Creating SOAP APIs

Integrate different types of connectors in webMethods Integration by using SOAP APIs. The SOAP API contains the message formats, data types, transport protocols, and transport serialization formats that are used between the consumer (requester) and the provider of the web service. In essence, the SOAP API represents an agreement that governs the mechanics of interacting with that service.

About this task

In webMethods Integration, you can trigger project workflows and flow services through API endpoints. Add custom APIs or export existing APIs, link them with your project workflows and flow services, and make API requests to run the associated workflows and flow services. A SOAP API shows one or more flow services as operations, so each operation in a SOAP API corresponds to a flow service. The input for the flow service corresponds to the request body for the operation. The output of the flow is the response body for the operation.

Select one of the following methods to create the SOAP APIs:
  • Create from scratch/Design new API
  • Import API/I have an existing API
  • Import API using URL

Procedure

  1. Select a project and click APIs > SOAP API. The SOAP APIs page appears.
  2. Click Create API and select Create from scratch/Design new API.
  3. Click Next.
    The Basic Info page appears.
  4. In the Name field, provide a suitable name for the API.
    For example, Soap_api_test1.
  5. In the Description field, provide a short description for the API.
  6. In the Version field, select whether SOAP messages for this SOAP API use SOAP 1.1 or SOAP 1.2 message format.
    For example, use SOAP 1.1.
  7. In the Access field, mark the SOAP API as Public or Private.
    Note: To enable the execution of an API from webMethods API Gateway, use the Internal URL under the API Endpoints, which is displayed on the SOAP API page.

    Support for domains with -internal is going to be deprecated. Therefore, you must reconfigure the alias in the webMethods API Gateway by using the Internal URL provided under API Endpoints. In an existing API, when you change the selected value for the Access field from Private to Public or Public to Private, the changes can take a while to propagate for the ongoing API executions.

  8. Use and style for operations. A WSDL SOAP binding can be either a document style binding or a Remote Procedure Call \(RPC\) style binding. A SOAP binding can also have a literal or an encoded use. Select the use and style for operations in the SOAP API:
    1. Document - Literal
    2. RPC - Literal
    3. RPC - Encoded
    4. Select Document - Literal as an example.
  9. Select Flow service. Displays all the flow services available in the selected project. Select Flow service to use as an operation. The operation signature becomes the input and output messages for the operation in the WSDL document.
    For example, select "AddInts". -
  10. Enforce WS-I Basic Profile 1.1 compliance. Select this option to make flow services validate all SOAP API objects and properties against WS-I requirements during the SOAP API creation.
  11. Validate schema using Xerces. Flow service automatically uses an internal schema parser to validate the schemas associated with the XML schema definition. Select this option when you want flow services to also use the Xerces parser to validate the schemas associated with the XML schema definition. However, the Xerces parser provides stricter validation. As a result, some schemas that the internal schema parser considers to be valid might be considered invalid by the Xerces parser.
  12. Click Save. An API is successfully created and saved for your project.