11.1. What is UDDI?

On the surface, UDDI is a directory where businesses can register and search for Web services. However, digging a little deeper, you'll find that there's more to UDDI than simply directory information. UDDI is centered on the concept of a Web service interface that is typically described by a WSDL document.

As Web services become popular, it is likely that industries will define standard Web service interfaces that businesses can implement. The travel industry might publish standard interfaces for hotel rate-checking and reservations, then register those interfaces with UDDI. Hotels would then expose Web services that implement those interfaces and register their services with UDDI as shown in Figure 11.1. A travel agency ...

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