Exercise 08: Integrating a Web Service and a Java API Class

Introduction

Adding Integration Logic

• Developers can access resources to customize an Application
  
  

Accessing Web Pages using Web Tabs

• A Web Tab displays a local JSP page, or an (external) page specified by a URL
• Examples:
  • Company's intranet site from another server
  • Partner website from another server
  • Support website from another server
  • Custom Page created on the tenant

Adding Web Tabs

• Web Tabs appears in an application only for the Application Roles you specified
• Optional: Passing parameters to external web page you are invoking

Integrating Web Services into your Application

• Web Services get data from an external source
• You can use Web Services:

1. In External Lookup fields
2. To retrieve “related records” from an External Data Source
3. In process steps of type “Execute Web Service”

• You can also create a two-step “pipeline service”
  • For example: Handle authorization in the first step and get data in the second step
• Once you define a Web Service, it is available to every application on your tenant

Defining a Web Service

• Create a new Developer Resource of kind Web Service
• Select which type:
  • SOAP:
    • Upload a WSDL file that describes the remote service (Many operations can be defined in a single WSDL file)
    • Select the operation you want to call and the version
  • REST:
    • Provide sample input and output data (XML or JSON)
    • The platform extracts the parameter names, as if they were declared in a WSDL
• Specify parameters to ignore and supply hard-coded values
  • Remaining parameters are mapped when the Web Service is invoked

Using a Web Service in an External Lookup Field

• External Lookup field retrieves one or more records from a Web Service
• Invoked when an object record is added or updated
• External Lookup can invoke:
  • A Web Service as lookup service that returns a single record
  • A Web Service as search service that returns multiple records, the user selects from a popup which record to use
• To configure a lookup service
  • Select configured Web Service
  • Perform Input Mapping: Map values, record fields, user input, or expressions to become Web Service input(s)
  • Perform Output Mapping Map or ignore Web Service output(s) to read-only fields that can be placed at the desired location in the record form

Using a Web Service to Access an External Data Source

• An External Data Source lets you access a collection of related records from an external data store
• Records can be displayed in the Related Information section on an object form
• A Web Service must be configured to supply the records
• To configure an External Data Source:
  • Select configured Web Service
  • Perform input and output mapping of Web Service parameters
  • Specify record structure of expected related records

Using a Web Service in Execute Web Service Process Step

• Process Step of type Execute Web Service allows to invoke a configured Web Service in a Process Model
• Process Model Editor allows to map Web Service inputs and outputs to parameters used in the Process Model
• A Web Service output can be mapped to a Process Variable
  • Can be used as input to another Web Service, or as criteria for a Decision Switch
  • To create a Process Variable select “Use Variable” in the Output Mapping section of a Web Service step and give it a name
• Process Variables and Persistence:
  • Process variables do not persist beyond the life of the process
  • Store the value in a record field when:
    • Persistence is needed (a record is always available for that purpose!)
    • The value is needed in a Callable Process
  • For a Callable Process, data is also passed in a record field

Execute Web Service Process

• Execute Web Service
  • Invokes one of the Web Services configured for the application
  • Input Mapping: Map Object fields of the current record, fixed values or expressions to the WS inputs
  • Output Mapping: Map Web Service results or expressions to Object fields of the current record or Process Variables

Integrating a Web Service (Hands on Lab Part 1)

Extend and Integrate with Custom Java Code

Using Classes in Business Rules

• To invoke a method defined in a custom Java Class from a Business Rule:
  • Select Invoke Method in the Actions to Perform section

Writing For details on how to write code for the Java APIs, see the webMethods AgileApps Cloud documentation

• Select the Configuration > Learn More link and do a search for JAVA API
  • Dozens of Java APIs are available for use in a Java class
  • Custom Java Classes and Using the Java API

Macros

• Lets you do several things at once
• Object-related, appear in sidebar in Actions dropdown (like Custom Form Action)
• Visibility criteria:
  • Determines who sees it the Action list
  • Use field conditions or expressions
  • Tip: When creating expressions, use the field comparisons to find values:*
• Actions to perform:
  • Set field values, add a note, assign to User/Team, send email, start/stop Process, change Process status, execute Business Rules, execute a Web Service*, invoke Java method*

Exercise

This exercise has two parts:

• In Part 1, you integrate a Web service.
• In Part 2, you implement a provided Java API service for the Order Object to iterate through all the Line Items and update the Line Item count on the order.

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