This document discusses using Ruby to work with web services and SOAP. It describes how the Ruby SOAP library can be used to create client methods on the fly and convert data types. Wrapping existing SOAP services in Ruby is demonstrated. Testing SOAP calls with mocks is also covered. Working with microformats and parsing HTML is explained using the Hpricot and Mofo gems. Finally, using Hpricot to parse XML documents is briefly mentioned.

1. Making and Breaking
Web Services
(with Ruby)
Chris Wanstrath
Err Free
http://errfree.com

2. ttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/138/320699460_b8e7c1e7e6_o.jpg

3. SOAP
• Simple Object Access Protocol?
• Lies.
• Service Oriented Architecture Protocol
• wtf.

4. Newsletters!

5. “Outbound”
• Slow response time
• Duplication of data
• Hard to debug
• require ‘soap/wsdlDriver’

6. Ruby SOAP Library:
Your Friend
• Creates methods on the fly
• Seems to work pretty well
• Transparently converts Ruby types to SOAP
definitions

7. Ruby SOAP Library:
Your Enemy
• Hard to debug (dump req/res to file)
• No one has ever used it
• There are not any alternatives
• The code is a jungle

8. Why use SOAP?
• One reason: legacy.

10. Wrapping SOAP
def update_user(email, subs = [], unsubs = [])
client.updateUser(brand, email, email, demo, subs, unsubs)
end

11. Wrapping SOAP
def update_user(email, subs = [], unsubs = [])
client.updateUser(brand, email, email, demo, subs, unsubs)
end
def get_user(email)
client.getUser(email, brand)
end

12. Wrapping SOAP
def update_user(email, subs = [], unsubs = [])
client.updateUser(brand, email, email, demo, subs, unsubs)
end
def get_user(email)
client.getUser(email, brand)
end

13. Wrapping SOAP
def update_user(email, subs = [], unsubs = [])
client.updateUser(brand, email, email, demo, subs, unsubs)
end
def get_user(email)
client.getUser(email, brand)
end

15. Testing SOAP
• Use mocks
• Mocha: http://mocha.rubyforge.org

16. Testing SOAP
def test_get_user_should_hit_client
email = 'chrisw@nstrath.com'
Outbound.client.expects(:getUser).with(email, Outbound.brand)
Outbound.get_user(email)
end

17. Testing SOAP
soap_methods = {
:getUser => true,
:updateUser => true
}
Outbound.stubs(:client).returns(mock('SOAP Service', soap_methods))

18. Running a SOAP Server
in Ruby

19. Just Kidding

20. Microformats!
• Your website is your API
• Plant classes in HTML
• Tell parsers what information is important
• http://microformats.org

21. hReview

22. hReview
<div id="review_16873" class="hreview">
<h5 class="item"><span class="fn">Beringer California Collection White Merlot 20
<abbr class="dtreviewed" title="20070420">(1 day ago)</abbr>
<span class="reviewer vcard">
<img class="photo" src="/assets/avatars/c19d1b2080f73765d420b461d3133ffa.jpg"
<a class="url fn" href="/people/garyvaynerchuk">garyvaynerchuk</a>
</span>
<abbr class="rating" title="50.0">50.0<em>/100</em></abbr>
<blockquote class="description">Had this in an industry event the other day, man
<p class="tags">Tasting Tags:
<a href="/tags/pink" rel="tag" class="rel-tag" title="view all wines with this t
<a href="/tags/sugar" rel="tag" class="rel-tag" title="view all wines with this
</p>
</div>

23. hReview
<div id="review_16873" class="hreview">
<h5 class="item"><span class="fn">Beringer California Collection White Merlot 20
<abbr class="dtreviewed" title="20070420">(1 day ago)</abbr>
<span class="reviewer vcard">
<img class="photo" src="/assets/avatars/c19d1b2080f73765d420b461d3133ffa.jpg"
<a class="url fn" href="/people/garyvaynerchuk">garyvaynerchuk</a>
</span>
<abbr class="rating" title="50.0">50.0<em>/100</em></abbr>
<blockquote class="description">Had this in an industry event the other day, man
<p class="tags">Tasting Tags:
<a href="/tags/pink" rel="tag" class="rel-tag" title="view all wines with this t
<a href="/tags/sugar" rel="tag" class="rel-tag" title="view all wines with this
</p>
</div>

