Hi all,
I have a problem where I need some guidance before developing a solution.
The problem:
------------
Our application needs to be able to return application errors in a way that makes it
possible for a client to programmatically identify the error. The client should be
able to take proper action and inform a user on various error events. Errors can
include diverse things such as problems with a database and erroneous arguments (e.g.
validation errors) and more. We would like to provide a mapping for each unique error
condition and return this error in an encoded format possible for a client to
interpret and translate to specific exception handling routines for the client
platform.
Possible solutions:
-------------------
1. Encode the application error using the faultcode. I am a little uncertain if this
is allowed according to the specification. An example of encoded error information
could be "SOAP-ENV:Server.Application.DatabaseError",
"SOAP-ENV:Server.Application.ValidationError" or something similar (am I allowed to
"extend" the SOAP-ENV:Server with point notation?!). More specific information needed
to describe an error could be embedded in the faultdetails (faultdetails in this case
are not used to identify the type of error but to get more detailed information like
stack traces for bug reports and similar).
2. Use the faultdetails for complete descriptions of errors in the application.
Specific information can be embedded in the faultdetails thus describing the error
condition. This is similar to the first approach but is not as straightforward for the
client, at least I think so.
3. Somehow parse the faultstring. I don't like this solution since the faultstring
according to the specification should be in a "human readable" format thus not being a
good candidate for program logic.
4. Any other alternative which I have not thought of.
I would prefer a solution based on the first alternative in one form or another. Is
this a good way to do it and is it allowed according to the specifications? If I
interpret everything correctly I would have to build a fault listener to fill in
faultdetails for an application error and a custom provider to intercept and change
the fault code of a thrown SOAPException as it will otherwise default to
"SOAP-ENV:Server".
Thanks for you time and any input you might want to contribute.
/Mattias
