connects to a web service as a web service client to access, transform, or deliver data. The web service client request and the web service response are SOAP messages. The mapping task processes SOAP messages with document/literal encoding. The Web Service transformation does not support RPC/encoded or document/encoded WSDL files.
For example, the Web Services transformation sends a SOAP request to a web service to run a web service operation called getCityWeatherByZIP. The Web Services transformation passes zip codes in the request. The web service retrieves weather information and then returns the information in a SOAP response.
SOAP request messages and response messages can contain hierarchical data, such as data that follows an XML schema. For example, a web service client sends a request to add customer orders to a sales database. The web service returns the following hierarchy in the response:
Response
Order
Order_ID
Order_Date
Customer_ID
Product
Product_ID
Qty
Status
The response has information on orders, including information on each product in the order. The response is hierarchical because within the Order element, the Product element contains more elements.
To use the Web Services transformation, you need the appropriate license.
To use the Web Services transformation, perform the following steps:
  1. 1Create a Web Services Consumer connection and use a WSDL URL and an endpoint URL.
  2. 2Define a business service. A business service is a web service with configured operations.
  3. 3Configure the Web Services transformation in a mapping in the Mapping Designer.