OpenEdge Development: <br />Web Services Tools for developing Progress 4GL Web services

Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Web Services

Tools for developing Progress 4GL Web services

In OpenEdge, you can build and deploy Web services using the AppServer, OpenEdge Web service tools, including the OpenEdge Web Services Adapter (WSA). The Web service tools allow you to develop a Web-service-enabled AppServer application service using the OpenEdge Open Client Toolkit, then to deploy this application as a Web service using the Progress Explorer framework.

Open Client Toolkit and 4GL Web services

You can define Web services using the Open Client Toolkit much as you define traditional Open Client proxies. However, instead of generating Open Client proxies for immediate access by Open Client applications, you generate a client interface definition, Web Service Mapping file (.wsm), and deploy this definition generating a Web Service Description Language (WSDL) file and property files that you then manage, along with the operational Web service, within the context of the WSA.

Web Services Adapter

The WSA is a Java™ servlet running on a Web server or stand-alone JSE. Situated between the client and AppServer, this Java servlet understands how to communicate at run time:

With a Web service client using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).

With an AppServer using the Progress 4GL interface to the application service.

The WSA also generates the WSDL file required by Web service clients during Web service deployment, and it maintains the status of all 4GL Web services that have been deployed to its Web application context. It serves as the SOAP-to-business interface gateway and Web service management engine for your 4GL Web service. The WSA provides client access to the Web service WSDL file and supports Web service administration; it also manages the exchange of Web service SOAP requests and generates SOAP responses between Web service clients and AppServers at run time.

For an overview of the components and procedures for building Progress 4GL Web services, see the "Turning 4GL application services into Web services" section.