How might I use the W3C Markup Validator API in my .NET application?

Answer 1

In order for a Web Reference to work, I think it needs the owner of the service to have published a WSDL file for .Net to read and create local objects with. You then call these local objects in your project, and they get populated with Data from the other end of the service using SOAP.

I've been looking for a WSDL file that describes the W3C's validation SOAP on their site somewhere, but no luck so far. Which is odd given the W3C manage the WSDL protocol. You'd really expect them to use it!

If anyone knows:

1. A way to get a Web Reference working without WSDL or...
2. Where the W3C Validator's WSDL file is...

Then please let me know...

Failing that - the W3C have put a link to a C# library on their site (http://validator.w3.org/docs/api.html#libs), which is easy enough to download and build. But that uses LINQ to build an object based on the SOAP returned by the W3C - which seems a bit heavy for my purposes... It's a useful starting point if nothing else tho.

Answer 2

A SOAP Web Service must have a WSDL. I have seen some mentions on the W3C site of a SOAP API, but the location of the API or the WSDL to it is not apparent.

Poking around and searching with Bing, I found the following: http://www.w3.org/Search/Mail/Public/search?type-index=www-validator&index-type=t&keywords=wsdl&search=Search

Good luck. It seems they've done this a bit backwards, with the web service being an afterthought from people who don't quite get the concept of a WSDL.