A web service, as defined by a Web Service Definition Language
(WSDL) document, exposes a number of operations. For each operation,
the WSDL file can define an input message, or an output message,
or both. Input messages are sent to a server. The server can then
reply with an output message. You can create and bind fields in
a form design to one or many web services. The WSDL file describes
the data description. The data description is used to build the
WSDL data connection.
The WSDL data connection is different from the other types of
data connections. A web service operation resembles a function call
with input or output parameters or both. A particular field or fields
may be the source of the input message and the destination of the
output message.
Using Designer and a WSDL data connections, you can perform the
following tasks:
Bind one or multiple operations within one or more web
services.
Attach fields, subforms, and exclusion groups to the execution
of a web service operation by a button click event.
Execute a web service operation from any event by way of
script.
Enable script access to all returned elements of a web service
regardless of whether those elements are bound to fields.
Use the SOAP 1.1 style communication (SOAP bindings and an
HTTP/HTTPS transport).
Exchange data with a web service by using doc/literal exchange
format.
Write client-side scripts by using the Acrobat SOAP JavaScript
Object (which supports RPC/encoded).
These features are not supported:
Some XML Schema features
Protocols such as SMTP, FTP, and so on as the underlying
transport for SOAP
Extensibility type elements
Web service discovery that uses UDDI
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) encoded SOAP messages
Use of HTTP POST and GET WSDL bindings
You can create a data connection using a WSDL document on a secure
web server, which requires HTTP/HTTPS client authentication to control
access or message level authentication to request a web service
or both.
HTTP/HTTPS authentication happens at the transport layer where
client verification is required to access the WSDL document and
to connect to a secure web service. HTTP/HTTPS authentication accepts
user name and password, user name and password digest, and client
certificate as acceptable authentication:
User name and password authentication provides basic
access verification, where the user is prompted with a login dialog
box. The user name and password combination are sent as clear text
and are not hashed before they are sent to the server.
User name and password digest authentication provides enhanced
verification, where the user is prompted with a login dialog box.
However, the user name and password are hashed before they are sent
to the server.
Note: The login dialog box indicates
the name of the server and the realm to which the user is attempting
to connect. Because there may be several realms set up on a particular
server, knowing this information can help the user to determine which
credentials they require to log in.
Client certificate authentication provides digital ID verification,
where the user is prompted with the Select Digital ID dialog box
listing the available digital IDs, and selects the correct digital
ID to send to the server for authentication.
Note: To
use client certificate authentication, you need to have a digital
ID available in the Windows Certificate Store or in the Designer
Digital ID Files store, ready to use when you create a WSDL data
connection. See
Importing digital IDs.
Message level authentication happens at the SOAP (Simple Object
Access Protocol) message layer where client verification requires
a security token (included in the SOAP message header) to connect
to a secure web service. The message level layer accepts user name
and password authentication, where the user is prompted with a login
dialog box. Acrobat 9.0 or later, supports user name and password
message level authentication.
When you create a secure WSDL data connection, you specify (optionally)
the type of credentials to accept for HTTP/HTTPS and message level
authentication. The credentials for HTTP/HTTPS authentication are
sent as part of the HTTP/HTTPS protocol header. The credentials
for the message layer (SOAP) are used to create a security token
(which is included in the SOAP message header). Keep in mind that
you must specify the type of credentials to accept, when you have
a server workflow where the server must provide credentials without
user interaction.
Note: If you try to connect to a WSDL file in the
Workbench repository, you may get an error indicating that the file
cannot load. You must first open the WSDL file in Workbench before
you create the data connection.
