SOAP Web Service entity

A Web Service entity generates a web service with its CRUD operations, but with no accessible form. CRUD operations are used to Create, Read, Update, and Delete data from a database.

It includes one global read operation that reads all records in once and one global create operation that creates all records at once.

For a SOAP Web Service entity, the Type property states "WebService". The XML representation of a SOAP Web Service entity (the Web service definition file) is a .4ws file.

The Web Service entity can be opened and edited in the Form Designer Records tab. When a Web Service entity is implemented from the diagram, both the XML file (.4ws or .4wsj) and the .4gl source files containing the program logic to create and set up a web service and its CRUD operations are created. Any changes to the Web Service entity properties in the BA diagram or in the XML file (.4ws or .4wsj) are included in the subsequent re-generating of the program code. The generated code can be customized.

See the topic Introduction to Web Services in the Genero Business Development Language User Guide for more information on Web Services concepts.

Properties of the Web Service entity

Select the Web Service entity in the Business Application diagram to view and set the entity properties.

Table 1. Web Service entity Properties, Object Category
Group	Property	Description
Object	Name	Name of entity.
	Type	Type of entity: WebService (for a SOAP Web Service). WebServiceJSON (for a JSON Web Service).
	File Name	Full path to file.
	Description	Description of web service. Optional.
Web Service	Service Name	Unique publishable service name. Important: The web service will not execute without a service name.
	Comment	Service comment that will appear in the wsdl file.

Context menu for the Web Service entity

Right-click a Web Service entity in the diagram to display a context menu of options.

Table 2. Web Service entity context menu options (partial listing)
Menu Option	Description
Implement Web Service	Creates a new blank managed Web service definition file to design from scratch. Note: Once created, this menu option disappears; use Open for any future modifications.
Implement Web Service from Database	Provides a wizard to create a managed Web service definition file, allowing you to pick the columns to use in the CRUD operations. This option is generally preferred. The Web service can be modified after it is created. Note: Once created, this menu option disappears; use Open for any future modifications.
Open	Open the Business Record for the selected Web Service entity.
Convert to	Converts entity from one type to another.
Locate in Project	Locates and highlights the selected item in the project.

Web Service entity Business Record

Once the Web service definition file (.4ws or .4wj) exists, right-click the Web Service entity and select Open to view the Business Record diagram.

In the Structure view, select the Root node. All Web services share the same set of properties in the Root node.

Object group: name, databaseName

In the Structure view, select a Record node. The Web service has Record node properties for the following groups:

Object group: name
Modeling group: active, masterTable, unique key
Query group: query
Functionality group: canDisplay, canAdd, canModify, canDelete, canSearch

Web Service group: XMLAll, XMLSequence, XMLList, XMLElementNamespace, XMLAttributeNamespace, XSTypename, XSTypenamespace

In the Structure view, select a RecordField node. The Web service has RecordField node properties for the following groups:

Object group: name
Modeling group: lookup
Field group: fieldType, tableName, colName, fieldIdRef, dataType
Web Service group: public
Miscellaneous group: defaultValue

Web Service group: XMLOptional, XMLElement, XMLAttribute, XMLName, XSDType, XSDLength, XSDMinLength, XSDMaxLength, XSDEnumeration, XSDWhiteSpace, XSDPattern, XSDMinInclusive, XSDMaxInclusive, XSDMinExclusive, XSDMaxExclusive, XSDTotalDigits, XSDFractionDigits

See the section on XML serialization in the Genero Business Development Language User Guide for more information.