Create REST and Web Service Connectors
You can create connections to exposed REST and web services using Process. Your process applications can communicate and exchange data with these services.
About REST and Web Services
Process applications can communicate and exchange data with local and remote applications that are exposed as either REST or web services.
When considering whether to use REST or web services, keep in mind that some applications support one and some the other, so the protocol decision may already be made for you. As a general rule, use REST services for integration over the web, and use web services for enterprise application integration scenarios. Cloud applications provide open REST APIs for consumers to interact with them and applications running in the cloud typically communicate through REST calls.
REST and web services are client and server applications that communicate over the World Wide Web (WWW) using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
For general information about REST and web services, see:
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The W3C home page for the Web Application Description Language (WADL) file:
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The W3C home page for the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file:
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The Web Services chapter of the Java EE 6 Tutorial:
You will need some basic information about the REST or web service you want to connect to. However, you don’t need to know the details of how services are structured.
Connection to a REST Service
To create a connection to a REST service, you need the following service information:
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Definition of the REST service to connect to WADL, RAML, YAML or other
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URLs to the location of the different resources
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Access to these URLs to get the JSON sample used to create the types needed to send and receive data to/from the service
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List of operations to use on each resource
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List of parameters to pass to operations
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For a secure REST service, the user name and password required to access the service
Connection to a Web Service
To create a connection to a web service, you need the following service information:
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Location of the WSDL file, as a local file path or a URL
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Port type and callback port type in the WSDL file to select
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For a secure web service, the user name and password required to access the service
Create a REST Connector
Use the outbound REST connector to call a REST service to retrieve, create, update, or delete data on a web server that supports the REST architecture. The connector enables Oracle Integration to interact with other Oracle Cloud applications via REST, including SaaS and PaaS applications running inside or outside Oracle Cloud. Using the REST Connector editor, you define the resources and operations needed to connect to a REST service, regardless of the description language used to define the service.
Creating a REST connector involves the following main tasks:
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Create the connector, which opens the editor.
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Set connector timeout settings.
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Apply authentication to the connector (optional).
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Add resources to the connector.
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Add operations to resources.
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Specify request and response parameters for operations.
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Specify visibility settings for the connector on the elements palette.
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Implement the REST connector within a process.
For example, you might create an Oracle Integration application that interacts with Oracle Eloqua via REST service calls, in which the application retrieves an email from Oracle Eloqua and updates the email with information from a process.
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The REST connector uses a GET operation to retrieve email content from Eloqua, and a PUT operation to update the email with the response. Business objects contain the sample payload values.
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The process contains two service tasks that act as Eloqua integration points. The process receives the email ID to approve. One service task fetches the email content from Eloqua, using the supplied email ID. After an approval or reject action, the other service task modifies the email content to contain the outcome of APPROVED or REJECTED.
To create, configure, and implement a REST connector:
Work with Web Service Definition Files
From the Definitions view of the Integrations page, you can import a web service definition (WSDL) file, upload a new version of the file, and add a new web service connector file based on a specific port type.
On the Application Home tab, click Integrations and then click the Definitions view option.
Import a WSDL
You can use this import feature to update current versions of WSDL files. However, updating your WSDL files using the import feature is different from the update feature you can find in the Definitions — Details view where you can only update the current WSDL file. When updating WSDL files using the import feature you update the WSDL file and XSD dependencies contained in the ZIP file or imported through a remote URL.
To import a WSDL:
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Click Import to open the Upload Web Service Definition File dialog box.
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Select one of the following options:
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Upload from file: Click Browse to browse for a WSDL or ZIP file.
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Use URL: Provide the URL for your WSDL or Zip file.
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Click Validate, and then click Upload.
After clicking Validate a summary of the files to be added are shown if the validation is successful.Note:
If validation is unsuccessful, instead of showing a summary of the files, the validation errors or warnings are displayed. Validation warnings occur if some of the files that you want to upload override exiting ones. In this case you can upload and override existing files. Whenever an unexpected error occurs, the error is logged in the server log and the upload is cancelled. You can’t import files that fail validation.
When you accept the import by clicking Upload, the operation is committed and the files are uploaded to the application and shown in the Definitions view of the Integrations page.
Upload a New Version of a WSDL
To upload a new version of a WSDL:
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Click the name of the WSDL that you want to override.
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Click the Options menu and then select Upload New Version to open the Upload New Version dialog.
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Select one of the following options:
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Upload from file: Click Browse to browse for a WSDL or ZIP file.
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Use URL: Provide the URL for your WSDL or Zip file.
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Click Validate and then click Upload.
After clicking Validate a summary of the files to be added are shown if the validation is successful.
In certain business cases, you may need to update a WSDL (SOAP integration) with changes that are incompatible with the current WSDL.
An incompatible WSDL (SOAP integration) can include changes like:
- Port type (that is being used in the current WSDL) has been removed
- Some operations have been removed from port type
- Some elements have been updated to new types or removed from (XSD) schema
While updating a WSDL with incompatible changes, you get warning messages to indicate the impact of the changes. After you have updated a WSDL with incompatible changes, validate your application and fix any errors that may have occurred due to the update.
Add a Web Service Connector
To add a new web service connector based on a specific port type:
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Click Add to open the Add Service Connector dialog. Enter a name and select the port type. You can also select a callback port type if required.
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Expand Advanced and provide the following information, and then click OK to add the new web service connection.
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Read Time Out: Specify the time out for reading the WSDL file in milliseconds.
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Connection Time Out: Specify the time out for connecting to the web service in milliseconds.
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Security: Select None, APP Id – Basic Auth, APP Id – Username Token, or APP Id – Username Token With Message Protection from the drop-down list.
See Apply Message Security to Integrations. -
Certificate: If the Security is set to APP Id — Username Token With Message Protection, select New Certificate Alias from the drop-down list and click Add Certificate to upload a certificate.
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Keystore Credential: If Security isn’t set to None, select a key from the drop-down list.
You can also select [New Key] and type a Name, Username, and Password. For an existing key, the Username and Password values are automatically populated.
Want to learn more about how to add credentials? See Configure Credentials for Web Services.
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Prepare Local WSDL Files Containing Remote References
If a WSDL file has dependencies on remote schema files, you can download the files and set up local references. Note that this step is needed if creating from a local file only. If creating from a remote URL, Process handles remote references for you.
.zip
file to create a connection to the web service. See Create a Web Service Connector.