What does the WSDL stand for in web service consumption?

WSDL stands for Web Service Description Language, which is an XML-based language used to describe the functionalities offered by a web service. It provides a model for describing web services, including details such as the available methods (or operations), how they can be called, the parameters they require, and the data structures involved in the communication. This allows different applications to understand how to interact with the web service effectively.

Using WSDL, developers can automatically generate client-side code to interact with the service, simplifying the integration process. WSDL plays a crucial role in the web services ecosystem, especially in the context of SOAP-based web services, as it acts as a contract between the service provider and the consumer, ensuring that both parties are clear on the operations that are available and the data formats used.