Genii Weblog

REST plus RPC: the right data in the right format, and no more

Wed 6 Jan 2021, 12:24 PM



by Ben Langhinrichs
Following up on the promise in yesterday's post, REST plus RPC: Do the demo backward, this post describes our first steps in building the nested tabbed table report demo.
 
My wife works in a preschool, and the first lesson for a successful day is: Rest first (well-rested and well-fed kids are happy kids). Most often, we find the same lesson is true when building apps which may require both the REST API and remote procedure calls: REST first (collect the necessary data, and only that data, in the most usable format).
 
Let's examine the data requirements by looking at a snippet of the table and marking up what data we'll need, some item values and other formulas.
 
Inline JPEG image
 
For those who have been following along, there are direct parallels  from my earlier post, Data from Domino: nuts and bolts of REST calls. That post is a good place to start when thinking about extracting data from any database using Exciton Boost's REST API. It is also a good post for showing many different ways to call the REST API from different languages. In this post, I'll stick to HTTP for clarity.
 
Task 1: Get list of accessible views
Returns a JSON array of objects, one for each view that is included, implicitly (all views) or explicitly (specified views), in the Exciton configuration db and marked as discoverable. Exciton is strict about data security, so views may be accessible but not discoverable. Views not included are inaccessible and will return a 404 error.
 
GET /ReportIt.nsf/api/boost/views HTTP/1.1
Accept: application/json
 
One of the accessible views is (AllOrdersByState) which has a UNID of 8F4CC3794598B864852586540074DE3F. We could access it using the UNID, but since using view names was added in Exciton Boost 4.6.0, we'll do that instead.
 
Task 2: Get view with columns & metadata
Returns a JSON array of objects, one for each document in the view. Each document includes a link to get the document from the documents collection as well as item values for each view column. Note that there are parameters to page through the view if desired.
 
GET /ReportIt.nsf/api/boost/views/(AllOrdersByState) HTTP/1.1
Accept: application/json
 
We get a JSON array of objects like that below. From this, we know we'll need State, City, and Qty, but won't need anything else.
 
Inline JPEG image
 
Task 3: Add selected items to view results 
Going back to the view, the request can include either additional or replacement items for the view columns using an item list via URL or HTTP header. This allows retrieval of any allowed items with the view results, including rendered rich text items.
 
GET /ReportIt.nsf/api/boost/views/(AllOrdersByState)?metadata=false HTTP/1.1
Accept: application/json
X-Items-List: State,City,LastName+", "+FirstName=Saleperson,Unit,Quantity,Color,DeliveryMethod,@Text(Price;"C,")=Price
 
And now we have the data we need in the format we need without the extra baggage. This call is the one REST call that is necessary, though it only returns 20 documents in the view at a time by default. That's a matter for another post as we process the data further
 
Inline JPEG image
 
 
=> Request a free Exciton Boost eval in January, and if you later purchase a license. we'll add in four hours of development assistance, a $700 value. <=
 
 
Continuing reading as I develop the solution. My follow up post, REST plus RPC: building the JavaScript for RPC calls, is now available.

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