diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/EndpointParser.java b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/EndpointParser.java
index 0389cf2d48..ffc7e3db30 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/EndpointParser.java
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/EndpointParser.java
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public class EndpointParser implements BeanDefinitionParser {
 
 	private static final String REF_ATTRIBUTE = "ref";
 
-	private static final String HANDLER_REF_ATTRIBUTE = "handler-ref";
+	private static final String HANDLER_ATTRIBUTE = "handler";
 
 	private static final String HANDLER_METHOD_ATTRIBUTE = "handler-method";
 
@@ -85,9 +85,9 @@ public class EndpointParser implements BeanDefinitionParser {
 
 
 	public BeanDefinition parse(Element element, ParserContext parserContext) {
-		String handlerRef = element.getAttribute(HANDLER_REF_ATTRIBUTE);
+		String handlerRef = element.getAttribute(HANDLER_ATTRIBUTE);
 		if (!StringUtils.hasText(handlerRef)) {
-			throw new ConfigurationException("The 'handler-ref' attribute is required.");
+			throw new ConfigurationException("The '" + HANDLER_ATTRIBUTE + "' attribute is required.");
 		}
 		RootBeanDefinition endpointDef = new RootBeanDefinition(HandlerEndpoint.class);
 		endpointDef.setSource(parserContext.extractSource(element));
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/spring-integration-core-1.0.xsd b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/spring-integration-core-1.0.xsd
index 2db48435de..b73a8f4de1 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/spring-integration-core-1.0.xsd
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/config/spring-integration-core-1.0.xsd
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@
 					</xsd:sequence>
 					<xsd:attribute name="input-channel" type="xsd:string" use="required"/>
 					<xsd:attribute name="default-output-channel" type="xsd:string"/>
-					<xsd:attribute name="handler-ref" type="xsd:string" use="required"/>
+					<xsd:attribute name="handler" type="xsd:string" use="required"/>
 					<xsd:attribute name="handler-method" type="xsd:string"/>
 					<xsd:attribute name="error-handler" type="xsd:string"/>
 					<xsd:attribute name="reply-handler" type="xsd:string"/>
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointConcurrencyTests.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointConcurrencyTests.xml
index f64fff1024..4c910324af 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointConcurrencyTests.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointConcurrencyTests.xml
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="defaultConcurrencyEndpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler">
+	<endpoint id="defaultConcurrencyEndpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler">
 		<concurrency/>
 	</endpoint>
 
-	<endpoint id="configuredConcurrencyEndpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler">
+	<endpoint id="configuredConcurrencyEndpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler">
 		<concurrency core="7" max="77" queue-capacity="777" keep-alive="7777"/>
 	</endpoint>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithErrorHandler.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithErrorHandler.xml
index 9122689d07..125055e815 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithErrorHandler.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithErrorHandler.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler" error-handler="errorHandler"/>
+	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler" error-handler="errorHandler"/>
 
 	<beans:bean id="testHandler" class="org.springframework.integration.config.ExceptionThrowingTestHandler"/>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithHandlerChainElement.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithHandlerChainElement.xml
index 6efcbeddc2..77d8df6a04 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithHandlerChainElement.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithHandlerChainElement.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 		<handler ref="handler3"/>
 	</handler-chain>
 
-	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="chain" default-output-channel="replyChannel">
+	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler="chain" default-output-channel="replyChannel">
 		<schedule period="100"/>
 	</endpoint>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithReplyHandler.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithReplyHandler.xml
index 68348cd01e..e9b19abc69 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithReplyHandler.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithReplyHandler.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler" reply-handler="replyHandler"/>
+	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler" reply-handler="replyHandler"/>
 
 	<beans:bean id="testHandler" class="org.springframework.integration.config.TestHandler">
 		<beans:property name="replyMessageText" value="foo"/>
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithSelectors.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithSelectors.xml
index 9c0a54c39a..fdf241d3fe 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithSelectors.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/endpointWithSelectors.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel" capacity="50"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler">
+	<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler">
 		<schedule period="100"/>
 		<selector ref="typeSelector"/>
 	</endpoint>
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/handlerAdapterEndpointTests.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/handlerAdapterEndpointTests.xml
index 9ce14f3e9b..a18fb66d01 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/handlerAdapterEndpointTests.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/handlerAdapterEndpointTests.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel" capacity="50"/>
 
