Getting started

These instructions will walk you through the basics for quickly creating new Web Services and Web Service Operations and Resources.

1. The first step is to define the connection parameters to the D3 or mvBase database that contains the data (accounts, files and subroutines) you want to expose via the Web Service. This entails specifying the host, port and database type for the database you are connecting to as well as your MVSP user name and password. To get started, right-click the MV Servers node from the MV Servers Explorer and select the Create MV Server Connection option. See Create MV server connections for more detail.

   After the connection has been created, the connection displays in the MV Server Explorer. Now you need to start the connection to move on to the next step, which is to create an MV Web Service Provider. To start the connection, right-click the server connection from the MV Servers Explorer and select the Connect option. See Connect to an MV server for more detail.

2. The second step is to define the connection to an MV Web Service Provider. An MV Web Service Provider contains an HTTP server that will be used to host your Web Services and their operations and resources. This entails specifying the name for the provider, and the host name and port for both the provider and the Web Server. To get started, right-click the MV Web Service Providers node from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the Create Web Service Provider option. See Create MV web service providers for more detail.

   Once the connection has been created, the connection displays in the MV Web Service Explorer. Now you need to start the connection in order to move on to the next step which is to create a Web Service. To start the connection, right-click the service provider name from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the Connect option. See Connect to an MV web service provider for more detail.

3. The third step is to create the Web Service that will group your Web Service Operations and Resources. This entails specifying a name for the Web Service as well as the Endpoint for the unique URL that will identify the grouping of Web Service Operations and Resources. To get started, right-click the MV Web Service Provider on which to create the new Web Service from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the Create Web Service option. See Create a web service for more detail.

   If you chose to employ User ID/Password security in your new Web Service, you can define the users and groups that will have access to any of the Web Services that are defined on the associated Web Service Provider. Any user with the appropriate permissions can execute any Web Service Operation or Resource that exists on that Web Service Provider by including their User ID and Password in the header of the SOAP or REST request that calls the operation or resource. To get started, right-click a defined MV Web Service Provider from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the Manage Users option. See Creating and managing users, Creating and managing groups and Managing group access for more details.

4. The final step is to create the Web Service Operations or Resources that will be grouped by the new Web Service. This entails specifying the accounts exposed by your connection to the D3 or mvBase server, selecting the file or subroutine to expose through the Web Service and then constructing the AQL statement or cataloged subroutine that will define your operation or resource and call your data. To get started, right-click the Web Service in which to create the new Web Service Operation or Resource from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the appropriate option (either Create Web Service Operation or Create Web Service Resource). See Create a web service operation (AQL statement), Create a web service operation (cataloged subroutine), Create a web service resource (data) or Create a web service resource (cataloged subroutine) for more information.

   After you have created an operation or resource, you can test the SOAP or REST Request and Response on your Web Service Operation or Resource. To get started, right-click the Web Service that contains the operations or resources to test from the MV Web Service Explorer and select the Test Web Service option. See Test a web service for more information.