complexTypes are composite types built from simpler xsd types. Any SOAP client library that can't handle complexTypes is simply not useful. Luckily, SOAP::Lite can send and receive them just fine ;)

Examples of complexTypes include ArrayOfInts and CustomerContact (the name of some class). The WSDL description of the service tells the client how to send and receive values of such types.

SOAP::WSDL's primary benefit is that it *does* support whatever complexTypes are declared in the WSDL for the service... it therefor reduces the amount of work you as a client programmer must do to almost nothing.

If you use SOAP::Lite directly, you'll have to hand-construct complexType instance values yourself using SOAP::Data et al... which is painful and error-prone. Don't do it if you don't have to.

-David.