Work with your REST Client
REST APIs use HTTP methods to send and receive content. Therefore, you can test REST APIs using any programming language or tool that supports sending and receiving HTTP messages. So let's first choose a tool for making HTTP requests.
Note:
Oracle REST APIs aren't OData (Open Data Protocol) compliant.
Considerations for Choosing a REST Client
You can select an internet-accessible application or a programming platform that interacts with Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM, such as:
- A standalone client such as Postman or Advanced REST Client
- Your connecting application's client
Note:
If you're using Visual Builder Studio to access REST APIs, see Create a Service Connection from a Service Specification. To access REST APIs using Oracle Integration Cloud, see Configure the REST Adapter to Consume an External REST API with No Metadata Described in a Document. You can also build your own client to access REST resources. To build a client using the Java programming language, see Accessing REST Resources with the JAX-RS Client API.
- The cURL command-line utility
Note:
Tools such as cURL, Postman, Advanced REST Client, and other clients are third-party tools. Therefore, Oracle does not provide support for these tools. You can select the tool based on your requirements.With a REST client you can:
- Test the username, password, and request URL for your REST API account.
- Perform
view
anddescribe
actions to learn more about REST resources, attributes, and parameters. - Use the information to construct and send various types of HTTP requests to create, update, or delete records.
How You Use cURL to Send HTTP Requests
In our examples, we use 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. For details, see Installing the cURL Command-Line Tool on Windows.
This table describes commonly used cURL options that you can use for REST services.
Option | Description |
---|---|
-user |
Specifies the user name and password for server authentication. |
-d |
Sends the specified data (a JSON request body) to the server. If you begin the data with the @ sign, then @ must be followed by a file name to read the data from. |
-H |
Specifies an extra HTTP header in the request. To specify multiple headers, precede each header with the
Examples:
|
-output |
Writes the output to a file instead of to |
-X |
Specifies the request method to use when communicating with the HTTP server. The default method is GET. |
This table shows examples of GET, POST, and PATCH operations on the workers
resource using cURL.
Operation | cURL Command Example |
---|---|
GET Retrieve a worker |
curl -u username:password -H "Content-Type: application/vnd.oracle.adf.resourceitem+json" -H "REST-Framework-Version: 4" -X GET "https://us.example.com/hcmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/workers?q=names.LastName='Doe'" |
POST Create a worker |
curl -u username:password -H "Content-Type: application/vnd.oracle.adf.resourceitem+json" -H "REST-Framework-Version: 4" -H "Effective-Of:RangeStartDate=2018-01-01" -X POST -d <payload> "https://us.example.com/hcmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/workers" |
PATCH Update a worker |
curl -u username:password -H "Content-Type: application/vnd.oracle.adf.resourceitem+json" -X PATCH -d <payload> "https://us.example.com/hcmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/workers/{Id}" |
How You Use Clients to Send HTTP Requests
You can use standalone clients, third-party browser extensions, or add-ons, such as the Advanced REST Client, to send HTTP requests. This table shows examples of GET, POST, and PATCH operations on the workers resource using a client.
Operation | Request URL | Request/Response |
---|---|---|
GET Get a worker |
https://us.example.com/hcmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/workers?q=names.LastName='Doe' |
Response
|
POST Create a worker |
Header: Effective-Of:RangeStartDate=2018-01-01
|
Request
|
PATCH Update a worker |
https://us.example.com/hcmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/workers/{Id} |
Request
|
With an understanding of how your client works, you can next review Manage Workers for sample workflows that demonstrate how to create, update, and retrieve information about a worker.