A port defines an individual endpoint by specifying a single address
for a binding. The port contains a 'binding' attribute that references a binding
and an address element that provides a specification for the endpoint.
Services are used to group sets of related ports together. Ports
within a service have the following relationship:
- None of the ports communicate with each other (for example, the output
of one port is not the input of another).
- If a service has several ports that share a port type, but employ different
bindings or addresses, the ports are alternatives. Each port provides semantically
equivalent behavior (within the transport and message format limitations imposed
by each binding).
- You can determine a service's port types by examining its ports. Using
this information a user can determine if a given machine supports all the
operations needed to complete a given task.
To add a port to a service, follow these steps:
- In the Graph view, right-click the service you want to add a port
to, then click Add Child > Port.
- Type the name of the port in the dialog. Click Finish.
The name of the port should provide it with a unique name amongst all the
ports defined within the service.
- A Binding defines the message format and protocol details
for operations and messages defined by a particular port type. You
can either create a new binding for your port, re-use an existing one, or
import one. Refer to the related tasks for more details.
- Type any information about the port you want the user to read in
the Documentation field.
Tip: You can also create a port using the Outline view
by right-clicking your service under the Services folder and clicking
Add Child > Port. Your port (regardless of which view you create it
in) will appear in both the Graph view and the Outline view.