## javax.xml.soap
Class SOAPMessage

    java.lang.Object
      javax.xml.soap.SOAPMessage

Direct Known Subclasses:
  Message

public abstract class SOAPMessage
extends java.lang.Object

The root class for all SOAP messages. As transmitted on the "wire", a SOAP message is an XML document or a MIME message whose first body part is an XML/SOAP document.

A `SOAPMessage` object consists of a SOAP part and optionally one or more attachment parts. The SOAP part for a `SOAPMessage` object is a `SOAPPart` object, which contains information used for message routing and identification, and which can contain application-specific content. All data in the SOAP Part of a message must be in XML format.

A new `SOAPMessage` object contains the following by default:

- A `SOAPPart` object
- A `SOAPEnvelope` object
- A `SOAPBody` object
- A `SOAPHeader` object

The SOAP part of a message can be retrieved by calling the method `SOAPMessage.getSOAPPart()`. The `SOAPEnvelope` object is retrieved from the `SOAPPart` object, and the `SOAPEnvelope` object is used to retrieve the `SOAPBody` and `SOAPHeader` objects.

     SOAPPart sp = message.getSOAPPart();
     SOAPEnvelope se = sp.getEnvelope();
     SOAPBody sb = se.getBody();
     SOAPHeader sh = se.getHeader();

In addition to the mandatory `SOAPPart` object, a `SOAPMessage` object may contain zero or more `AttachmentPart` objects, each of which contains application-specific data. The `SOAPMessage` interface provides methods for creating `AttachmentPart` objects and also for adding them to a `SOAPMessage` object. A party that has received a `SOAPMessage` object can examine its contents by retrieving individual attachment parts.

Unlike the rest of a SOAP message, an attachment is not required to be in XML format and can therefore be anything from simple text to an image file. Consequently, any message content that is not in XML format must be in an `AttachmentPart` object.

A `MessageFactory` object creates new `SOAPMessage` objects. If the `MessageFactory` object was initialized with a messaging Profile, it produces `SOAPMessage` objects that conform to that Profile. For example, a `SOAPMessage` object created by a `MessageFactory` object initialized with the ebXML Profile will have the appropriate ebXML headers.

See Also:
  `MessageFactory`, `AttachmentPart`

Field Summary
`static java.lang.String` `CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING` Specifies the character type encoding for the SOAP Message.
`static java.lang.String` `WRITE_XML_DECLARATION` Specifies whether the SOAP Message should contain an XML declaration.

Constructor Summary
`SOAPMessage()`

Method Summary
`abstract void` `addAttachmentPart(AttachmentPart attachmentpart)` Adds the given `AttachmentPart` object to this `SOAPMessage` object.
`abstract int` `countAttachments()` Gets a count of the number of attachments in this message.
`abstract AttachmentPart` `createAttachmentPart()` Creates a new empty `AttachmentPart` object.
`AttachmentPart` `createAttachmentPart(javax.activation.DataHandler datahandler)` Creates an `AttachmentPart` object and populates it using the given `DataHandler` object.
`AttachmentPart` `createAttachmentPart(java.lang.Object content, java.lang.String contentType)` Creates an `AttachmentPart` object and populates it with the specified data of the specified content type.
`abstract java.util.Iterator` `getAttachments()` Retrieves all the `AttachmentPart` objects that are part of this `SOAPMessage` object.
`abstract java.util.Iterator` `getAttachments(MimeHeaders headers)` Retrieves all the `AttachmentPart` objects that have header entries that match the specified headers.
`abstract java.lang.String` `getContentDescription()` Retrieves a description of this `SOAPMessage` object's content.
`abstract MimeHeaders` `getMimeHeaders()` Returns all the transport-specific MIME headers for this `SOAPMessage` object in a transport-independent fashion.
`java.lang.Object` `getProperty(java.lang.String property)` Retrieves value of the specified property.
`SOAPBody` `getSOAPBody()` Gets the SOAP Body contained in this `SOAPMessage` object.
`SOAPHeader` `getSOAPHeader()` Gets the SOAP Header contained in this `SOAPMessage` object.
`abstract SOAPPart` `getSOAPPart()` Gets the SOAP part of this `SOAPMessage` object.
`abstract void` `removeAllAttachments()` Removes all `AttachmentPart` objects that have been added to this `SOAPMessage` object.
`abstract void` `saveChanges()` Updates this `SOAPMessage` object with all the changes that have been made to it.
`abstract boolean` `saveRequired()` Indicates whether this `SOAPMessage` object has had the method `saveChanges` called on it.
`abstract void` `setContentDescription(java.lang.String description)` Sets the description of this `SOAPMessage` object's content with the given description.
`void` `setProperty(java.lang.String property, java.lang.Object value)` Associates the specified value with the specified property.
`abstract void` `writeTo(java.io.OutputStream out)` Writes this `SOAPMessage` object to the given output stream.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

Field Detail

### CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING

    public static final java.lang.String CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING

  Specifies the character type encoding for the SOAP Message.

