Set query, header, or cookie parameters

Define the WSQuery, WSHeader, or WSCookie parameters in your function if the resource needs data passed as a query, cookie, or header.

The GWS REST engine provides support for the OpenAPI specification requirements for these standard parameters:
  • Query parameters. Set query parameters after a question mark (?) at the end of the resource URL. Ampersands (&) separate different name=value pairs. Query parameters can be required or optional.
  • Header parameters, such as X-MyHeader:Value. These are custom headers sent with an HTTP request or response.
  • Cookie parameters. The Cookie header passes these parameters, for example Cookie:ctoken=BUSe35dohU4O1MZxDCU.

Parameter attributes

Use the following attributes if there is requirement for them in your Web service function.
  • WSQuery.

    You can specify this attribute only in an input parameter of your function. Its use is suited to filtering on resource collections, such as /users?country=france. If in doubt about whether to use WSParam or WSQuery, see When to use WSParam or WSQuery.

  • WSHeader.

    Use this attribute to specify an input parameter to your function as a custom header, or a return value from your function as a custom header. Use custom headers to pass data to implement logic on the server or client side.

  • WSCookie.

    Use this attribute to specify an input parameter in your function that contains a cookie.

You can set these parameters as optional with the WSOptional attribute.

Example use of parameter attributes

TYPE profileType RECORD ... END RECORD

PUBLIC FUNCTION getUsersStatus( 
     stat STRING ATTRIBUTE(WSQuery, WSOptional, WSName="status"),
     sort_field STRING ATTRIBUTE(WSHeader, WSOptional, WSName="sortby"),
     country STRING ATTRIBUTE(WSCookie, WSOptional, WSName = "ccode" )
     )
  ATTRIBUTES (WSGet,
              WSPath = "/users",
              WSDescription = "Gets users with the optional query, sort, and cookie values applied.")
   RETURNS ( DYNAMIC ARRAY ATTRIBUTE(WSName="Users_status",
             WSMedia="application/json") OF profileType ATTRIBUTE(XMLName="User"))

     DEFINE userStatusList DYNAMIC ARRAY OF profileType
     
     # ... function code  ...

    RETURN userStatusList
END FUNCTION
In this example,

  • When the client application calls this function, providing values for the custom header, the cookie, or the query is optional because of the WSOptional attribute.

  • If specified, the WSQuery parameter forms the query string of the resource path. In this example, "?status=active" is the query string:
    http://host:port/gas/ws/r/group/xcf/Accounts/users?status=active

  • The XML output is customized by WSName and XMLName attributes.