Monthly Archives: March 2016
RESTing before RevCon 2016
With the Orlando Revelation User’s Conference coming up in just over four weeks from now, we continue to be quite busy getting ready for this major event. So, despite what this article title might seem to suggest, we are doing everything but taking it easy and relaxing. In point of fact, in addition to finishing up our travel plans, we are putting together our presentation for the conference. This is entitled: OpenInsight as a REST API Engine, What You Should Know.
For those who have not received or read through the conference brochure (a PDF copy can be downloaded from this link), here is the description of our presentation topic:
Virtually everyone who develops web applications has heard of REST APIs. Common questions you might ask are: Is REST just another buzzword? Should I care? How can this benefit my application or company? The short answers to these questions are: No; Yes; and, Come to this presentation and find out how REST can benefit you. In addition to explaining REST in easy to understand terms, we’ll provide a survey of the REST concept and compare it to competing strategies, explaining why REST is important and why virtually every major tech company on the internet supports REST APIs. Then we’ll provide you with the basic steps you’ll need to create your own REST API engine using OpenInsight. This presentation is a must for serious app developers who want to leverage their OpenInsight skill set with web and mobile toolkits.
Banded Report Writer Revealed – RTI_BRW_GenerateReport
Our next installment in the Banded Report Writer Revealed series explores the second of the two primary stored procedures that provide command line interaction with this rich reporting tool. Whereas the RTI_BRWSupport function provides multiple services, the RTI_BRW_GenerateReport function only has one purpose: to generate BRW reports. Thus, RTI_BRW_GenerateReport works with the Banded Report Writer in much the same way that Run_Report works with the Report Builder. Like the RTI_BRWSupport function, RTI_BRW_GenerateReport is documented in the more recent BRW Reference Guides (see pages 82ff.), but we’ll see that there is still more to discover than what has been put in the official documentation.
Picking the Correct XMLHTTP Object
Many OpenInsight applications integrate HTTP calls to extend its capabilities and embrace the power of web services. Whether using the Google Map API to get geolocation information or the UPS APIs to track shipments, applications are doing far more than they ever could before. We were recently approached by ChargeItPro, a leader in payment processing, to help them out. ChargeItPro was going to retire an older web API and replace it one with based on a RESTful architecture. Since ChargeItPro has a number of customers using OpenInsight, they maintain BASIC+ stored procedures and provide them to developers who want to integrate their services. We were asked to convert the logic to work with their new API. This seemed like a fun project, especially since much of the work we are now doing is heavily centered on REST APIs and web services.