-	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testBean" handler-method="store">
+	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler="testBean" handler-method="store">
 		<schedule period="100"/>
 	</endpoint>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/messageBusWithDefaultConcurrencyTests.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/messageBusWithDefaultConcurrencyTests.xml
index b4a24a4bb0..bf9e748fb9 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/messageBusWithDefaultConcurrencyTests.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/messageBusWithDefaultConcurrencyTests.xml
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@
 
 	<channel id="channel"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="endpoint1" handler-ref="testHandler" input-channel="channel"/>
+	<endpoint id="endpoint1" handler="testHandler" input-channel="channel"/>
 
-	<endpoint id="endpoint2" handler-ref="testHandler" input-channel="channel">
+	<endpoint id="endpoint2" handler="testHandler" input-channel="channel">
 		<concurrency core="14" max="17"/>
 	</endpoint>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
index dea033720e..ce9816361f 100644
--- a/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-core/src/test/java/org/springframework/integration/config/simpleEndpointTests.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<channel id="testChannel" capacity="50"/>
 
-	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler-ref="testHandler">
+	<endpoint input-channel="testChannel" handler="testHandler">
 		<schedule period="100"/>
 	</endpoint>
 
diff --git a/spring-integration-reference/src/configuration.xml b/spring-integration-reference/src/configuration.xml
index 690f9cf1e8..c2b5d6c785 100644
--- a/spring-integration-reference/src/configuration.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-reference/src/configuration.xml
@@ -124,15 +124,15 @@
     <section id="namespace-endpoint">
       <title>Configuring Message Endpoints</title>
       <para>
-        To create a Message Endpoint instance, use the 'endpoint' element with the 'input-channel' and 'handler-ref'
+        To create a Message Endpoint instance, use the 'endpoint' element with the 'input-channel' and 'handler'
         attributes:
-        <programlisting>&lt;endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler-ref="exampleHandler"/&gt;</programlisting>
+        <programlisting>&lt;endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler="exampleHandler"/&gt;</programlisting>
       </para>
       <para>
         The configuration above assumes that "exampleHandler" is an actual implementation of the
         <interfacename>MessageHandler</interfacename> interface as described in <xref linkend="api-messagehandler"/>.
         To delegate to an arbitrary method of any object, simply add the "handler-method" attribute.
-        <programlisting>&lt;endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler-ref="somePojo" handler-method="someMethod"/&gt;</programlisting>
+        <programlisting>&lt;endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler="somePojo" handler-method="someMethod"/&gt;</programlisting>
       </para>
       <para>
         In either case (<interfacename>MessageHandler</interfacename> or arbitrary object/method), when the handling
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@
         neither is available, then a <classname>MessageHandlingException</classname> will be thrown. To configure the
         default output channel when using the XML namespace, provide the 'default-output-channel' attribute:
         <programlisting>&lt;endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel"
-          handler-ref="somePojo"
+          handler="somePojo"
           handler-method="someMethod"
           default-output-channel="replyChannel"/&gt;</programlisting>
       </para>
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@
         Endpoint's also support <interfacename>MessageSelectors</interfacename> as described in
         <xref linkend="api-messageselector"/>. To configure selectors with namespace support, simply add one or more
         &lt;selector&gt; sub-elements to the endpoint definition:
-        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="channel" handler-ref="handler">
+        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint id="endpoint" input-channel="channel" handler="handler">
     ]]><emphasis><![CDATA[<selector ref="exampleSelector"/>]]></emphasis><![CDATA[
 </endpoint>]]></programlisting>
       </para>
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@
         endpoint subscriptions for its channel and delegates to a scheduler for managing the tasks that pull messages
         from the channel and push them to the endpoints. To configure the polling period for an individual endpoint's
         schedule, provide a 'schedule' sub-element with the 'period' in milliseconds:
-        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler-ref="exampleHandler"/>
+        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler="exampleHandler"/>
     ]]><emphasis><![CDATA[<schedule period="3000"/>]]></emphasis><![CDATA[
 </endpoint>]]></programlisting>
       </para>
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@
         consider (the other major factor being the expected volume on the channel to which the endpoint subscribes).
         To enable concurrency for an endpoint that is configured with the XML namespace support, provide the
         'concurrency' sub-element and one or more of the properties shown below:
-        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler-ref="exampleHandler"/>
+        <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="exampleChannel" handler="exampleHandler"/>
     ]]><emphasis><![CDATA[<concurrency core="5" max="25" queue-capacity="20" keep-alive="120"/>]]></emphasis><![CDATA[
 </endpoint>]]></programlisting>
         Recall the default concurrency policy values as listed in <xref linkend="api-messagebus-concurrencypolicy"/>.
diff --git a/spring-integration-reference/src/samples.xml b/spring-integration-reference/src/samples.xml
index 8861acea5b..27cee61c4f 100644
--- a/spring-integration-reference/src/samples.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-reference/src/samples.xml
@@ -49,10 +49,10 @@
     <channel id="coldDrinks"/>
     <channel id="hotDrinks"/>
 
