Before you implement Web services in OpenEdge, you must decide whether your Web services will be accessed through the SOAP (WSA or through REST applications. Consider the following before you make your decision:
REST application development in OpenEdge is supported by Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge (PDSOE). PDSOE is an individual OpenEdge product that you must install before beginning REST application development. If you do not have access to PDSOE, WSA is a better choice.
Note: PDSOE support for REST application development is available only on Windows platforms.
REST in OpenEdge is limited to HTTP/HTTPS as a transport protocol. SOAP can use other transport protocols, such as FTP and JMS. Therefore, WSA is necessary if you must use a protocol other than HTTP/HTTPS.
Both WSA and REST applications are more efficient with AppServers running in state-free mode. REST supports limited functionality with stateless AppServers and is incompatible with AppServers running in state-reset or state-aware modes. If you must connect to a stateless, state-reset, or state-aware AppServer, you cannot use REST.
REST is considered to be simpler by many because it uses basic HTTP methods (GET, POST, etc.) and URIs rather than APIs to interact with Web services. WSA requires generation of a Web service client from a WSDL file for each platform you intend to support, whereas OpenEdge REST applications are accesible to any client on any platform as long as the client supports HTTP 1.1 and can parse JSON data types.
REST is necessary if you intend to develop mobile or Web apps that access OpenEdge data using Data Objects. The WSA does not support Data Objects.
Note: A Data Object Service is a type of REST Web service that avoids the need for mobile or Web apps to access REST resources directly and offers support for complex data transactions. Developing Data Object Services in PDSOE requires a separate project type from developing REST Web services. For more information, see Data Object Services.
REST application development in OpenEdge is supported by Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge (PDSOE). PDSOE is an individual OpenEdge product that you must install before beginning REST application development. If you do not have access to PDSOE, WSA is a better choice.