Web Services: Where to Get Started

[Gabriel Richards]

Hello, newb alert...

I'm a seasoned web developer having integrated many web services with other web applications through REST and SOAP API's.

I have recently been approached about how to get a JDE back office system to feed a web portal.

I'm not so familiar with how ERP systems like EnterpriseOne are installed, configured, and customized for use, but I would expect there to be documentation somewhere about E1's web services API so that 3rd party applications could call various methods for accessing things like a customer list, a product list, and to insert an order.

A search for API documentation on Google is surprisingly fruitless... and I've essentially only found high level speak, mostly marketing gibberish to confuse the decision makers.

So for starters:

Where do I find what's the URL to the WSDL file?

Where are the SOAP connection basics?

I wonder if my confusion is simply because I misunderstand JDE E1...

Are there even standard Web Services that come with the software, or must they all first be custom defined / designed / developed? If the latter, are these GUI operations or programmed (Java?).

TY,
G

 

[JEMILLER]

Gabriel,

Welcome to the list and JDE. The current documentation for available integration options can be found with Google search: JD Edwards Tools 9.1 Interoperability Guide. For web services specifically you'll need to be on a relatively newer release of JDE and there will be CNC installation pre-requisites for the Business Services (BSSV) server. For older releases there are other interop options with XML Call Object being the most loosely-coupled.

 

[Gabriel Richards]

Thank you for the welcome Justin. That was a perfect starting point.

So, basically it seems that I can use XML to call "business functions". In appendix B they give an example to insert a sales order with pages worth of parameters. I assume "insert a sales order" is a "business function".

In other reading I have since found, it seems like "business functions" are created either in C or with "event rules scripting language" by the system developer... and that they ought to have been documented in a standard way with Function Notes, Data Structure Notes, and Parameter Notes.

Does this mean that every JDE installation will have its own uniquely named, uniquely functional, and uniquely documented "business functions" depending on what the system developer has done? (I.E. this "insert sales order" example is not a standard function?)

Therefore, discovering what business functions are available, and the meaning of their parameters is conditional upon the developer having used the business function documentation thoroughly and effectively?

TY,
G

 

[jdelisths]

Gabriel,

Calling business functions using XML call object (or otherwise) requires knowledge of what the business function does. The pages of parameters you are seeing proves this point. Setting the values of this parameters incorrectly can result in "undesired" results.

You are probably better off calling published Business Services to create Sales Orders.