-    <endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler-ref="barista"
+    <endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler="barista"
                                          handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
 
-    <endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler-ref="barista"
+    <endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler="barista"
                                         handler-method="prepareHotDrink"/>
 
     <beans:bean id="cafe" class="org.springframework.integration.samples.cafe.Cafe">
@@ -163,9 +163,9 @@ public class Barista {
       However, by configuring the endpoint concurrency, you can dramatically change the results. For example, on my
       machine, the following single modification causes all 100 hot drinks to be prepared before the 4th cold drink is
       ready:
-      <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
+      <programlisting><![CDATA[<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
 
-<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink">
+<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink">
     ]]><emphasis><![CDATA[<concurrency core="25" max="50"/>]]></emphasis><![CDATA[
 </endpoint>]]></programlisting>
     </para>
diff --git a/spring-integration-samples/scripts/cafeDemo.xml b/spring-integration-samples/scripts/cafeDemo.xml
index eed7e735dc..d999af352e 100644
--- a/spring-integration-samples/scripts/cafeDemo.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-samples/scripts/cafeDemo.xml
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
 	<channel id="coldDrinks"/>
 	<channel id="hotDrinks"/>
 
-	<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
-	<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink"/>
+	<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
+	<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink"/>
 
 	<beans:bean id="cafe" class="org.springframework.integration.samples.cafe.Cafe">
 		<beans:property name="orderChannel" ref="orders"/>
diff --git a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/cafe/cafeDemo.xml b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/cafe/cafeDemo.xml
index eed7e735dc..d999af352e 100644
--- a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/cafe/cafeDemo.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/cafe/cafeDemo.xml
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@
 	<channel id="coldDrinks"/>
 	<channel id="hotDrinks"/>
 
-	<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
-	<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler-ref="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink"/>
+	<endpoint input-channel="coldDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareColdDrink"/>
+	<endpoint input-channel="hotDrinks" handler="barista" handler-method="prepareHotDrink"/>
 
 	<beans:bean id="cafe" class="org.springframework.integration.samples.cafe.Cafe">
 		<beans:property name="orderChannel" ref="orders"/>
diff --git a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo.xml b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo.xml
index 6c687b524a..2bf9be1813 100644
--- a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/filecopy/fileCopyDemo.xml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
                     channel="channel1" poll-period="10000"/>
 
 	<si:endpoint input-channel="channel1" default-output-channel="channel2"
-                 handler-ref="exclaimer" handler-method="exclaim"/>
+                 handler="exclaimer" handler-method="exclaim"/>
 
 	<si:file-target directory="${java.io.tmpdir}/spring-integration-samples/output"
                     channel="channel2"/>
diff --git a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/helloworld/helloWorldDemo.xml b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/helloworld/helloWorldDemo.xml
index 31ab8da15e..f33c8b5774 100644
--- a/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/helloworld/helloWorldDemo.xml
+++ b/spring-integration-samples/src/main/java/org/springframework/integration/samples/helloworld/helloWorldDemo.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 
 	<endpoint input-channel="inputChannel"
 	          default-output-channel="outputChannel"
-	          handler-ref="helloService"
+	          handler="helloService"
 	          handler-method="sayHello"/>
 
 	<beans:bean id="helloService" class="org.springframework.integration.samples.helloworld.HelloService"/>