Before you begin
Before you can use the Administration Console to install, start, and configure a WebLogic Web service, you must develop one. For detailed information and procedures about developing a WebLogic Web service, see:
A Web service is a Java class or a stateless session EJB that contains additional artifacts so that it can be invoked using SOAP. The additional artifacts include Web service-specific deployment descriptors, a WSDL file (public contract of the Web service), and data binding components to convert data between its internal Java representation and its external XML representation used in the request and response SOAP messages.
The WebLogic Web services programming model centers around Java
Web Service (JWS) files and Ant tasks that execute on the JWS files.
JWS files are Java files that use JWS metadata annotations to specify
the shape and behavior of the Web service. Programmers begin creating a
Web service by either programming the JWS file from scratch, or
generating a stubbed-out version from an existing WSDL file (public
contract of the Web service) and updating it with their business logic
Java code. Programmers then use the
jwsc Ant task to
generate, from the JWS file, a deployable JEE 5 application or module
that represents the Web service. These tasks are iterative; programmers
keep coding and generating the Web service until it works as they
Programmers can pick one of two implementation types when programming a Web service: JAX-WS or JAX-RPC. Although the two types of Web services differ slightly in how they are invoked and the other specifications that they support, the two types are also very similar. For example, the programming model is essentially the same in that they both use JWS files and metadata annotations.
Web services are deployed as either Web applications or EJBs, depending on their implementation. The Web applications or EJBs can be deployed on their own, or as part of an Enterprise application. See View installed Web services for instructions on viewing the Web services that are currently installed on this Administration Server.
Programmers also use the Administration Console to test that the generated Web service deploys and works correctly. Later, administrators perform similar tasks on the completed Web service, such as installing, starting, and further configuring the Web service, as described in the sections below.
When programmers created the Web service, they might have used
@WssConfiguration JWS annotation to associate a
Web service security configuration to the service. This associated
Web service security configuration is used to configure security
features (in addition to those specified in any associated WS-Policy
files), such as whether to use X.509 certificates to establish
identity or use a password digest in a SOAP message.
See the following tasks: