REST resource URI naming practice

The URI of your REST Web service using the high-level API; check that the best practice in URI naming conventions are being followed.

RESTful Web services rely on providing the URL to access the resource. The URI you use in development mode will be different to what you use in your production environment.

You can have one or several resource modules, depending on how you want to organize your resources and publish your Web service. This affects how the path for endpoints are created.

Resource URI syntax

In a production environment, the Genero Application Server (GAS) provides the base URL from the server where the Web service is deployed. This follows the format:

http[s]://host:port/gas/ws/r[/group-name]/xcf-file/endpoint-path[?query-params]

where endpoint-path contains several path segments:

service-name[/resource-name]/resource-path
  1. host:port/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. group-name is the name of the group. If the Web service belongs to the default group on the GAS, this is optional. If the web service is part of a group that is not the default, you must provide the group name. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  3. xcf-file is the name of the web service configuration file on the GAS where the web service is deployed. For example, if the configuration file is myService.xcf, you specify myService in the xcf-file path segment. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  4. service-name is the name of the web service.
  5. resource-name is the name of the resource. The resource-name is part of the path when you have more than one resource registered in the GWS. It is not part of the path when you only have one resource registered in the GWS. Use the appropriate function to register your REST Web services:
  6. resource-path is the path to the resource, as defined by WSPath. This is a logical (not a physical) URI that determines the operation you are requesting.
  7. query-params is a set of URL query parameters.

URI syntax for the OpenAPI documentation of a Web service

If you publish a web service with a single resource module or many resource modules, the URL for the service's OpenAPI documentation is:

http[s]://host:port/gas/ws/r[/group-name]/xcf-file/service-name?openapi.json
  1. host:port/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. group-name is the name of the group. If the Web service belongs to the default group on the GAS, this is optional. If the web service is part of a group that is not the default, you must provide the group name. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  3. xcf-file is the name of the web service configuration file on the GAS where the web service is deployed. For example, if the configuration file is myService.xcf, you specify myService in the xcf-file path segment. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  4. service-name is the name of the web service.

For example:

http://myhost:6394/gas/ws/r/myGroup/myXcf/accounts?openapi.json

URI for Web service with one resource or for RFC

If you have only one resource or when you want to implement a Remote Function Call (RFC) service, you register the service on the GWS with com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestService. This adds the service name to the path. The URI specification is:

http[s]://host:port/gas/ws/r[/group-name]/xcf-file/service-name/resource-path
  1. host:port/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. group-name is the name of the group. If the Web service belongs to the default group on the GAS, this is optional. If the web service is part of a group that is not the default, you must provide the group name. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  3. xcf-file is the name of the web service configuration file on the GAS where the web service is deployed. For example, if the configuration file is myService.xcf, you specify myService in the xcf-file path segment. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  4. service-name is the name of the web service.
  5. resource-path is the path to the resource, as defined by WSPath. This is a logical (not a physical) URI that determines the operation you are requesting.

In this example, you have a Web service that manages user accounts. It has one resource module (accounts) registered on the GWS with com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestService. It is deployed on a GAS where users can access its operations. For instance, a URI to access the "users" operation is at:

http://myhost:6394/gas/ws/r/myGroup/myXcf/accounts/users

Where:
  • myhost:6394/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server.
  • myGroup is the name of the group on the GAS where the Web service is deployed.
  • myXcf is the name of the Web service configuration .xcf file.
  • accounts is the name of the Web service.
  • users is a resource-path of a specific resource operation set with WSPath.

The service's OpenAPI documentation is at:

http://myhost:6394/gas/ws/r/myGroup/myXcf/accounts?openapi.json

URI for Web service with many resources

If you have more than one resource, typically, you have one resource per .4gl module. You register the service on the GWS with com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestResources. This builds the path for endpoints with the service name followed by the resource module file name. The URI documentation is:

http[s]://host:port/gas/ws/r[/group-name]/xcf-file/service-name/resource-name/resource-path
  1. host:port/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. group-name is the name of the group. If the Web service belongs to the default group on the GAS, this is optional. If the web service is part of a group that is not the default, you must provide the group name. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  3. xcf-file is the name of the web service configuration file on the GAS where the web service is deployed. For example, if the configuration file is myService.xcf, you specify myService in the xcf-file path segment. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  4. service-name is the name of the web service.
  5. resource-name is the name of the resource. The resource-name is part of the path when you have more than one resource registered in the GWS by com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestResources.
  6. resource-path is the path to the resource, as defined by WSPath. This is a logical (not a physical) URI that determines the operation you are requesting.

