User interface

Users access the user interface by using a web browser.

The API uses a subset of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) as transfer protocol. URL-encoded HTTP requests with JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) payloads are used to send information from the browser to the server. The JSON formatted data is sent back from the server to the user interface as a response.

The user interface is implemented as a set of JavaScript libraries that are loaded and run entirely within the user's web browser. Its internal architecture follows the Model View Controller (MVC) approach that decouples data from its representation. Therefore, the communication between server and user interface is strictly data-based. The user interface sends asynchronous requests to the server that describe the data that is needed or the action that IBM® Safer Payments needs to complete. It receives status information and data in JSON format.

The same technology is used by third-party software components to access IBM Safer Payments functions and data.

To serve the needs of both the user interface and third-party components, the API comprises a superset of API calls. The API does not differentiate between functions for the user interface and third-party components. Therefore, third-party components can access the full user interface capabilities. The API is so comprehensive that third parties can, for example, write a different user interface.

In addition to API requests, the user interface also requests a number of static files from IBM Safer Payments. These static files are from the API "includes" path of the IBM Safer Payments instance. They are JavaScript libraries, cascading stylesheets (CSS) files, and image files.

Because of the HTTP transport layer used by the API, the server is typically configured to listen to requests on the HTTP port defined in the cluster.