DataFlux Data Management Studio 2.5: User Guide

HTTP Request Node

You can add an HTTP Request node to a data job to issue HTTP requests to an HTTP server. The requests, and optional replies, are built by the caller and can be any content that the server is expecting. Note that the node also supports HTTPS requests. You can see an example of a data job that makes an HTTP request in Managing an HTTP Request. See also any usage notes for the HTTP Request node.

Once you have added the node to the job, you can double-click it to open its properties dialog. The HTTP Request node contains the following elements:

Name - Specifies a name for the node.

Notes - Enables you to open the Notes dialog. You use the dialog to enter optional details or any other relevant information for the input.

Address - Contains the URL needed to connect to web service that is used for the job. Note that the URL contains all of the parameters needed to connect to and use the service. For example, you could specify the following value in the Address field:

http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/distancematrix/xml?origins={origins_latlong}&destinations={destinations_latlong}&mode={mode}&units={units}&sensor=false

Note the following about the contents of the field:

• You can specify any values that need to come from node itself through dynamic replacement by enclosing them in curly brackets, as in {mode}.
• The &mode= part is web service request language for saying that this web service requires a parameter called mode. Note that this is a parameter of the web service. Google has defined that the web service understands this parameter. The {mode} part is DataFlux-specific and tells the node that whenever it calls the web service, it needs to replace {mode} with the value of the node parameter, which is called mode. In this example, mode is a fixed string that resolves to driving.
• The parameter origins_latlong, has a column parameter type. It is dynamically replaced at run-time with the value of one of the fields that flows into the node. In this case, the field is called field_origins_latlong.

Method - Specifies the method to use for the HTTP request. The following methods are available:

• delete
• get
• post
• put

Security - Displays the Security dialog, which enables you to enter credentials for connecting to the URI. You can also enter information about a proxy, if one is used.

Parameters - Enables you to enter and display information about the parameters of the URI from the HTTP request, which are defined within the URI itself. The parameters are listed in a table that includes columns for NAME, TYPE, and VALUE. The available parameter types are COLUMN, FILE, and STRING. The parameter type is determined by your selection of a Field (COLUMN), a File (FILE), or Text (STRING) in the Parameter section of the dialog. You can click Add, Edit, or Delete to maintain the parameter values.

For example, the parameters for a job that uses a service that calculates the distance between a specified origin point and a destination are listed in the following table:

In this case, the parameters specify the origin and destination points for the calculation, the mode of transportation, and the unit for the result.

Discover - Discovers parameters specified in the given URI. Then, it populates the Parameters field with the results of the discovery. If you have filled in the complete address field, you can click Discover to extract all of the parameters from the URI and put them in the Parameters field.

The Input section of the node contains the following elements:

None - Clears the input variable type and value.

Field - Specifies that the input variable will be a field-type variable. Click the down-arrow to select a field from the incoming column fields.

File - Specifies that the input variable will be a file-type variable. Click Browse to access the Open dialog to select the file.

Text - Specifies that the input variable will be a text-type variable. Enter the text in the adjacent field.

The Output section of the node contains the following elements:

None - Clears the output variable type and value.

Field - Specifies that the output variable will be a field-type variable. You can add a new field or edit an existing field.

File - Specifies that the output variable will be a file-type variable. Click Browse to access the Open dialog to select the file.

Additional Outputs - Enables you to select the incoming parent fields that will be passed through to the child node.

You can access the following advanced properties by right-clicking the HTTP Request node:

• FIELD_MAP
• HEADER
• INPUT
• INPUT_TYPE
• METHOD
• OUTPUT
• OUTPUT_MAX_LENGTH
• OUTPUT_TYPE
• POLL_INTERVAL
• RESPONSE_HEADERS
• URI_PARAMETERS
• WSCP_ADDRESS
• WSCP_CONFIG
• WSCP_DOMAIN
• WSCP_HTTP_CONTENT_TYPE
• WSCP_PASS
• WSPC__PREEMPTIVE_AUTHENTICATION
• WSCP_PROXY_DOMAIN
• WSCP_PROXY_HOST
• WSCP_PROXY_PASS
• WSCP_PROXY_PORT
• WSCP_PROXY_USER
• WSCP_USER