SOAP Client¶

Source

Call an existing SOAP web service with auto-configured CXF endpoint and WSDL binding -- no Java code needed.

What You'll Learn¶

• How to read a WSDL and map it to Forage properties
• How Forage auto-configures a CXF CxfEndpoint from those properties
• Invoking a SOAP operation using named beans with operation headers
• Enabling CXF message logging for request/response tracing

Scenario¶

You have a legacy HelloService SOAP web service. Its WSDL is published at http://host:8080/services/hello?wsdl. You need to call the sayHello operation from a Camel route.

Here is the relevant part of the WSDL:

<wsdl:definitions targetNamespace="http://example.com/hello" ...>
  <wsdl:service name="HelloService">
    <wsdl:port name="HelloPort" binding="tns:HelloBinding">
      <soap:address location="http://localhost:8080/services/hello"/>
    </wsdl:port>
  </wsdl:service>
  <wsdl:portType name="HelloPortType">
    <wsdl:operation name="sayHello">
      <wsdl:input message="tns:sayHelloRequest"/>
      <wsdl:output message="tns:sayHelloResponse"/>
    </wsdl:operation>
  </wsdl:portType>
</wsdl:definitions>

Step 1: Map the WSDL to Forage Properties¶

Each WSDL element maps to a forage.<name>.cxf.* property. The name (helloClient) becomes the bean name used in routes:

forage.helloClient.cxf.address=http://localhost:8080/services/hello       # (1)!
forage.helloClient.cxf.wsdl.url=http://localhost:8080/services/hello?wsdl # (2)!
forage.helloClient.cxf.service.name={http://example.com/hello}HelloService # (3)!
forage.helloClient.cxf.port.name={http://example.com/hello}HelloPort      # (4)!
forage.helloClient.cxf.data.format=PAYLOAD                               # (5)!
forage.helloClient.cxf.logging.enabled=true                              # (6)!

1. From <soap:address location="..."/> in the WSDL.
2. URL where the WSDL document is published.
3. From <wsdl:service name="..."> with the target namespace as prefix.
4. From <wsdl:port name="..."> with the target namespace.
5. PAYLOAD means raw XML elements -- no JAX-WS annotations needed.
6. Activates CXF's message interceptors for request/response logging.

Forage reads these properties and registers a fully configured CxfEndpoint bean as helloClient in the Camel registry.

Step 2: Write the Route¶

- route:
    id: cxf-soap-client
    from:
      uri: timer
      parameters:
        timerName: soap-caller
        repeatCount: 1
        period: 5000
      steps:
        - setBody:
            constant:
              expression: >
                <sayHello xmlns="http://example.com/hello">
                  <name>Forage</name>
                </sayHello>
        - setHeader:
            name: operationName
            constant:
              expression: sayHello
        - setHeader:
            name: operationNamespace
            constant:
              expression: "http://example.com/hello"
        - to:
            uri: cxf:bean:helloClient
        - log:
            message: "SOAP response: ${body}"

public class Route extends RouteBuilder {

    @Override
    public void configure() throws Exception {
        from("timer:soap-caller?repeatCount=1&period=5000")
            .setBody(constant(
                "<sayHello xmlns=\"http://example.com/hello\">"
                + "<name>Forage</name></sayHello>"))
            .setHeader("operationName", constant("sayHello"))
            .setHeader("operationNamespace",
                constant("http://example.com/hello"))
            .to("cxf:bean:helloClient")
            .log("SOAP response: ${body}");
    }
}

The route constructs the XML body matching the sayHello operation's input message, sets the operationName and operationNamespace headers for CXF dispatch, and sends to the auto-configured endpoint.

Prerequisites¶

• Java 17 or later
• Camel JBang with the Forage plugin installed

Start a SOAP server to call. You can use the companion SOAP Server example:

cd ../soap-server && camel run *

Running¶

camel run *

You should see:

SOAP response: <sayHelloResponse xmlns="http://example.com/hello">
  <greeting>Hello from CXF server</greeting>
</sayHelloResponse>

With logging.enabled=true, the full SOAP envelope (including HTTP headers) is also logged by CXF's message interceptors.

Key Takeaways¶

• WSDL-driven -- the WSDL's service name, port name, and endpoint address map directly to forage.<name>.cxf.* properties. No need to parse the WSDL programmatically.
• Zero boilerplate -- a few properties replace manual CxfEndpoint setup, WSDL binding, and service class configuration.
• Built-in logging -- logging.enabled=true activates CXF's message interceptors for full request/response tracing without custom interceptor code.
• Named beans -- the route uses cxf:bean:helloClient to reference the endpoint by name. Multiple endpoints can coexist in the same application with different names.