Hello,
We’ve been using EntireX to SOAP-enable Natural with the rest of the enterprise… publishing WSDLs/aar files to the WS-Stack to SOAP-enable Natural subprograms and creating XML RPC Servers to allow Natural to call web services. This works super duper dandy!
Of course, RESTful APIs are the in thing now and other software we integrate with makes use of these. This makes sense in the context of the Digital Business Platform concept as you can publish these APIs in a service catalog and they can be used by agile developers (pun intended) to make a bunch of apps continuously.
So, the question is… is there now in EntireX v10.5 a way to publish RESTful APIs that invoke Natural (via Natural RPC Server) to the WS-Stack and to enable Natural to invoke RESTful APIs without requiring webMethods Integration Server to be part of our environment?
The reason I ask is… when I look into the EntireX documentation → Developer Overview → EntireX and REST, it talks about this being possible with use of the EntireX Adapter for Integration Server.
Natural Scenarios:
Calling your Natural Subprograms from your REST Client
"I have a Natural server subprogram and want to call this from a REST client."
Use the IDL Extractor for Natural to create an IDL file, and use the Integration Server Wrapper to generate your REST resource from this file.
Calling a REST API from a Natural Application
"I have a REST API and want to call this from a Natural application."
Use the Integration Server to create a REST API descriptor, then the IDL Extractor for Integration Server to generate Integration Server connections and listeners. Then use the Natural Wrapper to generate client interface objects and build a Natural client application.
Our enterprise uses the Oracle SOA Suite / Fusion Middleware, which is why we didn’t get webMethods IS, so I am curious what I can do here to get with the times.
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Brian
I recently attended a SAG presentation on REST in which it was explained that a mini version of webMethods IS is included in EntireX at no charge. Its functionality is restricted to REST support.
Hi Ralph,
That’s awesome! I assume the EntireX Adapter referenced would also come along with mini-webMethods IS to make it all work.
Thanks so much! This is exciting news.
Regards,
Brian
Hi Rolf,
Thanks for responding. My concern was to find a way to use EntireX for REST<–>Natural integration without webMethods IS, but since as Ralph informed me that sites using EntireX get the "mini-webMethods IS" free, limited to supporting REST in EntireX, I no longer am concerned.
I had been planning to order v10.5 anyway as we’re currently on v9.10 and have started a project to upgrade all our SAG products, so I will ensure we obtain the webMethods IS & EntireX adapter with the EXX v10.5 software (I am guessing I get those in the download centre).
I am looking forward to my exposure to this software.
Regards,
Brian
Hello,
Ok, I ordered the mainframe EXX v10.5 software and got the link from Logistics to download that. I am assuming I would use the Software Download site like I had in the past to get the Windows/Unix/Linux software (e.g., Designer, WS-Stack), and also to download the webMethods IS and EntireX Adapter pieces I will need to support REST integration with EXX.
However, in selecting these new pieces, I get this message “If the required products do not already exist on the target machine, you will not be able to install from this image. Do you want the installer to select the required products?”.
Now, since we never previously installed webMethods IS and the EntireX Adapter, I am guessing this means this will fail. So how do I get the required software?
Thanks,
Brian
strictly speaking this should be a new topic around the installation. But anyways…
The message you saw just indicates that the selected products rely on additional components. Just let the installer select the required products so they are included in the image. It will likely look like a long list of stuff, but don’t let that worry you.