WebEOC SOAP API WebEOC SOAP API May 8, 2018 1
Presenter Scott Johnson Director, Software Engineering Scott Johnson is the Director of Software Engineering for the WebEOC suite of products. As Director, Scott is responsible for the overall management of the software engineering teams responsible for building WebEOC. As a Director with more than 20 years of experience building enterprise web applications for the emergency management industry, his current focus is to develop new capabilities and incorporate new technologies into the Juvare platform. WebEOC SOAP API May 8, 2018 2
Course Objectives 1 Gain familiarity with the API and how it is used 2 Gain detailed information about each API function 3 See first-hand examples of usage of the API WebEOC SOAP API May 8, 2018 3
Topics Covered What is an API? Examining the WebEOC API Getting Started Example Public Website Interface WebEOC SOAP API May 8, 2018 4
What is an API An application programming interface (API) is a particular set of rules and specifications that a software program can follow to access and make use of the services and resources provided by another particular software program that implements that API. It serves as an interface between different software programs and facilitates their interaction, similar to the way the user interface facilitates interaction between humans and computers -Wikipedia
What is an API? Web Development API Characteristics ( Web Service ) Uses the HTTP protocol to communicate with the system A simple URL serves as the API end point Request message(s) posted to end point (XML, JSON, etc.) Response message(s) returned from server (XML, JSON, etc.) Two dominant types of Web Service APIs SOAP XML response type REST XML, JSON, YAML, response types
Typical Uses of an API Internal Development Create new features Build interfaces to other systems Examples: Subscription Boards, KC Interface, etc. External Development Third-party development Interfaces with other systems Examples: External web site, administration, RSS feeds, etc.
Why Use an API? A powerful enabler Consistent method for accessing data in status boards Respects authentication and authorization mechanisms Maintains data integrity (foreign key relationships, constraints, etc.) Integrated with existing business logic (view filters, refreshing, etc.) Maintains backwards compatibility Eases support burden
Why Use an API? The Bottom Line An API represents a contract between separate systems The functions and their parameters will not change Backwards compatibility will be maintained The API protects developers From changes in the database (schema, version, etc.) From changes in the underlying business logic Using the API helps ensure that your code will not break when the system is upgraded
What Skills Do You Need? Development Skills Basic Programming principles Web development (client-server, http request/response, etc.) REST, SOAP and web service concepts Developer Tools (IDE, Code generation, etc.)
What Skills Do You Need? An understanding of WebEOC concepts Status boards and their structure Views, tables, fields, options, etc. Authentication and authorization Users, positions, groups Incidents and data hierarchy
The WebEOC API
WebEOC API SOAP Web Service Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is an XML-based protocol for exchanging structured information between systems Transport method is usually HTTP, HTTPS, RPC Message format is strict XML A URL acts as the API end point Provides a web services description language (WSDL) The WSDL describes the methods and objects available
How to Use? Methods to invoke Manually construct envelope and messages Use code generation tools (yay!) Class Code samples rely on code generation Microsoft Visual Studio Creates sets of classes and methods that define the API Abstracts the http calls, construction of soap envelope, etc.
WebEOC API REST Web Service Representational State Transfer (REST) is an HTTP-based standard for exchanging structured information between systems Transport method is usually HTTP, HTTPS, RPC Message format is often JSON, but could be others A URL acts as the API end point Different HTTP codes are used to invoke operations URL typically used for indicating data type and parameters Advantages of REST Easily called with JavaScript Inherits session can be called from status board
Non-Admin Functions AddAttachment AddData AddRelatedData GetAttachment GetData GetDataByDataId GetFilteredData GetFilteredDataV2 GetIncidents GetUpdatedData GetUserPositions Ping UpdateData UpdateDataBatch UpdateRelatedData
Admin Functions AddGroup AddIncident AddUser AddUserToPosition DeleteGroup DeleteList DeleteListItem DeleteUser DeleteUserIfNoPositions EditGroup EditUser GetBoardNames GetDisplayViews GetGroup GetGroupNames GetIncidents GetInputViews GetListItems GetListItemsByListName GetLists GetPositions GetPositionsForUser GetUser GetUserNames
Admin Functions (Cont.) GetUserPositions GetUserByPosition GetViewFields RemoveuserFromPosition SaveList SaveListItem
API Classes WebEOCCredentials Username Password Position Incident Jurisdiction WebEOCUser Username IsAdministrator IsMultipleUserLogin IsAccountDisabled ChangePasswordAtNextL ogin IsDualCommitUser PrimaryEmail Color
API Classes (Cont.) WebEOCGroup Name Comment Organization AssignedPositions AssignedIncidents
Getting Started Visual Studio & C#
Typical API Usage First, create a WebEOCCredentials object and populate it Next, call the appropriate functions, passing the credentials object
Tutorial Code Walkthrough Visual Studio & C#
Important Notes The API is stateless, so a valid credential object must be passed with every call Make sure your user account is an administrator, or at least has the appropriate admin profile permissions if calling an admin function If you encounter an error, inspect the XML that is returned from the API call (the Detail property is using.net)
Example Public Website Pulling & Pushing Board Data
Questions & Answers WebEOC SOAP API May 8, 2018 26
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