Which is the better approach to web services - contract first or contract last?

Question

Which is the better approach to developing web services; contract first or contract last?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Which do you have experi

Answer 1

Contract-first is the generally accepted 'best practice.'

It makes you be very clear with both the producer and consumer of the service exactly what is needed and what is expected. This becomes especially important when you start trying to convert java types -> xml types. You're also able to reuse schemas across different web service.