complex inbound SOAP XML

[kjmauriello]

I have a requirement where an inbound SOAP feed is going to be passing multiple repeating structures.

basically something like this:

field 1

        structure 1 (can repeat n number of times)

                  s1f1

                  s1f2

                  s1f3

        structure 2 (can repeat n number of times)

                  s2f1

                  s2f2

                  s2f3

field 4

Can this be done with an OOB web service or do I need to receive 1 large XML field and process the XMLDocument within a script?

[josh_nerius · Accepted solution]

Hi Kevin,

There are a few potential things you could do to support this.

1. Create a Scripted SOAP web service with Static WSDL. This allows you to take an existing WSDL and build a web service that implements that service. The downside is that this can be pretty complex. More resources related to this topic:
   • Create a static WSDL
   • Create a scripted web service
   • Static WSDL script include example
2. Create a web service import set, dump the XML into a payload field like you mentioned. This has the benefit of not requiring a Static WSDL and associated code. The feasibility of this will depend on how much flexibility the calling system has. If it can call a traditional web service import set service, this is a good option.
3. Create a Scripted REST API. Even though the name implies REST, these services can accept arbitrary payloads meaning you could potentially use this to accept the XML payload. You would then parse the XML payload in the REST Resource and process it as needed.

I'd personally avoid option 1 just because it's less common and may be harder to work with. Choosing options 2 and 3 will likely depend on what you feel most comfortable with and whether or not the calling system can adapt to a web service import set (if yes, use option 2) or if it can only send the payload in the existing format (check out option 3).

[kjmauriello]

I didn't think about the scripted REST API, great idea.

Let me play with the data they are sending, I believe you are on the right track.

Thanks for the assistance.