RESTForms

RESTForms is a generalized REST API backend for web applications built on InterSystems (Caché or Ensemble) backend.

Installation

1. Import latest release appropriate for your Caché version (161 for 2016.1, 162 for 2016.2+).
2. Create REST web app with Form.REST.Main as Dispatch Class.
3. Generate test data: do ##class(Form.Util.Init).populateTestForms()

Usage description and examples

Read this post on Developer Community. Developer community article about queries.
Russian article.

Requests

For POST/PUT requests see method descriptions for request body samples

Postman

You can use Postman to query RESTForms API. Collection. Environment.

SQL requests

GET http://localhost:57772/forms/form/objects/Form.Test.Simple/info?size=2&page=1&orderby=text

GET http://localhost:57772/forms/form/objects/Form.Test.Simple/all?orderby=text+desc

GET http://localhost:57772/forms/form/objects/Form.Test.Simple/all?filter=text%20eq%20A9044

GET http://localhost:57772/forms/form/objects/Form.Test.Simple/all?filter=text%20in%20A9044~B5920

Note, that for SQL access user must have relevant SQL privileges (SELECT on form table).

Queries

There are two query types:

• Basic queries work for all RESTForms classes once defined and they differ only by the field list
• Custom queries work only for the classes in which they are specified and available, but the user has full access to query text

Basic queries

Execute form/objects/:class/:query request, to call a simple query. Second :query parameter determines query type - the contents of query between SELECT and FROM. Here are default query types:

RESTForms looks for a query named myq in the following places (till first hit):

1. Class method queryMYQ in your form class
2. Parameter MYQ in your queries class
3. Class method queryMYQ in your queries class
4. Parameter MYQ in Form.REST.Objects class
5. Class method queryMYQ in Form.REST.Objects class

You can define your own queries class. To define your own query named myq there:

1. Define a class YourClassName
2. Define there a MYQ parameter or queryMYQ class method. Parameter takes precedence over the method.
3. Method or param must return the part of SQL query between SELECT and FROM
4. (Once) Execute in a terminal: Do ##class(For.Settings).setSetting("queryclass", YourClassName)

Method signature is: ClassMethod queryMYQ(class As %String) As %String

You can define a class-specific query. To define your own class query named myq:

1. Define a queryMYQ class method in your form class
2. Method signature is: ClassMethod queryMYQ() As %String
3. Method must return the part of SQL query between SELECT and FROM

Custom Queries

Execute form/objects/:class/custom/:query request, to call a custom query. Custom query allows user code to determine the full content of the query. URL parameters besides size and page are unavailable. Your method must parse all other url parameters.

To define your own custom query named myq:

1. Define a customqueryMYQ class method in your form class
2. Method signature is: ClassMethod customqueryMYQ() As %String
3. Method must return a valid SQL query

URL arguments:

All arguments are optional.

ORDER BY clause

Value can be: Column or Column+desc. Column is a column from the sql table or a colum number.

WHERE clause

In a format: Column+condition+Value.

Several conditions are possible: Column+condition+Value+Column2+condition2+Value2.

If Value contains white spaces replace them with tabs before sending to the server.

Conditions:

COLLATION clause

In a format: collation=UPPER or collation=EXACT.
Forces specified collation on WHERE clause. If omitted, default collation is used.

Settings

You can setup several settings.
Set them via Write ##class(For.Settings).setSetting(Setting, Value).

Samples

See Form.Test.Simple and other forms in Form.Test package for samples.
To generate test data execute: do ##class(Form.Util.Init).populateTestForms()
To remove test forms permanently from your local repository

1. Enter Form\Test directory from git bash
2. git update-index --assume-unchanged $(git ls-files | tr '\n' ' ')
3. Delete Form\Test directory

Object creation

For Form.Test.Simple.

POST http://localhost:57772/forms/form/object/Form.Test.Simple
Headers must contain Content-Type and (probably) authorization

Content-Type: application/json
Authorization: Basic Base64String

Body:

{
        "_class":"Form.Test.Simple",
        "text":3
}

Object update

For Form.TestForm.

PUT http://localhost:57772/forms/form/object/Form.Test.Simple

Body:

{
        "_class":"Form.Test.Simple",
        "_id":3,
        "text":4444
}