Working Soap client example

Question

To implement simple SOAP clients in Java, you can use the SAAJ framework (it is shipped with JSE 1.6 and above, but removed again in Java 11):

SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) is mainly used for dealing directly with SOAP Request/Response messages which happens behind the scenes in any Web Service API. It allows the developers to directly send and receive soap messages instead of using JAX-WS.

See below a working example (run it!) of a SOAP web service call using SAAJ. It calls this web service.

import javax.xml.soap.*;

public class SOAPClientSAAJ {

    // SAAJ - SOAP Client Testing
    public static void main(String args[]) {
        /*
            The example below requests from the Web Service at:
             http://www.webservicex.net/uszip.asmx?op=GetInfoByCity


            To call other WS, change the parameters below, which are:
             - the SOAP Endpoint URL (that is, where the service is responding from)
             - the SOAP Action

            Also change the contents of the method createSoapEnvelope() in this class. It constructs
             the inner part of the SOAP envelope that is actually sent.
         */
        String soapEndpointUrl = "http://www.webservicex.net/uszip.asmx";
        String soapAction = "http://www.webserviceX.NET/GetInfoByCity";

        callSoapWebService(soapEndpointUrl, soapAction);
    }

    private static void createSoapEnvelope(SOAPMessage soapMessage) throws SOAPException {
        SOAPPart soapPart = soapMessage.getSOAPPart();

        String myNamespace = "myNamespace";
        String myNamespaceURI = "http://www.webserviceX.NET";

        // SOAP Envelope
        SOAPEnvelope envelope = soapPart.getEnvelope();
        envelope.addNamespaceDeclaration(myNamespace, myNamespaceURI);

            /*
            Constructed SOAP Request Message:
            <SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:myNamespace="http://www.webserviceX.NET">
                <SOAP-ENV:Header/>
                <SOAP-ENV:Body>
                    <myNamespace:GetInfoByCity>
                        <myNamespace:USCity>New York</myNamespace:USCity>
                    </myNamespace:GetInfoByCity>
                </SOAP-ENV:Body>
            </SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
            */

        // SOAP Body
        SOAPBody soapBody = envelope.getBody();
        SOAPElement soapBodyElem = soapBody.addChildElement("GetInfoByCity", myNamespace);
        SOAPElement soapBodyElem1 = soapBodyElem.addChildElement("USCity", myNamespace);
        soapBodyElem1.addTextNode("New York");
    }

    private static void callSoapWebService(String soapEndpointUrl, String soapAction) {
        try {
            // Create SOAP Connection
            SOAPConnectionFactory soapConnectionFactory = SOAPConnectionFactory.newInstance();
            SOAPConnection soapConnection = soapConnectionFactory.createConnection();

            // Send SOAP Message to SOAP Server
            SOAPMessage soapResponse = soapConnection.call(createSOAPRequest(soapAction), soapEndpointUrl);

            // Print the SOAP Response
            System.out.println("Response SOAP Message:");
            soapResponse.writeTo(System.out);
            System.out.println();

            soapConnection.close();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.err.println("\nError occurred while sending SOAP Request to Server!\nMake sure you have the correct endpoint URL and SOAPAction!\n");
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    private static SOAPMessage createSOAPRequest(String soapAction) throws Exception {
        MessageFactory messageFactory = MessageFactory.newInstance();
        SOAPMessage soapMessage = messageFactory.createMessage();

        createSoapEnvelope(soapMessage);

        MimeHeaders headers = soapMessage.getMimeHeaders();
        headers.addHeader("SOAPAction", soapAction);

        soapMessage.saveChanges();

        /* Print the request message, just for debugging purposes */
        System.out.println("Request SOAP Message:");
        soapMessage.writeTo(System.out);
        System.out.println("\n");

        return soapMessage;
    }

}

Yes, if you can acquire any WSDL file, then you can use SoapUI to create mock service of that service complete with unit test requests. I created an example of this (using Maven) that you can try out.

Calculator SOAP service test from SoapUI, Online SoapClient Calculator

Generate the SoapMessage object form the input SoapEnvelopeXML and SoapDataXml.

SoapEnvelopeXML

<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/">
   <soapenv:Header/>
   <soapenv:Body>
      <tem:Add xmlns:tem="http://tempuri.org/">
         <tem:intA>3</tem:intA>
         <tem:intB>4</tem:intB>
      </tem:Add>
   </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

use the following code to get SoapMessage Object.

