Re: Weird IWS Bug (?)

IWS has effectively two completely separate parts as best I can see. The one we have been discussing is for the provision of web services.

HTTPAPI is for consuming a web service. IWS also offers that option but I find it much harder to use than HTTPAPI and it doesn't "feel" like RPG.

So far I only have IWS REST services working with URL passed parameters. If I wanted to pass in a JSON payload I would still need YAJL or SQL or ... to parse it.

As I have said before I view IWS's capabilities to provide web services as a great starting point for easy proof-of-concept. The latest changes make it go further down that road (i.e. towards production) than I previously thought. They also seem to have boosted performance although I haven't measured that. The latest changes of allowing an SQL statement to be deployed as a web service is kinda cool and avoids having to write any RPG code.

Building a solution with YAJL/HTTPAPI requires configuring Apache which is not easy for newbies. That is an area in which IWS scores as it configures the app server and everything for you.

IWS can always be avoided. As I noted previously I often recommend it to clients who are having troubles with the "IBM i can't do that" crowd and need to prove them wrong. It allows a simple RPG program (and now SQL statement) to be deployed as a web service. Great for POC.

But ... I'm wary of going whole hog into using it as the _only_ solution in the shop because, as I and others here have discovered, it can be a bugger to debug, documentation is sparse and, in my experience, has too many errors (or at the very least is badly/confusingly worded).


Jon Paris

www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com

On Jul 18, 2019, at 2:17 PM, Jim Oberholtzer <midrangel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

My thought was the client and server program both “speak” JSON between them
and IWS manages the server instance etc. That’s where Scott Klement’s YAJL
and HTTPapi come into play.

Am I wrong? I can see where IWS could be avoided.

On Thu, Jul 18, 2019 at 12:39 PM Jon Paris <jon.paris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Agreed - with limitations. This may be possible with IWS but I have no
idea how ... for instance you may need to modify the JSON payload in a way
that cannot be controlled by the "shape" of RPG parameters. You may have
requirements that if there is not data for an element then the tag must not
be there either.

As a result IWS is fine if _you_ are making the rules. i.e. "You want me
to supply web service access to my data? Sure - the JSON will look like
this." But in may cases you are placed in a position where (say) Walmart
makes the rules and _tells__you_ what the JSON has to look like.


Jon Paris

www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com

On Jul 18, 2019, at 12:44 PM, Booth Martin <booth@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Also IWS saves having to _learn_ "YAJL or whatever", which in my opinion

is a major plus in most RPG shops.

IWS does need a more intuitive interview, but once that swamp is

crossed, it gets the job done.

On 7/18/2019 8:39 AM, Jon Paris wrote:

If you pass an array IWS_converts_ it to JSON Jim. Or XML for that

matter.

Saves having to run YAJL or whatever in the RPG code.


Jon Paris

www.partner400.com
www.SystemiDeveloper.com

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Agile Technology Architects
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