Create a non-Genero client for a JSON Web service

In order to consume a BAM-generated JSON Web service, a developer must understand the format of the HTTP REST JSON operations (requests and responses).

Before you begin, get the WebService_serverclient.4gl file from the Web Service provider. Although written in Genero BDL, this file contains the information needed to create the JSON body for the requests and responses. Consider this file as the documentation of how the Web service works.

From this document and from the information and examples provided below, you should be able to construct the appropriate HTTP REST JSON operations. This means you need to be able to construct:

The URL of the REST resource.
The HTTP header, to include the HTTP method, additional REST resource, and a possible CRUD operation.
- The HTTP method will be either GET, PUT, POST, or DELETE.
- The resource provides additional URL details that specify which record is involved in the request
- Some CRUD operations require you to provide the CRUDOperation in the header, specifically when you read, update or delete a collection.
The request body and response body. Data is exchanged in JSON format over HTTP. Examine the WebService_serverclient.4gl file to identify what is expected for both the request AND the response.
- The request body provides the data that the Web service needs to do its work. In the WebService_serverclient.4gl file, this is managed using a record with the suffix _IN_type.
- The response body provides the client application with the status of the operation (where 200 indicates success) along with any additional data sent back by the service. In the WebService_serverclient.4gl file, this is managed using a record with the suffix _OUT_type.

URL of the REST resource

The URL of the REST resource takes the following format:

http://<server>/<alias>/ws/r/<group>/REST/<resource>[(<IDs>)]

where:

<server> - Service server name or IP address.
<alias> - fastcgi / http dispatcher configuration
<group> - Web service server, for example, GAS group configuration or external configuration file name
<resource> - Web service entity
<IDs> (optional) - List of identifiers for records. IDs are enclosed by single quotes and separated by commas.

JSON Service example

Study these examples regarding the URLs and methods for a RESTful Web service. In this example, the JSON Web Service entity (with a Service Name of "Customers") involves three records (Accounts, Orders, and LineItems) defined with master-detail relationships.

Note: The Customers web service example used for these topics can be found under the Four Js Genero github repository. See http://github.com/FourjsGenero/ex_bam_json_web_service

screenshot of master-detail relationships between records for a Customers Web Service entity — Figure: Customers Web Service example with master-detail relationships

Table 1. This table is describing the REST JSON request and response
Functional description	URL of the REST resource	Scope	HTTP Method	CRUD operation	Request Body	Response Body
Returns a list of all customers (i.e., accounts + orders + lineitems)	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers`	Collection	POST	READCollection	Query By Example	Error number + Collections of customers
Return the account "dupont"	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts('dupont')`	Item	GET		Primary Key	Error number + Account data for customer dupont
Return the order 1	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts/Orders(1)`	Item	GET		Primary Key	Error number + Order data for order 1
Delete a list of accounts	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts`	Collection	POST	DELETECollection	Array of Keys	Error number
Delete the account "dupont"	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts('dupont')`	Item	DELETE		Primary Key	Error number
Update a list of accounts	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts`	Collection	PUT	UPDATECollection	Array of Data	Error number
Update the account "dupont"	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts('dupont')`	Item	PUT		Data	Error number
Create a document (createAll)	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers`	Collection	POST		Array of Data	Error number + collection of keys
Create a list of accounts	`http://localhost:8090/ws/r/JSONServer/` `REST/Customers/Accounts`	Collection	POST		Array of Data	Error number + collection of keys

JSON resources

The implementation of a JSON Item of the Business Application diagram defines a data set. In a data set, each record defines one resource and provides methods to create, read, update, and delete data.

Table 2 shows the resources defined for the JSON item Customers of our example. This item provides three records, Accounts, Orders, and LineItems.

Table 2. Resources
Resource	URI
Customers	`/Customers`
Accounts	`/Customers/Accounts`
Orders	`/Customers/Accounts/Orders`
LineItems	`/Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems`

Table 3 provides examples of the the HTTP header information necessary to complete CRUD operations on the resources in our example. In addition, the final three columns would map to the related function, the record used for the request body, and the record used for the response body.

