| description | title | ms.date | helpviewer_keywords | ms.assetid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Learn more about: Retrieving Metadata |
Retrieving Metadata |
03/30/2017 |
|
18d8ba4c-af0f-4827-a50b-4202d767bacc |
Metadata retrieval is the process of requesting and retrieving metadata from a metadata endpoint, such as a WS-MetadataExchange (MEX) metadata endpoint or an HTTP/GET metadata endpoint.
You can retrieve service metadata using WS-MetadataExchange or HTTP/GET requests by using the ServiceModel Metadata Utility Tool (Svcutil.exe) tool and passing the /target:metadata switch and an address. Svcutil.exe downloads the metadata at the specified address and saves the file to disk. Svcutil.exe uses a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType instance internally and loads from configuration the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.IMetadataExchange endpoint configuration whose name matches the scheme of the address passed to Svcutil.exe as input.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) can retrieve service metadata using standardized protocols such as WS-MetadataExchange and HTTP/GET requests. Both of these protocols are supported by the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient type. You retrieve service metadata using the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType type by providing an address for the metadata endpoint and an optional binding. The binding used by a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType instance can be one of the default bindings from the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeBindings static class, a user-supplied binding, or a binding loaded from an endpoint configuration for the IMetadataExchange contract. The xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType can also resolve HTTP URL references to metadata using the xref:System.Net.HttpWebRequest type.
By default, a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType instance is tied to a single xref:System.ServiceModel.ChannelFactory instance. You can change or replace the xref:System.ServiceModel.ChannelFactory?displayProperty=nameWithType instance used by a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType by overriding the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.GetChannelFactory%2A virtual method. Similarly, you can change or replace the xref:System.Net.HttpWebRequest instance used by a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType to make HTTP/GET requests by overriding the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient.GetWebRequest%2A?displayProperty=nameWithType virtual method.
How to: Use Svcutil.exe to Download Metadata Documents
Demonstrates how to use Svcutil.exe to download metadata documents.
How to: Use MetadataResolver to Obtain Binding Metadata Dynamically
Demonstrates how to use the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataResolver?displayProperty=nameWithType to obtain binding metadata dynamically at run time.
How to: Use MetadataExchangeClient to Retrieve Metadata
Demonstrates how to use the xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient?displayProperty=nameWithType class to download metadata files into a xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataSet?displayProperty=nameWithType object that contains xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataSection?displayProperty=nameWithType objects to write to files or for other uses.
- xref:System.ServiceModel.Description.MetadataExchangeClient