This document provides an overview of web services in Cascade Server, including: - What a web service is and how it allows communication between external applications and Cascade Server using SOAP and XML. - Where to find resources on web services tutorials, WSDL, and SOAP. - Examples of when and why you would use a web service, such as importing/exporting content, handling forms, and reporting. - How to make web service calls, including reading the WSDL, setting up a client, making requests, and available Cascade Server operations like create, read, edit, delete.

1. Alvin Chao – James Madison University
@chaoaj, chaoaj@jmu.edu , #csuc14 -
#ws101

2. Overview
Topics:
Who is this aimed at?
What is a web service?
Where do you find resources for Cascade Server Web Services
Operations
When / Why would you use Web Services / Real life
applications
How: Understanding how to make Web Services Calls
Code examples for some commonly used operations

3. Who
Technical users with a background in some modern
programming language and XML/Xpath, XSLT , Velocity
Managers/Supervisors to know what the capabilities are
for extending Cascade with Web Services

4. What is a Web Service?
W3C defintion for a web service is, “a software system designed to
support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a
network”.
Web Services provide a way to communicate between your own
external code based application and Cascade Server.
Cascade Server uses Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) for
Web Services based on a Web Services Definition
Language(WSDL)
SOAP leverages XML formatted data calls to send and receive
information
WSDL::Web Server Script as SOAP::HTML requests

5. Where do you find info about
Web Services?
W3 Schools Web Services
tutorials(http://www.w3schools.com/webservices/default.a
sp)
SOAPuser.com(http://www.soapuser.com/index.html )
WSDL
Essentials(http://www.developer.com/services/article.php/
1602051/WSDL-Essentials.htm )

6. When /Why would you use a
Web Service?(Use Case
Scenarios)
Importing content into Cascade from other 3rd party apps or databases/files
Pulling Cascade Data out to other 3rd party Applications
Handling form submissions
Updating access rights on multiple assets for a single user or group
Advanced bulk change
Bulk update content
Selective publishing of specific assets only
Data Definition Page to Data Definition Block conversion
Reporting of Cascade statistical information for management / analytics

7. How: Understanding how to
make Web Services calls
Read/interpret Your WSDL
Setup a client: or Make Raw SOAP calls
PHP: needs soap package
Perl: Need SOAP::Lite module
Java
Javascript
ASP.NET
Connection/Authentication
Make Calls
Enjoy your Web Services

8. Who’sDL? What’s a WSDL
A Web Services Description Language(WSDL) is the XML
response document that serves as a Table of Content or
Glossary to describe available operations(methods)
available from a server.
Cascade Server WSDL location is:
http://[yourserver.edu]/ws/services/AssetOperationService?wsdl
Recommend using a parser for WSDL like SOAP UI –
http://soapui.org

9. WSDL elements / tags
DEFINITIONS: Name of the web services, including
NameSpace(important)
http://www.hannonhill.com/ws/ns/AssetOperationService
TYPES: What types of data will be transmitted?
MESSAGES: What Messages will be transmitted?(matches
types for Cascade)
PORTTYPE: What operations will be supported? Cascade =
Input/Output pairs
BINDING: How will a message be transmitted? SOAP
details(raw literal message for Cascade)
SERVICE: Where is the service located?(Server URL)

10. WSDL File
http://localhost:8080/ws/services/AssetOperationService?w
sdl

11. Getting SOAPy
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol) is used for
application to application communication of XML message
over http protocol.
SOAP features:
Platform independent(*nix, Mac OS, Windows)
Language independent(JS, .NET, Perl, PHP, Ruby, Python,
Java, etc…)

12. Anatomy of a SOAP Call
CLIENT
1: Prepare SOAP Request
and Client Socket
2: Connect to Server
Authentication
w/Username
3: Transmit SOAP request
4: Wait
5: Receive SOAP
response
6: Close Client Socket
SERVER
1: Prepare Server Socket/
Listen on Server Socket
2: Connect with Client
3:Receive SOAP request
4: Process/Prepare SOAP
response
5: Transmit SOAP
Response
6: Wait
Password
HTTP +
XML =
SOAP
XML
Message
over HTTP
Soap Message:
XML: Envelope:
Header: Body
Server Message
sends results
back in Body
section of SOAP
Response

13. SOAP Message portions
XML DECLARATION:
ENVELOPE: Sets up namespace as a SOAP message
HEADER(optional must be first if present): Not necessary
for Cascade
BODY:Actual message to be run
FAULT(optional): used for error handling.

14. Connection / Authentication
Each operation needs to be authenticated using a username
and password
The operation is then executed as if that User performed the
operation in the web UI:
Given User is the author of the operation
Permissions and abilities are verified
Audits are created for that User
User must be setup to have the rights to run that
operation in Cascade

15. Cascade Available
operations
http://localhost:8080/ws/services/Asset
OperationService?wsdl
Most frequently used operations:
Create
Read
Edit
Delete
Copy
Read/Edit Access Rights
Publish

16. Important keywords in WSDL
"complexType" and "simpleType”

17. Important keywords in WSDL
« choice - either element
Sequence – order is specific

18. Important keywords in WSDL
"element"
Attributes: "minOccurs", "maxOccurs" and "type"
Comments

19. Important keywords in WSDL
"extension »- More specific information on the operation

20. Cascade WSDL parameters
Required:
xml
parentFolderId or parentFolderPath
name
Optional:
expirationFolderId or expirationFolderPath
metadataSetId or metadataSetPath
Metadata fields (title, displayName, etc.)
siteId or siteName

21. SOAPUI.org client
examples
Would you pay $1000? - XML Spy
Would you pay $100? Oxygen XML educational price
Would What is SOAP UI?
Like MS Access for SOAP calls, allows you to generate SQL
like calls to a database but SOAP calls to a WSDL
http://soapui.org

22. Example SOAP Read folder names
message

23. Example return output

24. Limitations
Can’t access past versions of assets and drafts
Can’t render assets
Can’t use tools(Bulk Change)
Can’t change preferences
Can’t change configuration files
Can’t view or interact with publish queue
Certain operations can be limited

25. Further Reading/Resources
Artur Tomusiak’s CSUC12 presentation on How to use
Web Services(http://www.slideshare.net/hannonhill/artur-tomusiak
)
Hannon Hill Github for Web Services(≈) Perl, PHP, Java
examples(https://github.com/hannonhill)
Wing Ming Chan’s Web Services page:
(http://www.upstate.edu/cascade-admin/projects/web-services/
)

26. Other WS Presentations at
#CSUC14
Tues 10:15 Leveraging Adminstative Tasks with Web
Services - Eric Caraballo
Tues 1:30 Ingesting Banner output Schedule Classes
into Cascade Server (In Java - Web Services) – Alem
Areki
Tues 1:30 Web Forms, or How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love Web Services – Erik Gorka
Tues 4:15 Web Services: Encapsulation, Reusability, and
Simplicity - Wing Ming Chan

27. Questions?
@chaoaj – chaoaj@jmu.edu
#ws101