The primary focus of this Wiki article is to explain the changes to Web Services in v8.5 to Domino Designer users. After reading this article, the user should be able to locate both types of Web Services in the Domino Designer interface, create Web Services and find the editors to work with Web Services.
Background
In versions of Domino Designer prior to v8.5, only Web Services existed as a specific design element. The Web Service design element was added in release 7 to allow users to implement web service providers In release 8, Designer was enhanced to allow you to create web service consumers. However, this ability was surfaced as a variant of script library. A Script Library could import a Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) to consume a Web Service as well, but that capability was difficult to find as you had to know about that feature. In v8.5 this special type of Script Library has been promoted to its own design element called a Web Service Consumer. Now, Web Service Consumers and Providers can both be easily located within the Designer UI under the code category in the navigator.
While the categorization and handling has changed a bit, the underlying data is, of course, backward compatible. Any Web Services you may have created in a previous version will be displayed as Web Service Providers in v8.5 Any Script Libraries with a WSDL attached will be displayed as a Web Service Consumer.
A fundamental shift in design element creation has occurred in Domino Designer v8.5. Now, a name is required to create a design element and it is saved in the application as soon as it is created. You will see this prompt for name throughout Domino Designer.
Where we were
In Figure 1, screen shot from Domino Designer 8.0.2 shows webService1, a Web Service Provider in the Shared Code folder of a Database.
Figure 1:
Domino Designer 8.0.2 Web Services
Where we are now: Web Service Providers
In Figure 2, a screen shot from Domino Designer 8.5 shows that Web Service Providers and Web Service Consumers now reside under the Code folder
Selecting the Web Service Provider item in the Navigator brings up the Web Service Providers design list, in this case empty because we have not created any yet.
Figure 2:
Domino Designer 8.5 Web Services Providers and Web Service Consumers
To create a new Web Service Provider, press the "New Web Service Provider" provider button or right click on an item in the navigator. As seen in Figure 3, if you right click on a Web Service Provider, that option is first in the menu as "New Web Service Provider...", but all creation options are available in the menu under "New". It is also possible to initiate a creation from the main File->New menu option.
Figure 3: Domino Designer 8.5 Right Click Menu for Web Service Provider
Pressing the button or selecting the menu choice will bring you to the same spot, the New Web Service Provider dialog as seen in Figure 4. There is only one field to enter here and that is "Name".
In v8.5 of Domino Designer objects are named before they are created. Once the OK button is pressed, the Web Service Provider is created and saved to the application.
The "Application" field will default to the current application. The "Application" can be changed to create the element in an application other than the current application that is open in Designer
Figure 4: Domino Designer 8.5 New Web Service Provider dialog
When you press OK, the web service provider editor opens. This should take you to the final screen for consideration under Web Service Providers. Figure 5 shows a new created Web Service Provider in its editor window. This window should look quite familiar if you have worked with Web Services in the past. The infobox does display upon creation of a new Web Service Provider. The newly created object also is inserted into the navigation tree on the far left.
Buttons at the top of the editor allow for Import, Export and Show of the WSDL as well as printing. The Web Service Provider defaults as a LotusScript Provider. It can be changed to a Java based Provider by using the combo box in the editor. The buttons at the top and bottom of the editor would change to provide appropriate options.
Figure 5: Domino Designer 8.5 Web Service Provider Editor
Where we are now: Web Service Consumers
Creation of a Web Service Consumer is very similar. As seen in Figure 6, there are some extra fields to enter. The "Name" field is, of course, the name of your Web Service Consumer.
You can select LotusScript or Java for the "Language". A Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) file must be specified upon creation. This is a new requirement for v8.5. The WSDL file can either be a local file on your hard drive or network, or a URL that points to a WSDL. The "Application" field will default to the current application. The "Application" can be changed to create the element in an application other than the current application that is open in Designer. Once the OK button is pressed, the Web Service Consumer is created and saved to the application.
Figure 6: Domino Designer 8.5 New Web Service Consumer dialog
This should take you to the final screen for consideration under Web Service Consumers. Figure 7 shows a new created Web Service Consumer in its editor window. This window should look quite familiar if you have worked with Web Services in the past. The infobox does NOT display upon creation of a new Web Service Consumer. The Alt+Enter key combination will display the infobox if required. The newly created object is also inserted into the navigation tree on the far left.
Figure 7: Domino Designer 8.5 Web Service Consumer editor
Summary
After reading this article you should be able to locate and create Web Service Providers and Web Service Consumers. You should also be able to invoke the editors of these two types of objects.