Webservice (SOAP/WSDL)

The Webservice (SOAP/WSDL) Service Type enables you to call methods from web services by exposing these methods as SmartObjects. The broker utilizes serialization and deserialization to work with complex types, and all method calls are considered stateless

Querying and submitting data using an Endpoint Service Type can be a complex issue. It requires a good understanding of data and how it is returned from the service call. It also requires understanding the serialization and deserialization methods that are intrinsic to the .NET Framework.

The main methods that are used with the endpoint services are Serialization and Deserialization. Simply put, these methods are used to send and store complex data. To Serialize the results of a service call means to represent it in a state that can be transferred and/or stored, such as in a database. To Deserialize that data is to turn it back into a state that can be consumed. These methods, while based on the .NET Framework for the purposes of the K2 Endpoint Service Type, represent a device-independent, cross-platform method of representing complex, relational data.

Service Authentication

The following Authentication Modes may be used with the Webservice (SOAP/WSDL) Service Type:

  • Impersonate
  • OAuth
  • ServiceAccount
  • Single Single-on
  • Static
When connecting to on-premises systems from your K2 Cloud environment, you must use static credentials. See KB002939: Connecting to On-Premises Data from K2 Cloud for more information about how to do this for supported systems.

Service Keys (Service Instance Configuration Settings)

Key Can be modified Data Type Sample Value Notes
Store Service Metadata Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)

Sets the ability to store the service metadata of the Web service. Default value: False. If this is set to true service metadata will be stored.
Timout (Seconds) Yes Number 120
(Default value: 100)		 Sets the Timout value for the Web Endpoint service.
Names: Append Property Types Yes True/False True
(Default value: True)		 Includes the property type in parentheses after the complex property name.
Debugging Enabled Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)		 Displays stack trace information in dialog and error information.
Add SoapHttpClientProtocol Parameter To Methods Yes
(required)		 True/False False
(Default value: False)		 Adds a SoapHTTPClientProtocol as a Parameter to Service Object methods. The Parameter values are passed to the target service as HTTP header parameters. See the section below for more information.
Include non Serialized Properties Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)		 If the value of this Key is set to True it will add non-Serializable properties on the Serialize method Input values.
Serialization: Include All Assembly Types Yes True/False True
(Default value: True)		 Includes all available serialization objects regardless of usage in public methods.
Add HTTP Response Header Property to Methods Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)		 Set this property to True if you need to get the HTTP response per method call.
Add HTTP Request Header Property to Methods Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)		 If you need to use HTTP request headers for the Web Service, set this property to True and then add the credentials in the Default HTTP Request Headers property.
Names: Use Method FullName Yes True/False True
(Default value: True)		 Uses the full name of the method including the property names and types.
WebService URL Yes
(required)		 Text http://localhost/servicemodelsamples/ service.svc?wsdl The URL to the service description (WSDL) for the Web Service. WSDL will automatically be appended if not found in the URL.
Default HTTP Request Headers Yes Text Add your credentials into this field when Add HTTP Request Header Property to Methods is set to True.
Serialization: Compress Yes True/False False
(Default value: False)		 Compress the serialization data for complex types.
Default SoapHttpClientProtocol Value Yes Text The default value for the SoapHTTPClientProtocol value. This value must be created with the Serialization object generated for the service (see the section below for more information). Note that if a value is provided for the SoapHttpClientProtocol at runtime, that value will overwrite the default value

Service Objects

When generating SmartObjects for an Endpoint Service Instance, some standard categories of SmartObjects are created; for example, the Object Types, and System Types. These define the data types used. Other SmartObjects may be generated depending on what the Endpoint exposes.

SmartObjects

K2 does not automatically create SmartObjects for the Service Objects in this service. SmartObjects can be automatically created by selecting the Generate SmartObjects for this Service Instance check box when creating a new Service Instance. Designers can use the SmartObject design tools to build advanced SmartObjects that leverage the Service Objects in this service. It is recommended to use the SmartObject design tools to create SmartObjects rather than generating SmartObjects, since this allows better control over the naming, behavior and design of the SmartObject and its methods and properties.

Considerations