Web Service URL-1524588947

Is there a web service URL that is generally available for testing so that I might get a better look at how that works in the Workflow Manager Web Service activity?

Many thanks

Hi Steve, 

do you have on premise or using DW cloud?

In fact you will need a web server that can be reached from the workflow manager engine server. There you can place a simple "hello docid" test web service with very less lines of code.

I prefer using Microsoft IIS with an ASMX built with VisualStudio, but any other web server/service should work, too. 

If you have DW cloud and absolutely no public available IIS (not even on your home's internet environment), I am not sure if there is some kind of a public IIS stuff in the web. Maybe then you will have to use Microsoft Azure evaluation possibilities therefore to host your IIS and webservice? 

Kind regards

Tobias

Tobias, thanks for your response. I have an on premises system and I have moved the ERP web service parts from the Peters Engineering demo to my IIS and they do respond. I'm not much of a coder so I would be in the dark making my own service.

We have a customer who is using a 3rd party invoicer and they want us to send them some info about invoices that have been approved. They have their own ReST API and suggested we use that. I thought if they could provide us with a URL to their service it would be easy for us to use the call from Workflow Manager to send them what they need. But I will have to describe to them what they need to provide in their ASMX. Is there a document that describes the process at a higher level?

Thanks again,

Steve, 

in that case, I think they have to put a little wrapper in front of their ReST API, because DW WorkflowManger cannot handle ReST URLs directly. It uses an ASMX service. You can pass it some of your index data or workflow variables and it may give you a return string back, too. 

To demonstrate the ASMX with Csharp: 

[WebMethod] 
public string HelloDocId(int DwDocId)
{
   // do your ReST API calls here ...
   return "Hello Doc ID: " + DwDocId.ToString();
}

You can compile more than one web method into a single ASMX webservice DLL for the IIS. This example will get the doc id number as an input parameter from workflow manager and returns a result string back to workflow manager. So an ASMX web service is quite simple thing. Instead of the "hello doc id" line your customer's invoicer has to put all his necessary ReST calls in this method, that's all. 

Because of they already could provide you with a public reachable URL, they just have to do the same with the ASMX wrapper service. 

But be aware of security: If the service can be reached without any restriction from over the internet, everybody who openes the URL in the browser can pass some random parameter values into your service (i. e. docid 4711 and clicks OK). Then without any other security mechanism like a simple passphrase as a second parameter for example, your invoice system may start booking/printing/exporting/... doc id 4711 automatically and will do everything just like your workflow manager has triggered the service! Consider your invoicer to restrict that service to your workflow manager server only, too. 

Tobias

Tobias,

This looks like exactly what I needed. Many thanks.