The ATG platform permits external Java clients to access Nucleus methods by exposing them as ATG Web services. Many such ATG Web services are included with the ATG platform as are tools for creating custom Web services. For a list of ATG Web services, see ATG Web Services. Java clients are able to contact those Web services through a carefully constructed call that’s built in Java, translated into XML wrapped in SOAP, transmitted to the ATG platform, and routed to the Nucleus method itself. Other ATG resources, such as JMS messages and RepositoryItems can also be exposed as ATG Web services.
The ATG implementation of Web services follows the standard Web service guidelines outlined by JAX-RPC 1.0 and SOAP 1.1 specifications. This chapter assumes that you will use Apache Axis 1.1 to create your Web service call. Although you are not required to use Axis 1.1, you are strongly encouraged to do so. The ATG platform supplements the Axis offering with an extension that provides support for session sharing. See Sharing Sessions for more information.
This chapter aims to inform you how to call ATG Web services from an Axis client. Rather than provide a broad discussion on how to use Axis, this chapter describes ATG-specific features and processes that you need to be familiar with. Please see your Axis documentation for comprehensive instructions.
To access an ATG Web service, you need to be familiar with the following topics:
