The service endpoint interface (SEI) is a Java interface class that defines the methods to be exposed as a Web Service. This interface must extend the java.rmi.Remote interface and each method must throw java.rmi.RemoteException. The SEI for any Web Service generated by the Oracle ATG Web Commerce platform has a single method, corresponding to the Nucleus method being exposed.

The service implementation class (also referred to as the service bean) implements the service endpoint interface and handles the actual servicing of incoming SOAP requests. In addition, service implementation classes generated by the Oracle ATG Web Commerce platform implement the interface javax.xml.rpc.server.ServiceLifecyle, and extend the atg.webservice.ManagedComponentProperties class, which registers services with the Oracle ATG Web Commerce platform Web Service Registry. The Web Service Registry is discussed in the Managing Web Services section.

The service endpoint interface and implementation class are generated by the /atg/webservice/WebServiceGenerator component. The names for these classes are based on the name of the Nucleus method being exposed. For instance, if the Nucleus method is getOrderStatus, the service endpoint interface is named GetOrderStatusSEI, and the implementation class is named GetOrderStatusSEIImpl.