MessageFactory messageFactory = MessageFactory.newInstance();
    MimeHeaders headers = new MimeHeaders();
    ByteArrayInputStream xmlByteStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(SoapEnvelopeXML.getBytes());
SOAPMessage soapMsg = messageFactory.createMessage(headers, xmlByteStream);

SoapDataXml

<tem:Add xmlns:tem="http://tempuri.org/">
    <tem:intA>3</tem:intA>
    <tem:intB>4</tem:intB>
</tem:Add>

use below code to get SoapMessage Object.

public static SOAPMessage getSOAPMessagefromDataXML(String saopBodyXML) throws Exception {
    DocumentBuilderFactory dbFactory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
    dbFactory.setNamespaceAware(true);
    dbFactory.setIgnoringComments(true);
    DocumentBuilder dBuilder = dbFactory.newDocumentBuilder();
    InputSource ips = new org.xml.sax.InputSource(new StringReader(saopBodyXML));
    Document docBody = dBuilder.parse(ips);
    System.out.println("Data Document: "+docBody.getDocumentElement());
    
    MessageFactory messageFactory = MessageFactory.newInstance(SOAPConstants.SOAP_1_2_PROTOCOL);
    SOAPMessage soapMsg = messageFactory.createMessage();
    
    SOAPBody soapBody = soapMsg.getSOAPPart().getEnvelope().getBody();
    soapBody.addDocument(docBody);
    
    return soapMsg;
}

---

By getting the SoapMessage Object. It is clear that the Soap XML is valid. Then prepare to hit the service to get response. It can be done in many ways.

1. Using Client Code Generated form WSDL.

java.net.URL endpointURL = new java.net.URL(endPointUrl);
javax.xml.rpc.Service service = new org.apache.axis.client.Service();
((org.apache.axis.client.Service) service).setTypeMappingVersion("1.2");
CalculatorSoap12Stub obj_axis = new CalculatorSoap12Stub(endpointURL, service);
int add = obj_axis.add(10, 20);
System.out.println("Response: "+ add);

2. Using javax.xml.soap.SOAPConnection.

public static void getSOAPConnection(SOAPMessage soapMsg) throws Exception {
    System.out.println("===== SOAPConnection =====");
    MimeHeaders headers = soapMsg.getMimeHeaders(); // new MimeHeaders();
    headers.addHeader("SoapBinding",   serverDetails.get("SoapBinding") );
    headers.addHeader("MethodName",    serverDetails.get("MethodName") );
    headers.addHeader("SOAPAction",    serverDetails.get("SOAPAction") );
    headers.addHeader("Content-Type",  serverDetails.get("Content-Type"));
    headers.addHeader("Accept-Encoding", serverDetails.get("Accept-Encoding"));
    if (soapMsg.saveRequired()) {
        soapMsg.saveChanges();
    }
    
    SOAPConnectionFactory newInstance = SOAPConnectionFactory.newInstance();
    javax.xml.soap.SOAPConnection connection = newInstance.createConnection();
    SOAPMessage soapMsgResponse = connection.call(soapMsg, getURL( serverDetails.get("SoapServerURI"), 5*1000 ));
    
    getSOAPXMLasString(soapMsgResponse);
}

3. Form HTTP Connection Classes org.apache.commons.httpclient.

public static void getHttpConnection(SOAPMessage soapMsg) throws SOAPException, IOException {
    System.out.println("===== HttpClient =====");
    HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient();
    HttpConnectionManagerParams params = httpClient.getHttpConnectionManager().getParams();
    params.setConnectionTimeout(3 * 1000); // Connection timed out
    params.setSoTimeout(3 * 1000);         // Request timed out
    params.setParameter("http.useragent", "Web Service Test Client");

    PostMethod methodPost = new PostMethod( serverDetails.get("SoapServerURI") );
    methodPost.setRequestBody( getSOAPXMLasString(soapMsg) );
    methodPost.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", serverDetails.get("Content-Type") );
    methodPost.setRequestHeader("SoapBinding",  serverDetails.get("SoapBinding") );
    methodPost.setRequestHeader("MethodName",   serverDetails.get("MethodName") );
    methodPost.setRequestHeader("SOAPAction",   serverDetails.get("SOAPAction") );

    methodPost.setRequestHeader("Accept-Encoding", serverDetails.get("Accept-Encoding"));

    try {
        int returnCode = httpClient.executeMethod(methodPost);
        if (returnCode == HttpStatus.SC_NOT_IMPLEMENTED) {
            System.out.println("The Post method is not implemented by this URI");
            methodPost.getResponseBodyAsString();
        } else {
            BufferedReader br = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(methodPost.getResponseBodyAsStream()));
            String readLine;
            while (((readLine = br.readLine()) != null)) {
                System.out.println(readLine);
            }
            br.close();
        }
    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    } finally {
        methodPost.releaseConnection();
    }
}

