So, is WSDL the standard for service contracts?

A Service Oriented Architecture is based upon the use of services (hence service orientation). It's implementation is based upon standards. One of which is the way services interact, namely by messages (XML messages usually).

Standardization is the most important thing for SOA to become a working concept. XML has become the de facto standard for the definition of messages between services. That's fine, but in my opinion we are missing one critical item. THERE IS NO STANDARD FOR SERVICE CONTRACTS.

EH??? Some people will argue that WSDL is THE standard for the service contract, but that's not quite true. A WSDL is an implementation of a service contract, specifically for web services. However, a service does NOT have to be a webservice!

Let's approach it theoretically. What do I need to know to access and use a service? I need several different things at different times. When I need a service to fulfill a specific task, I need to know what services are available, what their service consist of, what data it uses (in) and delivers (out), depencies (if any), security constraints and QoS.
At runtime I need to know where it is located, how it is accessible, what credentials to use, how it is secured, etc.
To manage it I need to know: where it is located, its resource requirements, what technical depencies it has (services it uses, but also db access), what security profile is active, SLA requirements (availability), etc.

All we have now is a WSDL, being the Web Service Definition Language, which is used for webservices at runtime. It does NOT have all the information that is listed above.

So, to answer my own question: Sorry to say, but NO, WSDL is not the standard we need!