Example of the HTTP binding

IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with HTTP
Example of the HTTP binding

Applying the HTTP binding to an application is shown in this example.

Creating and configuring HTTP import or HTTP export bindings is not as simple as using a web browser to access data. The article Configure the SCA HTTP binding to enable real-life scenarios on IBM's developerWorks helps you by providing a sample of the most common scenarios involving this binding.
The application demonstrates how HTTP bindings can be used to make the application consumable by HTTP clients, how to consume an external HTTP XML service, and how to integrate SCA application modules using HTTP. For each scenario, specific configuration points are covered. Also shown, are how to create a custom mediation module and a custom data binding with an HTTP binding.

Scenarios shown in the example

The following scenarios are shown in the example:

Scenario 1: An SCA application is exposed through an HTTP GET operation that returns a response message in XML format. The sample application demonstrates how the HTTP export binding can use plain XML or Atom feed format. In this case, a client running in the web browser invokes the SCA application through the an HTTP URL that defines the application's entry point. As a result, a business integration application is exposed using the easy-to-use interface of the web browser.
Scenario 2: An SCA application is exposed through an HTTP POST operation which accepts requests in the XML format as an input. This scenario shows the use of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) as the front end of an SCA application and is an example of a starting point for those wishing to build a rich internet application utilizing the SCA architecture.
Scenario 3: An SCA application invokes an external service through the HTTP GET operation. In this scenario, the service response format is in XML. This scenario highlights how third party lightweight web services using Atom (Atom is an XML-based file format used to syndicate content such as blogs) and RSS feeds and services based on Representational State Transfer (REST) can be integrated into an SCA application.
Scenario 4: HTTP bindings are used as an integration point of multiple SCA applications utilizing the HTTP infrastructure as a communication mechanism. One SCA application is configured to invoke another SCA application through HTTP export and import bindings.

Description of the example

The goal of the application is to expose an internal data source named Customers (an XML file) to the web using Web 2.0 technologies: a Google map and an Atom feed. To display the customers' locations in this file on the map, a third party Representational State Transfer (REST) service, geocoder.ca, is used, which returns the latitude and longitude of any address in the United States and Canada.
Two SCA modules, a library module and a client web application, are created in the example. The library module contains a Web Service Description Language (WSDL) interface and business objects. A CustomerLocations mediation module is used to expose the SCA application through HTTP bindings. The mediation module contains two HTTP export binding components (CustomerLocationsExportAsFeed and CustomerLocationsExportAsXML), a custom mediation component (CustomerLocations) that processes a URL query and forwards the request onward to another SCA component, and an HTTP import binding component (GetCustomersWithLocationsHTTPImport) that invokes the Customers module using HTTP.
The Customers module consists of an HTTP import binding (GetCoordinates) used to invoke the external REST service provided by geocoder.ca. It also includes an HTTP export binding component (GetCustomersWithLocationExport) invoked by the HTTP import binding component from the CustomerLocations mediation module, a simple Java™ component that loads an XML file and returns a list of Customers business objects. The HTTP export binding (AddCustomerExport) is used by an external application to add new Customers to the XML repository by using a POST operation to send an XML file over HTTP. A Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) component (GetCustomersWithLocations) ties the application together by invoking the REST service for each customer retrieved from the XML repository.
The HTTPExportToGoogleMap web project contains an HTML page (customersMap.html) that is designed to create a mashup that displays the customers' locations on the Google map. It also allows the filtering of the Customers that get displayed based on their type.
The application also contains another HTML page (addCustomer.html) that allows a user to add new customers to the data source by invoking an HTTP export binding component through the HTTP POST operation.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) binding

Related concepts:
HTTP binding overview
Uses of the HTTP binding
HTTP data bindings

Related tasks:
Generate an HTTP import binding
Generate an HTTP export binding

Related reference:
Limitations of the HTTP binding