1. REST APIs for Oracle CPQREST API Services for Oracle CPQ
  2. Reference
  3. Terminology

Terminology

If you're new to Oracle CPQ REST APIs, you're bound to run into unfamiliar terms. Review these definitions to better understand the tech lingo.

  • AJAX: Stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML and it allows web pages to be more interactive and behave like local applications. AJAX allows the web page to retrieve small amounts of data from the server without reloading the entire page.
  • Base64: Encoding schemes that convert binary data to a text string format, so that the data can be securely transmitted in HTTP headers. Base64 encodes by dividing a string of bytes into groups of bits, so that each group maps to one of 64 characters, avoiding the risk of sending raw binary data across networks.
  • Basic Authentication: A simple and commonly used identifying process built into the HTTP protocol that collects credentials as user name / password pairs. The REST client sends HTTP requests with the Authorization header in the Base64-encoded format: Basic username:password. It's usually implemented with a secondary level of security.
  • Collection Resource: Represents a list of items, such as accounts, employees, purchase orders, or opportunities.
  • Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS): Enables secure communication when using a browser-based programming language, such as JavaScript, to access content from another domain using HTTP requests.
  • cURL: A popular command-line utility for transferring data using URL syntax, to send requests to REST services. cURL is available in most UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh environments.
  • Dynamic: A list of valid choices that change based on the context of the resource. For example, a dynamic list of values for cities changes based on the selected country.
  • Endpoint: A URI on a server that can return a response. The terms resource and endpoint can be used interchangeably.
  • HTTP Header: Components of request and response messages in Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that carry information and define the operating parameters of an HTTP transaction. For examples, see REST Client.
  • Identity Provider (IDP): Sites or services that provide a security credential (such as an authentication or authorization assertion) on behalf of a user.
  • JSON: Stands for JavaScript Object Notation. It is lightweight format for storing and transporting data and is often used when data is sent from a server to a web page. For more information, see Introducing JSON.
  • List of Values (LOV) Resource: A resource that provides a list of valid choices that you can use for a field. There are two types of LOV resources:
  • Lookup: A short static list that contains field choices. For example, a lookup value (LOV) resource provides the defined values (Mr., Mrs., Ms., and so on) available for a Salutation field.
  • OAuth Authentication - OAuth 2.0 is the industry-standard protocol for authorization. OAuth 2.0 focuses on client developer simplicity while providing specific authorization flows for web applications.
  • OAuth Client Types
    • Public: This is a 3-legged OAuth flow where a user must login.
    • Confidential: This is a 2-legged OAuth flow where user is logged in. This represents something like a script, a server, a CRM, or a system.
  • REST Resource: An object with a type, associated data, and relationships to other resources. Examples include a single document, image, object, or a collection of resources. You can use a set of HTTP methods to access a resource. To learn more, see REST Resource Types.
  • Resource Representation: The current or intended resource state, delivered as a server response. It includes, in JSON format, both the metadata and state of the data.
  • Response Payload: Data that the server returns when answering an HTTP request. The response payload might be a JSON, XML, or text document.
  • Root Resource: An individual resource that does not require a containing context. It is generally the top level collection without path parameters and is found in a resource index.
  • SAML: An XML-based solution that provides a secure solution for exchanging authentication and authorization of user security information between identity providers and the applications like CPQ.
  • Singular Resource: Represents a single entity, such as an employee, an account, or a job. To learn more, see REST Resource Types.
  • Subresource: A type of resource used to make its relationship to other entities more obvious. Its relationship type can be parent-child, such as addresses to contacts, or it can be aggregate, such as orders to customers.
  • Uniform Resource Locator (URL): The path that is used to address a particular resource involved in an interaction. For example, https://sitename.oracle.com/Your RestApi