Table 3. HTTP requests
HTTP header
	Description	Related function	Request record	Response record
`POST /Customers`
	Creates a collection of documents.	`Customers_client_createAll()`	`createAll_IN_type`	`createAll_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers` `CRUDOperation: READCollection`
	Reads a collection of documents from a Query by Example (QBE).	`Customers_client_readAll()`	`readAll_IN_type`	`readAll_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts`
	Creates a collection of new accounts.	`Customers_client_Accounts_create()`	`Accounts_create_IN_type`	`Accounts_create_OUT_type`
`GET /Customers/Accounts('accountID')`
	Reads the account specified by `accountID`.	`Customers_client_Accounts_readRow()`	`Accounts_ws_br_uk_type`	`Accounts_read_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts` `CRUDOperation: UPDATECollection`
	Updates a collection of accounts	`Customers_client_Accounts_update()`	`Accounts_update_IN_type`	`Accounts_update_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts('accountID')`
	Updates the account specified by `accountID`.	`Customers_client_Accounts_updateRow()`	`Accounts_ws_br_uk_type`	`Accounts_update_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts` `CRUDOperation: DELETECollection`
	Deletes a collection of accounts	`Customers_client_Accounts_delete()`	`Accounts_delete_IN_type`	`Accounts_delete_OUT_type`
`DELETE /Customers/Accounts('accountID')`
	Deletes the account specified by `accountID`.	`Customers_client_Accounts_deleteRow()`	`Accounts_ws_br_uk_type`	`Accounts_delete_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts/Orders`
	Creates a collection of new orders.	`Customers_client__Orders_create()`	`Orders_create_IN_type`	`Orders_create_OUT_type`
`GET /Customers/Accounts/Orders('orderID')`
	Reads the order specified by `orderID`.	`Customers_client__Orders_readRow()`	`Orders_ws_br_uk_type`	`Orders_read_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts/Orders` `CRUDOperation: UPDATECollection`
	Updates a collection of orders	`Customers_client__Orders_update()`	`Orders_update_IN_type`	`Orders_update_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts/Orders('orderID')`
	Updates the order specified by `orderID`.	`Customers_client__Orders_updateRow()`	`Orders_ws_br_uk_type`	`Orders_update_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts/Orders` `CRUDOperation: DELETECollection`
	Deletes a collection of orders	`Customers_client__Orders_delete()`	`Orders_delete_IN_type`	`Orders_delete_OUT_type`
`DELETE /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems('lineItemID')`
	Deletes the line item specified by `lineItemID`.	`Customers_client__Orders_deleteRow()`	`Orders_ws_br_uk_type`	`Orders_delete_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems`
	Creates a collection of new line items.	`Customers_client__LineItems_create()`	`LineItems_create_IN_type`	`LineItems_create_OUT_type`
`GET /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems('lineItemID')`
	Reads the line item specified by `lineItemID`.	`Customers_client__LineItems_readRow()`	`LineItems_ws_br_uk_type`	`LineItems_read_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems` `CRUDOperation: UPDATECollection`
	Updates a collection of line items	`Customers_client__LineItems_update()`	`LineItems_update_IN_type`	`LineItems_update_OUT_type`
`PUT /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems('lineItemID')`
	Updates the line item specified by `lineItemID`.	`Customers_client__LineItems_updateRow()`	`LineItems_ws_br_uk_type`	`LineItems_update_OUT_type`
`POST /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems` `CRUDOperation: DELETECollection`
	Deletes a collection of line items	`Customers_client__LineItems_delete()`	`Orders_delete_IN_type`	`Orders_delete_OUT_type`
`DELETE /Customers/Accounts/Orders/LineItems(''lineItemID')`
	Deletes the line item specified by `lineItemID`.	`Customers_client__LineItems_deleteRow()`	`Orders_ws_br_uk_type`	`Orders_delete_OUT_type`