JAX-RPC GenericHandler fails on Websphere Application Server v6.0.2.35

Question

I've created an Extension of GenericHandler called SOAPHeaderHandler. I placed log4j statements in the handler and can see the constructor being built. When I generate a SOAP message, however, I don't see the message related to the handleRequest method. I've registered the Handler in the stub as follows:

            if (service == null) {
        super.service = new com.ibm.ws.webservices.engine.client.Service();
    }
    else {
        super.service = service;
    }
    List handlerInfoList = new ArrayList();
    QName[] headersArr = null;
    HandlerInfo handlerInfo = new HandlerInfo(com.xxxxxx.hdhp.business.debitcard.cardservices.CardServiceSOAPHeaderHandler.class, 
         null, headersArr);
    handlerInfoList.add(handlerInfo);
    service.getHandlerRegistry().setHandlerChain(new QName("MetavanteDebitCard"), handlerInfoList);

The Handler is:

public class AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler extends GenericHandler {
 private static Logger logger = Logger.getLogger  (AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler.class);
 private HandlerInfo handlerInfo = null;

public AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler () {
 logger.info("Constructing AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler");
}

 /* (non-Javadoc)
  * @see javax.xml.rpc.handler.GenericHandler#getHeaders()
  */
 public QName[] getHeaders() {
 logger.info("calling getHeaders()");
  return null;
 }

 public boolean handleFault(MessageContext arg0) {
     logger.info("Fault in AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler");
  return true;
 }
 public boolean handleResponse(MessageContext arg0) {
   logger.info("Response in AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler");
   return true;
 }
 public void init(HandlerInfo arg0) {
  logger.info("init in AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler");
  handlerInfo = arg0;
  super.init(arg0);
 }

 public void destroy() {
  logger.info("--- In AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler.destroy ()");
 } 

 public boolean handleRequest(MessageContext ctx) {
     logger.debug("BEGIN handleRequest()");
     if (ctx instanceof SOAPMessageContext) {
        SOAPMessageContext context = (SOAPMessageContext) ctx;
        logger.debug("instance of SOAPMessageContext");
        try {
           SOAPHeader header = context.getMessage().getSOAPPart()
                .getEnvelope().getHeader();
           logger.debug("SOAP Header is " + ((header==null)?"NULL":"NOT NULL"));
           Iterator headers = header
                .extractHeaderElements("http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/actor/next");
           while (headers.hasNext()) {
               SOAPHeaderElement he = (SOAPHeaderElement) headers.next();
               logger.info("HEADER Qn " + he.getElementName().getQualifiedName());
           }
       } catch (SOAPException x) {
           logger.error("SOAPException while handlingRequest for SOAP: '" + x.getMessage() + "'");
   }
  }
 return true;
}

and I've changed the web.xml as follows:

   <service-ref>
        <description>WSDL Service AccountManagerService</description>
        <service-ref-name>service/AccountManagerService</service-ref-name>
        <service-interface>com.medibank.www.AccountManagerService</service-interface>
<!--        <wsdl-file>WEB-INF/wsdl/AccountManagerService.asmx.wsdl</wsdl-file>-->
        <jaxrpc-mapping-file>WEB-INF/AccountManagerService.asmx_mapping.xml</jaxrpc-mapping-file>
        <service-qname xmlns:pfx="http://www.medibank.com/MBIWebServices/Access/Services/AccountManager/2004/06/"&gt;pfx:AccountManagerService&lt;/service-qname&gt;
        <port-component-ref>
            <service-endpoint-interface>com.medibank.www.AccountManagerServiceSoap</service-endpoint-interface>
        </port-component-ref>
        <port-component-ref>
            <service-endpoint-interface>com.medibank.www.AccountManagerServiceSoap</service-endpoint-interface>
        </port-component-ref>
        <handler>
         <description>
         </description>
         <display-name></display-name>
         <handler-name>AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler</handler-name>
         <handler-class>com.xxxxx.hdhp.business.debitcard.accountmanagement.AccountManagementSOAPHeaderHandler</handler-class>
        </handler>
    </service-ref>

This is deployed on Websphere Application Server v6.0.2.35. Any ideas what the problem may be? Why do the logger statements in the handler never get executed? Have I failed to register the handler correctly? Do I need to specify which service methods get handled?

Answer 1

I wrote a few JAX-RPC SOAP clients that run on WAS 6.0, and require GenericHandlers that add a custom SOAP header to request messages. I also had the requirement of not using a service-ref (for ease-of-use reasons in the client codebase), so my client class sets up the handler in a programmatic way. This may not exactly apply to how your configuration works, but maybe something will be of use.

I started with the client code generated by RAD 7.5's WSDL2Java tool in Ant, but the "Web Service Client" wizard uses it as well. It created all the business objects, serializer/deserializers, locator and SOAP binding classes, etc, etc. I then created a custom GenericHandler similar to the one you have.

Since I didn't have a service-ref available, I couldn't bind it to the client that way. So I used the following code in the client class itself, to programmatically add the handler:

private AccountManager createAccountManagerStub() throws Exception {
 AccountManagerServiceLocator locator = new AccountManagerServiceLocator();

 // Set the JMS endpoint address
 AccountManagerSOAPBindingStub accountManagerStub = (AccountManagerSOAPBindingStub) locator
   .getAccountManagerSOAPPort(new URL(generateJMSEndpointAddress()));

 // Set the Client Handler
 HandlerRegistry registry = locator.getHandlerRegistry();
 List chain = registry
   .getHandlerChain((QName) locator.getPorts().next());
 HandlerInfo handlerInfo = new HandlerInfo();
 handlerInfo.setHandlerClass(AccountManagerClientHandler.class);
 chain.add(handlerInfo);

 return (AccountManager) accountManagerStub;
}

The object returned by that method is completely set up, and calling any of the client methods on that class work correctly. The AccountManagerClientHandler.handleRequest(MessageContext msgContext) method is invoked, the messageContext updated, and then the message is sent on its merry way.