7.4.2. GetCapabilities¶
The GetCapabilities operation generates an XML-encoded service metadata
document describing the WFS service provided by a server. The
capabilities document contains relevant technical and non-technical
information about the service and its provider. Its content mainly
depends on the configuration of the WFS in the config.xml settings file.
The following XML snippet shows an XML encoding of a GetCapabilities operation.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<wfs:GetCapabilities service="WFS"
xmlns:wfs="http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0
http://schemas.opengis.net/wfs/2.0/wfs.xsd"/>
The declaration of the WFS XML namespace http://www.opengis.net/wfs/2.0
is mandatory to be able to validate the request against the official WFS
XML Schema definition. The reference to the schema location using the
xsi:schemaLocation attribute is however optional. It is recommended
though if the XML encoding of the request is created manually by the
user (and not automatically by a client software) to ensure schema
validity. By default, the WFS service will reject invalid requests (see
Section 7.3.3).
The following table shows the XML attributes that can be used in the GetCapabilities request and are supported by the WFS implementation.
XML attribute
|
O / M
|
Default value
|
Description
|
service
|
M
|
WFS (fixed)
|
The service attribute indicates the service type. The value “WFS” is fixed.
|
AcceptVersions
|
O
|
Used for version number negotiation with the WFS server (cf. OGC Document No. 06-121r3:2009).
|
As alternative to XML encoding, the GetCapabilities operation may also be invoked through a KVP-encoded HTTP GET request.
http[s]://[host][:port]/[context_path]/wfs?
SERVICE=WFS&
REQUEST=GetCapabilities&
ACCEPTVERSIONS=2.0.0,2.0.2
The available KVP parameters are listed below.
KVP parameter
|
O / M
|
Default value
|
Description
|
SERVICE
|
M
|
WFS (fixed)
|
see above
|
ACCEPTVERSIONS
|
O
|
see above
|