What is SAML profile and binding?

Question

I am new to SAML. Could you please explain in plain English what is SAML profile and binding and provide a couple of examples.

Answer 1

As nrathus points out in his comment, Wikipedia's entry on SAML is a pretty good place to start.

The SAML 2.0 entry, though, delves further into the version you're most likely to use.

Having said that, my answer is this:

Bindings - these are essentially the technical method of a connection. Are we expecting the browser to POST the assertion (HTTP POST Binding)? Or should service provider be retrieving an artifact from the identity provider over SOAP (HTTP Artifact Binding)?

Profiles on the other hand, basically define a set of things that you want to do. Browser SSO? SLO? IdP Discovery?

In a nutshell, Profiles are what you do, and bindings are how you do it.