Editing a link

Links describe how various values returned by one operation can be used as input for other operations, providing a known relationship and traversal mechanism between the operations.

Before you begin

Open the details form for a link. For details of the areas in your API definition from where you can edit a link, see the following topics:

About this task

Note:
  • This task relates to configuring an OpenAPI 3.0 API definition. For details on how to configure an OpenAPI 2.0 API definition, see Editing an OpenAPI 2.0 API definition.
  • OpenAPI 3.0 APIs are supported only with the DataPower® API Gateway, not with the DataPower Gateway (v5 compatible).
  • For details of current OpenAPI 3.0 support limitations, see OpenAPI 3.0 support in IBM® API Connect.

You can complete this task either by using the API Designer UI application, or by using the browser-based API Manager UI.

At any time, you can switch directly to the underlying OpenAPI YAML source by clicking the Source icon OpenAPI Source icon. To return to the design form, click the Form icon Form icon.

Procedure

  1. Provide the following information:
    • Name: If you are editing a link component, this name defines a key that enables this link to be referenced from elsewhere in the API definition; the reference has the following format:
      #/components/links/Name
      To change the name, click Update, then click Save when done.
    • Operation ID: The ID of an existing operation; this field is mutually exclusive of the Operation Ref field. For details on defining operations, see Defining operations for a Path.
    • Operation Ref: A relative or absolute URI reference to an existing operation; this field is mutually exclusive of the Operation ID field. For details on defining operations, see Defining operations for a Path.
    • Parameters: A map representing parameters to pass to an operation as specified with Operation ID or identified via Operation Ref. The key is the parameter name to be used, whereas the value can be a constant or an expression to be evaluated and passed to the linked operation.
    • Request Body: The request body to use when calling the target operation.
    • Description: A description of the link. You can use CommonMark syntax for rich text representation.
    • Server: A server to be used by the target operation. Provide the following information:
      • Server URL The specified URL is used to determine the full URL endpoint for the calling the API, according to any vanity endpoint configuration in the Catalog in which the API is published. For full details, see Configuring vanity endpoints for a Catalog.
      • Server Description: An optional description of the host designated by the URL. You can use CommonMark syntax for rich text representation.
      • Server Variables A server variable defines a map between a variable name and its value. The value is used for substitution in the server's URL template.
        1. To add a new server variable, click Add. To edit an existing server variable, click the variable name.
        2. Provide the following information:
          • Server Variable Name (required).
          • Default value (required).
          • An optional rich text description. You can use CommonMark syntax for rich text representation.
          • One or more Enum Value entries (available when editing an existing server variable). Enum values specify an enumeration of string values to be used if the substitution options are from a limited set. To add an new Enum value, click Add, enter the value, then click Create. To edit an existing Enum value, click the Enum value.
        3. If you are creating a new server variable, click Create. The server variable details are displayed for further editing.
  2. Click Save when done.

What to do next

If required, use the breadcrumb trail to navigate to another location in the hierarchy of the object you are working on.