# Generating a WSIL file

Web Services Inspection Language (WSIL) is a service discovery mechanism that is an alternative to UDDI as well as complementary to UDDI. WSIL can be generated at any point in the Web service development cycle once the WSDL file for the Web service has been created.

Prerequisites: In order to generate a WSIL file, you need to know the URL to a WSDL file.

WSIL helps synchronize this process by maintaining references to WSDL URLs. Web services tools that process WSDL documents - such as the Web Service Client and Creation wizards - will accept a WSIL document as a substitute for WSDL. This allows you to create a standardized WSDL reference (WSIL) document in your project during Web service client generation, then at a later time easily regenerate the client from that reference document. No copies of the WSDL or WSDL URLs are required.

You can generate a WSIL file from a pre-existing WSDL file or during Web service creation or consumption.

## Generating a WSIL file though the import utility

To generate a WSIL file through the import utility:

1. Optional: Select the WSDL document for which you want to create a WSIL file.
2. From the File menu, select Import > WSIL > Next. The WSIL Import window opens.
3. If you have selected to perform step 1, the WSIL URI field should be prefilled with the name of your WSDL file, where the extension has been changed from `.wsdl` to `.wsil`. The WSDL section should contain the URLs to the selected WSDL files. You can also enter additional WSDL URLs. Alternately, you can browse to the location of a WSIL file, or manually enter the location of the WSIL and WSDL files in the appropriate locations.
4. Click Finish. A WSIL file will be generated in the specified location.

## Generating a WSIL file through the Web Services Explorer

To generate a WSIL file through the Web Services Explorer:

1. Open the Web Services Explorer.
2. Open the WSDL Explorer by clicking this icon:
3. Open a WSDL file.
4. Select the WSDL file that you have opened in the Navigator pane, and from the available actions, choose to import a WSDL file to the workbench by clicking this icon:
5. Select Import as a service reference to a WSIL document.
6. Enter a name for the WSIL file that you want to generate, and click Go.