Mandatory message addressing properties for WS-Addressing

The WS-Addressing 1.0 metadata specification states which message addressing properties (MAPs) must be included in WSDL 1.1 and WSDL 2.0 documents. The CICS® implementation of WS-Addressing helps you to comply with the WS-Addressing specifications by automatically supplying values for these mandatory MAPs.

For an introduction to WS-Addressing MAPs, see the Web Services Addressing overview.

You can specify your own values for MAPs in the WSDL that you supply, and you can update these values in the addressing context using the CICS WS-Addressing API commands. If you do not supply values for the mandatory MAPs, CICS will generate values for you.

The following table lists which MAPs are mandatory for the different supported message exchange patterns (MEPs) with WSDL 1.1 and WSDL 2.0:

Table 1. Mandatory message addressing properties for WS-Addressing.
WS-Addressing MAP name Description Mandatory in WSDL 1.1 Mandatory in WSDL 2.0
<wsa:To> The address of the intended receiver of the message. No No
<wsa:Action> The WS-Addressing action: input, output, or fault. Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • One-way
  • Two-way (Request)
  • Two-way (Response)
 Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • In-only
  • Robust In-only (In)
  • Robust In-only (Fault)
  • In-out (In)
  • In-out (Out)
  • In-optional-out (In)
  • In-optional-out (Out)
<wsa:From> The endpoint from which the message originated. No No
This value not required
<wsa:ReplyTo> The endpoint of the intended receiver for replies to the message. No No
<wsa:FaultTo> The endpoint of the intended receiver for faults related to the message. No No
<wsa:MessageID> A unique message identifier. Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • Two-way (Request)
 Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • Robust In-only (In)
  • In-out (In)
  • In-optional-out (In)
<wsa:RelatesTo> A pair of values that indicate how this message relates to another message. This element includes the <wsa:MessageID> of the related message and an optional attribute conveys the relationship type. Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • Two-way (Response)
 Mandatory for the following MEPs:
  • Robust In-only (Fault)
  • In-out (Out)
  • In-optional-out (Out)

For more information, see the W3C WS-Addressing 1.0 Metadata specification: http://www.w3.org/TR/ws-addr-metadata/.

Notes:
  • If a value is not set for the address element of the <wsa:ReplyTo> MAP, the address is set to the anonymous URI: http://www.w3.org/2005/08/addressing/anonymous. The anonymous URI indicates that responses are sent back to the requester.
  • If a value is not specified for the address element of the <wsa:FaultTo> MAP, CICS sets this address to the same value as the address element of the <wsa:ReplyTo> MAP.

    Note that if the requester builds MAPs that are incorrect and which cause validation failures, CICS sends the fault message back to the requester instead of to the address specified by the <wsa:FaultTo> MAP.

  • If the value of the <wsa:To> MAP is not specified, CICS set the address to the anonymous URI: http://www.w3.org/2005/08/addressing/anonymous. The anonymous URI indicates that the request is to be sent to the address specified in the DFHWS-URI container; for more information, see DFHWS-URI container.
  • You can define the <wsa:Action> MAPs explicitly in your WSDL document, or you can let CICS generate them automatically.
  • CICS automatically sets a unique value for the <wsa:MessageID> MAP at run time for request messages that expect a response, and for response messages.
  • The <wsa:RelatesTo> MAP is mandatory for response messages. The relationship type of the message is optional and defaults to http://www.w3.org/2005/08/addressing/reply.