In the next example we have a Web service that manages fruits. It has several resources (for example, "apple", "peach", etc.) registered on the GWS with com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestResources. It is deployed on a GAS where users can access its resources. For instance, a URI to access the "apple" resource "prices" operation is at:

http://myhost:6394/gas/ws/r/myXcf/fruits/apple/prices

Where:
  • myhost:6394/gas/ws/r is the base URL from the server.
  • For this example, there is no group-name in the URI as the service is deployed in the default group of the GAS.
  • myXcf is the name of the Web service .xcf configuration file.
  • fruits is the name of the Web service (service-name)
  • apple is the name of the resource (resource-name).
  • prices is the resource-path (defined with WSPath) for the "apple" resource-name.

The service's OpenAPI documentation is at:

http://myhost:6394/gas/ws/r/myXcf/fruits?openapi.json

URI in development

When running the Web service in development, you access resources and the OpenAPI documentation differently depending on the mode used.

In development HTTPS is not supported. Using the standalone dispatcher on localhost, the URI specification is: 

http://host:port/ws/r[/group-name]/xcf-file/service-name/resource-name/resource-path
  1. host:port/ws/r is the base URL using the standalone dispatcher. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. group-name is the name of the group. If the Web service belongs to the default group on the GAS, this is optional. If the web service is part of a group that is not the default, you must provide the group name. For more information, see the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  3. xcf-file is the name of the Web service configuration file on the GAS. For example, if the configuration file is myService.xcf, you specify myService in the xcf-file path segment.
  4. service-name is the name of the web service.
  5. resource-name is the name of the resource. The resource-name is part of the path when you have more than one resource registered in the GWS by com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestResources.
  6. resource-path is the path to the resource, as defined by WSPath. This is a logical (not a physical) URI that determines the operation you are requesting.

For example, running the Web service for managing fruits at the default port (6394):

  • A URI to access the "apple" resource "prices" operation is:

    http://localhost:6394/ws/r/myXcf/fruits/apple/prices

    Where:
    • localhost:6394/ws/r is the base URL for the standalone dispatcher.
    • For this example, there is no group-name in the URI as the service is deployed in the default group of the GAS.
    • myXcf is the name of the Web service .xcf configuration file.
    • fruits is the name of the Web service (service-name).
    • apple is the name of the resource (resource-name).
    • prices is the resource-path (defined with WSPath) for the "apple" resource-name.

  • The service's OpenAPI documentation is at:

    http://localhost:6394/ws/r/myXcf/fruits?openapi.json

In direct mode the URI specification is:
http://host:port/service-name/resource-name/resource-path
  1. host:port is the base URL using direct mode. For more information, see the Application Web Address page in the Genero Application Server User Guide.
  2. service-name is the name of the web service.
  3. resource-name is the name of the resource. The resource-name is part of the path when you have more than one resource registered in the GWS by com.WebServiceEngine.RegisterRestResources.
  4. resource-path is the path to the resource, as defined by WSPath. This is a logical (not a physical) URI that determines the operation you are requesting.

For example, running the Web service for managing fruits with FGLAPPSERVER set at port 8090 on localhost:

  • A URI to access the "apple" resource "prices" operation is at:

    http://localhost:8090/fruits/apple/prices

    Where:
    • localhost:8090 is the base URL for direct mode.
    • There is no configuration file (xcf-file) because the GAS is not involved in direct mode.
    • fruits is the name of the Web service (service-name).
    • apple is the name of the resource (resource-name).
    • prices is the resource-path (defined with WSPath) for the "apple" resource-name.

  • The service's OpenAPI documentation is at:

    http://localhost:8090/fruits?openapi.json