Question

With a new major release of the WS-I Basic Profile specification I was expecting to read about the use of WSDL 2.0. Unfortunatly I could not find this…

I’m hoping someone can shed some light on this.

Answer 1

This is what I know, not a final answer. The WS-I’s mission is (was) not to push new standards into the market, but instead defining a common set of minimum standards to ensure interoperability between different WS-* platforms and vendors.

WSDL 2.0 was designed to solve those interop’ issues identified in WSDL 1.0/1.1. So there is simply no need for future Basic Profiles. Some quotes from here:

http://www.w3.org/ — 27 June 2007 — Today, W3C has finalized a Web
services description language with full support of the primary
protocol for the Web, HTTP, and the most frequently implemented Web
services protocol, SOAP. Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 2.0
incorporates both the improvements for WSDL 1.1 found in the WS-I
Basic Profile, and builds in inheritance, import functions, improved
description of faults and errors, and full HTTP and SOAP support.
Rigorous testing and interop sessions, including week-long programming
marathons by the Web Services Description Working Group itself, have
produced a solid interoperable standard that delivers on the goals of
the initial WSDL 1.1 version, and also meets the needs of Web
applications developers today.

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Wide interest in SOAP 1.1 and WSDL 1.1 marked the beginning of Web
Services pursuits. The hope of interoperability in the initial,
non-standardized versions was not immediately fulfilled in spite of
the large number of developers who moved to that model for
applications development. WS-I, for example, formed to create profiles
based on non-standard versions of the popular Web Services
technologies.