ProductsMapForceWeb Services Data Mapping

In addition to the ability to build Web services in a graphical manner, MapForce allows you to connect to and use existing Web services inside your data mappings.

Due to their simplicity and inherent interoperability, Web services have received rapid adoption as tools for exchanging information between disparate systems over intranets, extranets, and the Internet.

MapForce supports the ability to connect to existing Web services and integrate their functionality into mappings of XML, databases, flat file, EDI, and Excel 2007 data. You can even use existing Web services as components for building new Web services in MapForce, and you can aggregate two or more Web services to create a “mash up” that integrates functionality from multiple services.

After you’ve defined a mapping that utilizes a Web service, MapForce connects to the service to process the data, and you can immediately see the results on the Output tab. You can also generate Java or C# code to implement the mapping programmatically.

Mapping Web Services

Inserting an existing Web service in a MapForce data mapping design is as easy as specifying the location of its WSDL definition and selecting the operation you require. MapForce fills in the call settings based on details in the WSDL file, and you can even enter username and password authentication details if required.

Once you have connected to the Web service, MapForce displays its input and output parameters in a graphical component that you can map just like any other supported data format.

Depending on the requirements of your project, you can effectively use a Web service function as a look-up or processing function, a source component, or a target component within a mapping involving XML, database, flat file, EDI, Excel 2007, and/or other Web service data. An example of each of these scenarios for using Web services functions is listed below.

Using a Web service as a look-up or processing function

When you’re mapping data between XML documents, databases, flat files, EDI messages, Excel 2007 files, or Web services, it’s often useful to filter, combine, or otherwise process source data before mapping it to the target data structure(s). MapForce allows you to use the functionality provided by existing Web services to look up and process data based on input from the data source structure(s) before passing it to the target(s).

For example, in the mapping project shown below, data from multiple XML files is combined, processed, and written to a target XML-based purchase order. The GetShippingRate Web service operation looks up the current shipping price based on input data supplied by the source files and adds it to the Price field of the target.

Clicking the Output tab will immediately display the results of the mapping, and generating Java or C# code allows you to embed the functionality of this mapping in another program and generate the PO, complete with the current shipping price, whenever the source data changes.

Similarly, Web services that process data can be used just like any other data processing function available in the built-in and custom function libraries in MapForce.

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Using a Web service as a source

Using a Web service as a source in a data mapping is useful for retrieving content from a service provider and writing it to XML, database, flat file, EDI, Excel 2007, or Web services targets quickly and easily. In the example below, a Web service source supplies up-to-the-minute weather information for a particular zip code and writes it to a target XML file for further processing by a stylesheet to create dynamic Web content.

This data is immediately available on the Output tab, and MapForce can also autogenerate Java or C# code to implement the mapping functionality in another application.

Using a Web service as a target

When your goal is to supply data to an existing Web service, you can use the service as a target component in a MapForce mapping. This way, you can access data in databases or EDI messages, for example, manipulate the data as needed, and then send it to the Web service for further processing.

The mapping project shown below was created to allow sales representatives to receive notifications about purchase orders (POs) on their mobile phones while they’re on the road. It connects an XML-based purchase order system with an existing Web service that sends information to mobile phones via SMS (Short Message Service). The text file mapped to the Web service output parameter simply collects the response from the Web service confirming receipt of the data. You can view this response on the output tab to ensure the transfer was successful. Then, if desired, MapForce will autogenerate code to implement the mapping programmatically.

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Whether you’re using a Web service as a look-up function, source, or target in a data mapping, MapForce makes it easy to harness the functionality of existing Web services for creating new data integration and Web services applications.

Check out these powerful Web services mapping capabilities. Download a free 30-day trial of MapForce.