Trying to understand WSDL
Generally, I try to understand new technology from the perspective of a major company CIO. After all, I spent years in that role at several big companies.
Dave seems to really dislike WSDL. Frankly, I don’t understand why. Seems like he objects to the development of a specification in advance of real-world experience with it. Isn’t that what versioning is all about?
He points to the Blogger API — which is just a human-readable page containing essentially the same information a WSDL page would contain for that interface. At least that’s how it appears to me, the non-programmer. Make that “former programmer”.
The advantage of WSDL, seems to me, is that a smart program can pick up the interface information without requiring a human read it. It’s been through the W3C standards process with multiple players (including Microsoft, IBM, Ariba and, I think, HP) involved.
What am I missing?
PS: Don’t misunderstand me re: Dave. I’m just trying to understand a particular point of view he’s expressing. He’s taught me so much over the last 3 years. It’s been a real delight watching the evolution of the technology he and his team have developed.