public static void accessResource_AppachePOST(SOAPMessage soapMsg) throws Exception {
    System.out.println("===== HttpClientBuilder =====");
    CloseableHttpClient httpClient = HttpClientBuilder.create().build();
    URIBuilder builder = new URIBuilder( serverDetails.get("SoapServerURI") );
    HttpPost methodPost = new HttpPost(builder.build());
    RequestConfig config = RequestConfig.custom()
            .setConnectTimeout(5 * 1000)
            .setConnectionRequestTimeout(5 * 1000)
            .setSocketTimeout(5 * 1000)
            .build();
    methodPost.setConfig(config);
        HttpEntity xmlEntity = new StringEntity(getSOAPXMLasString(soapMsg), "utf-8");
    methodPost.setEntity(xmlEntity);
        
    methodPost.setHeader("Content-Type", serverDetails.get("Content-Type"));
    methodPost.setHeader("SoapBinding", serverDetails.get("SoapBinding") );
    methodPost.setHeader("MethodName", serverDetails.get("MethodName") );
    methodPost.setHeader("SOAPAction", serverDetails.get("SOAPAction") );
    methodPost.setHeader("Accept-Encoding", serverDetails.get("Accept-Encoding"));
    
    // Create a custom response handler
    ResponseHandler<String> responseHandler = new ResponseHandler<String>() {
        @Override
        public String handleResponse( final HttpResponse response) throws ClientProtocolException, IOException {
            int status = response.getStatusLine().getStatusCode();
            if (status >= 200 && status <= 500) {
                HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();
                return entity != null ? EntityUtils.toString(entity) : null;
            }
            return "";
        }
    };
    String execute = httpClient.execute( methodPost, responseHandler );
    System.out.println("AppachePOST : "+execute);
}

Full Example:

public class SOAP_Calculator {
    static HashMap<String, String> serverDetails = new HashMap<>();
    static {
        // Calculator
        serverDetails.put("SoapServerURI", "http://www.dneonline.com/calculator.asmx");
        serverDetails.put("SoapWSDL", "http://www.dneonline.com/calculator.asmx?wsdl");
        serverDetails.put("SoapBinding", "CalculatorSoap");        // <wsdl:binding name="CalculatorSoap12" type="tns:CalculatorSoap">
        serverDetails.put("MethodName", "Add");                    // <wsdl:operation name="Add">
        serverDetails.put("SOAPAction", "http://tempuri.org/Add"); // <soap12:operation soapAction="http://tempuri.org/Add" style="document"/>
        serverDetails.put("SoapXML", "<tem:Add xmlns:tem=\"http://tempuri.org/\"><tem:intA>2</tem:intA><tem:intB>4</tem:intB></tem:Add>");
        
        serverDetails.put("Accept-Encoding", "gzip,deflate");
        serverDetails.put("Content-Type", "");
    }
    public static void callSoapService( ) throws Exception {
        String xmlData = serverDetails.get("SoapXML");
        
        SOAPMessage soapMsg = getSOAPMessagefromDataXML(xmlData);
        System.out.println("Requesting SOAP Message:\n"+ getSOAPXMLasString(soapMsg) +"\n");
        
        SOAPEnvelope envelope = soapMsg.getSOAPPart().getEnvelope();
        if (envelope.getElementQName().getNamespaceURI().equals("http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/")) {
            System.out.println("SOAP 1.1 NamespaceURI: http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/");
            serverDetails.put("Content-Type", "text/xml; charset=utf-8");
        } else {
            System.out.println("SOAP 1.2 NamespaceURI: http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope");
            serverDetails.put("Content-Type", "application/soap+xml; charset=utf-8");
        }
        
        getHttpConnection(soapMsg);
        getSOAPConnection(soapMsg);
        accessResource_AppachePOST(soapMsg);
    }
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        callSoapService();
    }

    private static URL getURL(String endPointUrl, final int timeOutinSeconds) throws MalformedURLException {
        URL endpoint = new URL(null, endPointUrl, new URLStreamHandler() {
            protected URLConnection openConnection(URL url) throws IOException {
                URL clone = new URL(url.toString());
                URLConnection connection = clone.openConnection();
                connection.setConnectTimeout(timeOutinSeconds);
                connection.setReadTimeout(timeOutinSeconds);
                //connection.addRequestProperty("Developer-Mood", "Happy"); // Custom header
                return connection;
            }
        });
        return endpoint;
    }
    public static String getSOAPXMLasString(SOAPMessage soapMsg) throws SOAPException, IOException {
        ByteArrayOutputStream out = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
        soapMsg.writeTo(out);
        // soapMsg.writeTo(System.out);
        String strMsg = new String(out.toByteArray());
        System.out.println("Soap XML: "+ strMsg);
        return strMsg;
    }
}

