JAX-WS - get SOAP headers in web method

Is there a way to get a list of all SOAP headers in a web method with plain JAX-WS? I know this can be done by using Metro specific classes (HeaderList hl = messageContext.get(JAXWSProperties.INBOUND_HEADER_LIST_PROPERTY)). However I'm not sure if I can rely on having that implementation at runtime so I'd like to stick to JAX-WS.

I also know about the header attribute of the @WebParam annotation. I'd prefer not having to specify the header parameter there. The reason is that my web service has some IDs that are common to all web methods and this would pollute the interface. Also in case another ID comes along or one gets removed again (the spec is not final yet) I'd have to modify every single web method. Also there would be no reason anymore for using a header - it could be a normal method parameter.

The third way I know of is using a handler via @HandlerChain but then I have no way of connecting the headers with the executed web method. The IDs开发者_如何转开发 I mentioned are important for further processing - they are not just access control that can work independently of the method.

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If you implement a request handler, you can store the headers in a thread local, static variable and implement some kind of access mechanism to it for your service method implementation.