24. mofo
$ sudo gem install mofo
Successfully installed mofo-0.2.2
$ irb -rubygems
>> require 'mofo/hreview'
=> true
>> review = HReview.find :first => 'http://corkd.com/wine/view/21670'
=> #<HReview:0x1598d04 ...>
>> review.properties
=> ["description", "item", "dtreviewed", "tags", "rating", "reviewer"]
>> review.rating
=> 50.0
>> review.item.fn
=> "Beringer California Collection White Merlot 2005"
>> review.reviewer.fn
=> "garyvaynerchuk"

25. mofo/hreview.rb
class HReview < Microformat
one :version, :summary, :type, :dtreviewed,
:rating, :description
one :reviewer => HCard
one :item! do
one :fn
end
end

26. microformat.rb
def collector
collector = Hash.new([])
def collector.method_missing(method, *classes)
super unless %w(one many).include? method.to_s
self[method] += Microformat.send(:break_out_hashes, classes)
end
collector
end

27. mofo supports...
• xoxo
• hCard
• geo
• hCalendar
• adr
• hReview
• xfn
• hEntry
• hResume

30. What else can they do?

31. Operator

32. Operator

33. Okay.

34. Hpricot
( by _why )

35. Hpricot
$ irb -rubygems -r'open-uri'
>> require 'hpricot'
=> true
>> page = Hpricot open('http://google.com')
=> #<Hpricot::Doc ...>
>> page.search(:a).size
=> 20
>> page.at(:a)
=> {elem <a href="/url?sa=p&pref=ig&pval=3
&q=http://www.google.com/ig%3Fhl%3Den&usg=
AFrqEzfPu3dYlSVsfjI7gUHePgEkcx_VXg">
"Personalize this page" </a>}

36. Hpricot
Can use XPATH, CSS selectors, whatever, to search

37. Hpricot
>> page = Hpricot(open('http://brainspl.at'))
=> #<Hpricot::Doc ...>
>> page.search('.post').size
=> 10

38. Hpricot
>> corkd = 'http://corkd.com/wine/view/21670'
=> 'http://corkd.com/wine/view/21670'
>> page = Hpricot(open(corkd))
=> #<Hpricot::Doc ...>
>> page.search('.hreview').size
=> 4

39. Hpricot/:mofo
>> page.at('.hreview').at('.item').at('.fn').inner_text
=> "Beringer California Collection White Merlot 2005"
>> review.item.fn
=> "Beringer California Collection White Merlot 2005"

40. Oh, you can use Hpricot
for XML, too.
<Export>
<Product>
<SKU>403276</SKU>
<ItemName>Trivet</ItemName>
<CollectionNo>0</CollectionNo>
<Pages>0</Pages>
</Product>
</Export>

41. Oh, you can use Hpricot
for XML, too.
fields = %w(SKU ItemName CollectionNo Pages)
doc = Hpricot(open("my.xml"))
(doc/:product).each do |xml_product|
attributes = fields.inject({}) do |hash, field|
hash.merge(field => xml_product.at(field).innerHTML)
end
Product.create(attributes)
end
( also there’s Hpricot::XML() )

42. But who uses XML?

43. Cheat!
http://cheat.errtheblog.com
(insert short, live demo here)

44. Thanks
• http://mofo.rubyforge.org
• http://code.whytheluckystiff.net/hpricot
• https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4106
• http://microformats.org
• http://upcoming.yahoo.com/
• http://corkd.com/
• http://chow.com
• http://chowhound.com

45. Thanks
• http://ronrothman.com/gallery/cnet/cnet_neon
• http://flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/466751240/
• http://flickr.com/photos/segana/320699460/
• http://flickr.com/photos/spiffariffic/456211526/