problems with xml returned when invoking a web service with CF11

[reuv1]

hi, i have run into an unusual behavior when invoking web services.

i am calling a web service that returns an XML like this:

<children>

     <child>

          <firstname>john</firstname>

          <lastname>doe</lastname>

     </child>

</children>

when invoking this web service from CF10, it works just fine. However, when invoking from CF11, i only get this:

<child>

      <firstname>john</firstname>

      <lastname>doe</lastname>

</child>

no <children>? for some reason, CF11 ignores/hides the topmost XML level. this doesn't happen on previous versions. why? the server that hosts the web service is CF11 too.

[BKBK · Accepted solution]

Report it as a Coldfusion bug. In any case, I would advise you to ensure that your web service returns a string, not an XML object.

That is because a web service should be universal. Callers from .NET, Java, PHP, ASP, and so on, will interpret a string in exactly the same way. Whereas, a Coldfusion XML object is a construct that is understood only in CFML.

Your return string should also begin with the XML declaration, like this

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<children>

     <child>

          <firstname>john</firstname>

          <lastname>doe</lastname>

     </child>

</children>

Then it is clear to the caller what the cat has brought in.

[reuv1]

Thanks,

I have reported it as a bug. It does make more sense to return the XML as a string rather than a CF XML object. Though this is a pre-existing web service that is used by several internal CF apps.