@See list of some WebServices at http://sofa.uqam.ca/soda/webservices.php

The response of acdcjunior it was awesome, I just expand his explanation with the next code, where you can see how iterate over the XML elements.

public class SOAPClientSAAJ {

public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
    // Create SOAP Connection
    SOAPConnectionFactory soapConnectionFactory = SOAPConnectionFactory.newInstance();
    SOAPConnection soapConnection = soapConnectionFactory.createConnection();

    // Send SOAP Message to SOAP Server
    String url = "http://ws.cdyne.com/emailverify/Emailvernotestemail.asmx";
    SOAPMessage soapResponse = soapConnection.call(createSOAPRequest(), url);



    SOAPPart soapPart=soapResponse.getSOAPPart();
    // SOAP Envelope
    SOAPEnvelope envelope=soapPart.getEnvelope();
    SOAPBody soapBody = envelope.getBody();

    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
    Iterator<Node> itr=soapBody.getChildElements();
    while (itr.hasNext()) {

        Node node=(Node)itr.next();
        if (node.getNodeType()==Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
            System.out.println("reading Node.ELEMENT_NODE");
            Element ele=(Element)node;
            System.out.println("Body childs : "+ele.getLocalName());

            switch (ele.getNodeName()) {

          case "VerifyEmailResponse":
             NodeList statusNodeList = ele.getChildNodes();

             for(int i=0;i<statusNodeList.getLength();i++){
               Element emailResult = (Element) statusNodeList.item(i);
               System.out.println("VerifyEmailResponse childs : "+emailResult.getLocalName());
                switch (emailResult.getNodeName()) {

                case "VerifyEmailResult":
                    NodeList emailResultList = emailResult.getChildNodes();

                    for(int j=0;j<emailResultList.getLength();j++){
                      Element emailResponse = (Element) emailResultList.item(j);
                      System.out.println("VerifyEmailResult childs : "+emailResponse.getLocalName());
                       switch (emailResponse.getNodeName()) {
                       case "ResponseText":
                           System.out.println(emailResponse.getTextContent());
                           break;
                        case "ResponseCode":
                          System.out.println(emailResponse.getTextContent());
                           break;
                        case "LastMailServer":
                          System.out.println(emailResponse.getTextContent());
                          break;
                        case "GoodEmail":
                          System.out.println(emailResponse.getTextContent());
                       default:
                          break;
                       }
                    }
                    break;
                default:
                   break;
                }
             }


             break;


          default:
             break;
          }

        } else if (node.getNodeType()==Node.TEXT_NODE) {
            System.out.println("reading Node.TEXT_NODE");
            //do nothing here most likely, as the response nearly never has mixed content type
            //this is just for your reference
        }
    }
    // print SOAP Response
    System.out.println("Response SOAP Message:");
    soapResponse.writeTo(System.out);

    soapConnection.close();
}

private static SOAPMessage createSOAPRequest() throws Exception {
    MessageFactory messageFactory = MessageFactory.newInstance();
    SOAPMessage soapMessage = messageFactory.createMessage();
    SOAPPart soapPart = soapMessage.getSOAPPart();

    String serverURI = "http://ws.cdyne.com/";

    // SOAP Envelope
    SOAPEnvelope envelope = soapPart.getEnvelope();
    envelope.addNamespaceDeclaration("example", serverURI);

    /*
    Constructed SOAP Request Message:
    <SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:example="http://ws.cdyne.com/">
        <SOAP-ENV:Header/>
        <SOAP-ENV:Body>
            <example:VerifyEmail>
                <example:email>[email protected]</example:email>
                <example:LicenseKey>123</example:LicenseKey>
            </example:VerifyEmail>
        </SOAP-ENV:Body>
    </SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
     */

    // SOAP Body
    SOAPBody soapBody = envelope.getBody();
    SOAPElement soapBodyElem = soapBody.addChildElement("VerifyEmail", "example");
    SOAPElement soapBodyElem1 = soapBodyElem.addChildElement("email", "example");
    soapBodyElem1.addTextNode("[email protected]");
    SOAPElement soapBodyElem2 = soapBodyElem.addChildElement("LicenseKey", "example");
    soapBodyElem2.addTextNode("123");

    MimeHeaders headers = soapMessage.getMimeHeaders();
    headers.addHeader("SOAPAction", serverURI  + "VerifyEmail");

    soapMessage.saveChanges();

    /* Print the request message */
    System.out.println("Request SOAP Message:");
    soapMessage.writeTo(System.out);
    System.out.println("");
    System.out.println("------");

    return soapMessage;
}

}