BPEL build error when invoke an extrenal Web Service that returns an Array

Question

Hello,
I built with JDeveloper a web service that returns an Array of Java Bean classes and I try to invoke this web service from a BPEL process. The wsdl file is automatically generated by the JDev. When I built the BPEl project I obtained the following error:
[bpelc] [Error] :-1:-1: src-resolve.4.2: Error resolving component 'SOAP-ENC:Array'. It was detected that 'SOAP-ENC:Array' is in namespace 'http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/', but components from this namespace are not referenceable from schema document 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/CdeFactoryWS?WSDL'. If this is the incorrect namespace, perhaps the prefix of 'SOAP-ENC:Array' needs to be changed. If this is the correct namespace, then an appropriate 'import' tag should be added to 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/CdeFactoryWS?WSDL'.
[bpelc] [Error] :-1:-1: src-resolve.4.2: Error resolving component 'SOAPENC:Array'. It was detected that 'SOAPENC:Array' is in namespace 'http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/', but components from this namespace are not referenceable from schema document 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/Top300FactoryWS?WSDL'. If this is the incorrect namespace, perhaps the prefix of 'SOAPENC:Array' needs to be changed. If this is the correct namespace, then an appropriate 'import' tag should be added to 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/Top300FactoryWS?WSDL'.
[bpelc] [Error] :-1:-1: src-resolve.4.2: Error resolving component 'SOAP-ENC:Array'. It was detected that 'SOAP-ENC:Array' is in namespace 'http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/', but components from this namespace are not referenceable from schema document 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/CdeFactoryWS?WSDL'. If this is the incorrect namespace, perhaps the prefix of 'SOAP-ENC:Array' needs to be changed. If this is the correct namespace, then an appropriate 'import' tag should be added to 'http://malangiu-ro:8988/cde-Project-context-root/CdeFactoryWS?WSDL'.
Any hint? Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Marinel

Answer 1

Hi,
BPEL and BPEL PM do not have a good support for SOAPENC-Array: it would be very difficult to create such an array in BPEL or to receive it and manipulate it.
The (unfortunately very intrusive) work around is to change the WSDL of the service to use a XML type defined using XML schema. This is all the more painful that JDev 9.0.4 does not have strong support for complex types.
In general though, I would highly recommend this best practice:
1) Start by define the WSDL contract first
2) Then generate the server side skeleton to implement it
3) Use BPEL as the client to this contract.
By starting with the contract first, you make sure that 1) your interfaces are clean and coarse grained.
2) things like java objects, sessions, etc to not leak through the interface (which would be the worst thing that could happen because it would closely link the client and the server.
Sorry for not being more helpful. This will get radically cleaner in Oracle AS 10.1.3.
Edwin