Extended Functions → Using REST Data Sources → REST Service Configuration Dialog Box

REST Service Configuration Dialog Box

This dialog box opens when you do one of the following:

The following table describes the configuration settings for a REST service.
Element Description
URL selection / Address In the drop-down URL selection field, select from available options and fill in the adjoining Address field as follows:
  • URL: Type or paste the URL of the REST service endpoint into the adjoining Address field.
  • Custom Endpoint: The pre-defined URL for the selected custom endpoint is automatically pre-filled into the adjoining Address field. Refer to About Custom Endpoints.
  • <Convert to Endpoint…>: If you have selected URL and entered an URL, or if you have selected a custom endpoint, you can then select the <Convert to Endpoint…> option to create a new endpoint based on the current contents of the adjoining Address field. Overtype the default name, Endpoint, to give the custom endpoint a meaningful name.

Any input parameters are immediately added to the Inputs section, and the sample data and outputs columns are automatically populated.
Add input

Adds add a new input parameter. When you add a new parameter, the URL is immediately updated.
Remove input Removes the selected input parameter.
Get Sample Data Populates the sample data column based on the REST service URL and any URL parameters. Use the button to initially populate the column or to refresh the sample data from the URL after you edit the data.
using security token This option is enabled only if Security Token is selected in Authentication and relates to the Get Sample Data option. If selected, this passes your security token, which is retrieved based on your SBM Composer Repository credentials, to the REST service to obtain sample data.
Edit Sample Data Use to modify sample data. For example, you may want to duplicate repeating data. You can also import data. For details, refer to Edit Sample REST Data Dialog Box.
Inputs

Displays input parameters that are sent to a REST service. The parameters are populated when you provide a URL.

You can set new default values for input parameters that override ones set in a provided URL. The URL is updated after you change a parameter name or value, and then click somewhere else or press the Enter key.

(REST Grid widget only) Runtime values for parameters are specified on the Query tab.

(REST data source only) You can parameterize the URL by using square brackets [ ] inside the URL portion before the ?. The format is [name=value]. After you create an input parameter, you can add options in the Inputs table.

For example, if you want to provide different values for "geocode" in the following URL:

http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=chicago&sensor=false

modify the URL as follows:

http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/[apitype=geocode]/json?address=chicago&sensor=false
Sample data

Displays sample data from the REST service.

Select the Wrap check box to wrap the sample data so it is visible without scrolling.

Select the Format check box to properly format the data.
Outputs
Displays output structure received from a REST service. Formatting hints include:
  • Bold nodes can be displayed.
  • Disabled nodes cannot be displayed.
  • Repeating nodes are shown as arrays (with [] after the name).
  • The array that is selected to be displayed is shown in bold italic text.
Authentication Authentication can be specified to initialize the REST service endpoint and to retrieve sample data.

Options available are:

  • None
  • HTTP Basic: Provide the user name and password information to authenticate the REST service call.
  • Security Token: Pass the security token from SBM Application Repository to the REST service for authentication. This setting does not apply to sample data retrieval. Refer to the using security token option for information on using Security Token for sample data retrieval.
  • Oauth 2: Use Oauth 2 to authenticate the REST service call.

    An administrator must obtain the required access and refresh tokens for Oauth 2 and enter them in the environment endpoint definition in SBM Application Repository. For details, refer to the SBM Application Repository Guide.

    Oauth 2 cannot be used for sample data retrieval.

  • NTLM: Use Windows domain credentials to authenticate the REST service call. Provide the user name, password, and domain in SBM Application Repository.

If you do not provide credentials for REST services that require authentication, you are prompted to enter this information before you can continue.

Note: This information is for initialization of the environment endpoints to which you map this process app endpoint during deployment. At runtime, the authentication method is always retrieved from the environment endpoint settings in SBM Application Repository. Changing it here in SBM Composer has no effect on the mapped environment endpoint after the initial deployment to an environment.
Bypass browser cache Always goes directly to the server to get results, rather than relying on the browser cache. Select this check box if your REST results change over time and you want to have the latest data, not the cached data.
Ignore XML prefixes Specify whether XML namespace prefixes should be ignored.

Namespace prefixes are arbitrary, can be automatically generated, and can change. The REST data source and the REST Grid widget require a constant namespace prefix, so if the prefix changes, they do not work. If you select this check box, the namespace prefix that is returned in the data from the REST service is not used, so the widget works consistently.

This checkbox appears only for REST services that return XML. It does not appear for REST services that return JSON.
Rows data

Defines the array in the data set to be used for rows in the grid. The first available array is selected by default, but the list can be edited if more than one array is present. If no arrays are detected, the list includes all potential elements, and at runtime, the user must select the element that will contain repeating data.

Related Topics

About REST Data Sources

Using the REST Grid Widget

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