  See Also:
    Constant Field Values

### WRITE_XML_DECLARATION

    public static final java.lang.String WRITE_XML_DECLARATION

  Specifies whether the SOAP Message should contain an XML declaration.

  See Also:
    Constant Field Values

Constructor Detail

### SOAPMessage

    public SOAPMessage()

Method Detail

### getContentDescription

    public abstract java.lang.String getContentDescription()

  Retrieves a description of this `SOAPMessage` object's content.

  Returns:
    a `String` describing the content of this message or `null` if no description has been set
  See Also:
    `setContentDescription(java.lang.String)`

### setContentDescription

    public abstract void setContentDescription(java.lang.String description)

  Sets the description of this `SOAPMessage` object's content with the given description.

  Parameters:
    `description` - a `String` describing the content of this message
  See Also:
    `getContentDescription()`

### getSOAPPart

    public abstract SOAPPart getSOAPPart()

  Gets the SOAP part of this `SOAPMessage` object.

  If a `SOAPMessage` object contains one or more attachments, the SOAP Part must be the first MIME body part in the message.

  Returns:
    the `SOAPPart` object for this `SOAPMessage` object

### removeAllAttachments

    public abstract void removeAllAttachments()

  Removes all `AttachmentPart` objects that have been added to this `SOAPMessage` object.

  This method does not touch the SOAP part.

### countAttachments

    public abstract int countAttachments()

  Gets a count of the number of attachments in this message. This count does not include the SOAP part.

  Returns:
    the number of `AttachmentPart` objects that are part of this `SOAPMessage` object

### getAttachments

    public abstract java.util.Iterator getAttachments()

  Retrieves all the `AttachmentPart` objects that are part of this `SOAPMessage` object.

  Returns:
    an iterator over all the attachments in this message

### getAttachments

    public abstract java.util.Iterator getAttachments(MimeHeaders headers)

  Retrieves all the `AttachmentPart` objects that have header entries that match the specified headers. Note that a returned attachment could have headers in addition to those specified.

  Parameters:
    `headers` - a `MimeHeaders` object containing the MIME headers for which to search
  Returns:
    an iterator over all attachments that have a header that matches one of the given headers

### addAttachmentPart

    public abstract void addAttachmentPart(AttachmentPart attachmentpart)

  Adds the given `AttachmentPart` object to this `SOAPMessage` object. An `AttachmentPart` object must be created before it can be added to a message.

  Parameters:
    `attachmentpart` - an `AttachmentPart` object that is to become part of this `SOAPMessage` object
  Throws:
    `java.lang.IllegalArgumentException`

### createAttachmentPart

    public abstract AttachmentPart createAttachmentPart()

  Creates a new empty `AttachmentPart` object. Note that the method `addAttachmentPart` must be called with this new `AttachmentPart` object as the parameter in order for it to become an attachment to this `SOAPMessage` object.

  Returns:
    a new `AttachmentPart` object that can be populated and added to this `SOAPMessage` object

### createAttachmentPart

    public AttachmentPart createAttachmentPart(javax.activation.DataHandler datahandler)

  Creates an `AttachmentPart` object and populates it using the given `DataHandler` object.

  Parameters:
    `datahandler` - the `javax.activation.DataHandler` object that will generate the content for this `SOAPMessage` object
  Returns:
    a new `AttachmentPart` object that contains data generated by the given `DataHandler` object
  Throws:
    `java.lang.IllegalArgumentException` - if there was a problem with the specified `DataHandler` object
  See Also:
    `DataHandler`, `DataContentHandler`

### getMimeHeaders

    public abstract MimeHeaders getMimeHeaders()

  Returns all the transport-specific MIME headers for this `SOAPMessage` object in a transport-independent fashion.

