Retrieving Data Using the Pathways API

To retrieve data about items, views, saved searches and users (experts), use one of the interfaces provided by the Pathways API.

The Pathways API provides a collection of interfaces to retrieve data.

To retrieve details about a specific item in the portal, Collaboration, or Publisher, use GET /pathways/api/item/[ptsource]/[id]. For example, the following request retrieves details on a portal item with an object ID of 201: GET /pathways/api/item/PTPORTAL/18_201?format=XML. The response contains detailed information about the item:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<soc:PItemDetail xmlns:soc="http://social.bea.com/pathways">
    <type>PTPORTAL</type>
    <classId>18</classId>
    <objectId>201</objectId>
    <name>APOD: 2007 October 12 - The Whale and the Hockey Stick</name>
    <description>A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.</description>
    <lastModified>2008-02-25T02:33:00-08:00</lastModified>
    <URL>http://smahendr03.amer.bea.com:8080/portal/server.pt?open=18&amp;objID=201&amp;mode=2&amp;in_hi_userid=1</URL>
    <viewDetailURL>http://smahendr03.amer.bea.com:8080/portal/server.pt?objID=201&amp;open=18&amp;mode=3&amp;subspace=mySubspaceKey&amp;space=Opener</viewDetailURL>
    <path>\Knowledge Directory\Test</path>
    <folderId>200</folderId>
    <folderName>\Knowledge Directory\Test</folderName>
    <property>
        <id>PT8</id>
        <name>Content Language</name>
        <value>en</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT6</id>
        <name>Content Type ID</name>
        <value>106</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT2</id>
        <name>Description</name>
        <value>A different astronomy and space science related image is featured each day, along with a brief explanation.</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT1</id>
        <name>Name</name>
        <value>APOD: 2007 October 12 - The Whale and the Hockey Stick</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT3</id>
        <name>Object Created</name>
        <value>4232743.0</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT4</id>
        <name>Object Last Modified</name>
        <value>4287993.0</value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT5</id>
        <name>Open Document URL</name>
        <value>http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071012.html</value>
    </property>
</soc:PItemDetail>

You can also find out whether a specific item has been marked as a favorite using GET /pathways/api/isfavorite/[id]. For details on searching for items, see Executing Searches Using the Pathways API.

To retrieve details about an existing view by ID, use GET /pathways/api/view/[id]. For example, GET /pathways/api/view/8aa289731303557b0113086b1ece0003?format=XML. (To retrieve a list of existing saved searches, use GET /pathways/api/views?format=XML.) The response contains detailed information about the view:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<soc:PViewDetail xmlns:soc="http://social.bea.com/pathways">
    <created>2007-06-07T16:00:44.367-07:00</created>
    <id>8aa289731303557b0113086b1ece0003</id>
    <lastModified>2008-04-03T08:30:35.807-07:00</lastModified>
    <members>PTPORTAL:1:203</members>
    <name>Marketing view</name>
    <ownerId>PTPORTAL:1:1</ownerId>
    <published>true</published>
    <subscribers>PTPORTAL:1:203,PTPORTAL:1:204,PTPORTAL:1:1</subscribers>
</soc:PViewDetail>

For details on creating new views, see Creating and Managing Views Using the Pathways API.

To retrieve details about an existing saved search by ID, use GET /pathways/api/savedsearch/[id]. For example, GET /pathways/api/savedsearch/8aa289731587336f011587345c110001?format=XML. (To retrieve a list of existing saved searches, use GET /pathways/api/savedsearches?format=XML.) The response contains detailed information about the saved search:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<soc:PSavedSearchesList xmlns:soc="http://social.bea.com/pathways">
    <savedSearch>
        <created>2007-10-09T16:58:16.593-07:00</created>
        <dailyEmail>true</dailyEmail>
        <id>8aa289731587336f011587345c110001</id>
        <language>en</language>
        <lastModified>2008-02-22T16:07:32.583-08:00</lastModified>
        <ownerId>PTPORTAL:1:1</ownerId>
        <queryString>news</queryString>
        <rssFormat>false</rssFormat>
        <timeZoneId>America/Los_Angeles</timeZoneId>
    </savedSearch>
</soc:PSavedSearchesList>

For details on creating new saved searches, see Creating and Managing Saved Searches Using the Pathways API.

To retrieve details about an existing user (expert) by ID, use GET /pathways/api/people/[id]. For example, GET /pathways/api/people/PTPORTAL/1_201?format=XML. The response contains detailed information about the user:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<soc:PItemDetail xmlns:soc="http://social.bea.com/pathways">
    <type>PTPORTAL</type>
    <name>user1</name>
    <description></description>
    <lastModified>2008-01-14T07:34:00-08:00</lastModified>
    <URL>http://smahendr03.amer.bea.com:8080/portal/server.pt?open=1&amp;objID=201&amp;mode=2&amp;in_hi_userid=1</URL>
    <path>\Admin Objects Directory\Test Resources</path>
    <folderId>306</folderId>
    <folderName>\Admin Objects Directory\Test Resources</folderName>
    <property>
        <id>PT201</id>
        <name>Secret Property</name>
        <value></value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT156</id>
        <name>Company</name>
        <value></value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT152</id>
        <name>Phone Number</name>
        <value></value>
    </property>
    <property>
        <id>PT26</id>
        <name>Email Address</name>
        <value></value>
    </property>
</soc:PItemDetail>

You can retrieve the current user's access privileges using GET /pathways/api/privileges. For example, GET /pathways/api/privileges?format=XML. The response lists all available privileges:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<soc:PPrivileges xmlns:soc="http://social.bea.com/pathways">
    <access>HAS_PORTAL_ACTIVITY_ACCESS_PATHWAYS</access>
    <access>CAN_VIEW_TAGS</access>
    <access>CAN_VIEW_PEOPLE</access>
    <access>CAN_ADD_TAGS</access>
    <access>CAN_CREATE_VIEWS</access>
    <access>CAN_PRESCRIBE_VIEWS</access>
    <access>HAS_MY_VIEW</access>
    <access>HAS_EVERYONE_VIEW</access>
    <access>CAN_ADD_FAVORITES_CONTACTS</access>
    <access>CAN_SET_USER_PREFS</access>
    <access>CAN_ACCESS_ENHANCED_UI</access>
    <access>CAN_SAVE_SEARCHES</access>
    <access>HAS_APPLICATION_WRITE</access>
</soc:PPrivileges>

You can also find out whether a specific expert has been marked as a contact of the current user, use GET /pathways/api/isfavorite/[id].

Parent topic: About the Pathways API

AquaLogic User Interaction Development Guide

Retrieving Data Using the Pathways API