  Returns:
    a `MimeHeaders` object containing the `MimeHeader` objects

### createAttachmentPart

    public AttachmentPart createAttachmentPart(java.lang.Object content,
                                               java.lang.String contentType)

  Creates an `AttachmentPart` object and populates it with the specified data of the specified content type.

  Parameters:
    `content` - an `Object` containing the content for this `SOAPMessage` object
    `contentType` - a `String` object giving the type of content; examples are "text/xml", "text/plain", and "image/jpeg"
  Returns:
    a new `AttachmentPart` object that contains the given data
  Throws:
    `java.lang.IllegalArgumentException` - if the contentType does not match the type of the content object, or if there was no `DataContentHandler` object for the given content object
  See Also:
    `DataHandler`, `DataContentHandler`

### saveChanges

    public abstract void saveChanges()
                              throws SOAPException

  Updates this `SOAPMessage` object with all the changes that have been made to it. This method is called automatically when a message is sent or written to by the methods `ProviderConnection.send`, `SOAPConnection.call`, or `SOAPMessage.writeTo`. However, if changes are made to a message that was received or to one that has already been sent, the method `saveChanges` needs to be called explicitly in order to save the changes. The method `saveChanges` also generates any changes that can be read back (for example, a MessageId in profiles that support a message id). All MIME headers in a message that is created for sending purposes are guaranteed to have valid values only after `saveChanges` has been called.

  In addition, this method marks the point at which the data from all constituent `AttachmentPart` objects are pulled into the message.

  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if there was a problem saving changes to this message.

### saveRequired

    public abstract boolean saveRequired()

  Indicates whether this `SOAPMessage` object has had the method `saveChanges` called on it.

  Returns:
    `true` if `saveChanges` has been called on this message at least once; `false` otherwise.

### writeTo

    public abstract void writeTo(java.io.OutputStream out)
                          throws SOAPException,
                                 java.io.IOException

  Writes this `SOAPMessage` object to the given output stream. The externalization format is as defined by the SOAP 1.1 with Attachments specification.

  If there are no attachments, just an XML stream is written out. For those messages that have attachments, `writeTo` writes a MIME-encoded byte stream.

  Parameters:
    `out` - the `OutputStream` object to which this `SOAPMessage` object will be written
  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if there was a problem in externalizing this SOAP message
    `java.io.IOException` - if an I/O error occurs

### getSOAPBody

    public SOAPBody getSOAPBody()
                         throws SOAPException

  Gets the SOAP Body contained in this `SOAPMessage` object.

  Returns:
    the `SOAPBody` object contained by this `SOAPMessage` object
  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if the SOAP Body does not exist or cannot be retrieved

### getSOAPHeader

    public SOAPHeader getSOAPHeader()
                             throws SOAPException

  Gets the SOAP Header contained in this `SOAPMessage` object.

  Returns:
    the `SOAPHeader` object contained by this `SOAPMessage` object
  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if the SOAP Header does not exist or cannot be retrieved

### setProperty

    public void setProperty(java.lang.String property,
                            java.lang.Object value)
                     throws SOAPException

  Associates the specified value with the specified property. If there was already a value associated with this property, the old value is replaced.

  The valid property names include `WRITE_XML_DECLARATION` and `CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING`. All of these standard SAAJ properties are prefixed by "javax.xml.soap". Vendors may also add implementation specific properties. These properties must be prefixed with package names that are unique to the vendor.

  Setting the property `WRITE_XML_DECLARATION` to `"true"` will cause an XML Declaration to be written out at the start of the SOAP message. The default value of "false" suppresses this declaration.

  The property `CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING` defaults to the value `"utf-8"` which causes the SOAP message to be encoded using UTF-8. Setting `CHARACTER_SET_ENCODING` to `"utf-16"` causes the SOAP message to be encoded using UTF-16.

  Some implementations may allow encodings in addition to UTF-8 and UTF-16. Refer to your vendor's documentation for details.

  Parameters:
    `property` - the property with which the specified value is to be associated
    `value` - the value to be associated with the specified property
  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if the property name is not recognized

### getProperty

    public java.lang.Object getProperty(java.lang.String property)
                                 throws SOAPException

  Retrieves value of the specified property.

  Parameters:
    `property` - the name of the property to retrieve
  Returns:
    the value of the property or `null` if no such property exists
  Throws:
    `SOAPException` - if the property name is not recognized

Copyright © 2005 Apache Web Services Project. All Rights Reserved.