Test Your Server
RISE has a built-in utility to run methods in a generated and deployed web service. The utility can be used to call any web service method, defined in the RISE model, and display the returned result. This means that you can run your server solution without integrating it, or implementing any client-side solution whatsoever.
RISE Test Web Services utility serves a number of purposes that are vital throughout the life-cycle of your solution. For instance to:
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Test that your design is adequate by populating it with real world data.
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Verify communication with the server in development time as well as for production systems.
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Try out call sequences before implementing them in a client application or integration solution.
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Debug or verify the actual results of the commands run by your application.
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Insert test data into a development system, in a far easier and more flexible way than maintaining and running database scripts.
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Insert configuration data into a deployed solution without having to implement a configuration utility client.
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Use it instead of a custom graphic user interfaces for parts of your solution, as described below.
The most important reason for using the test utility is, probably, that you may run your solution during development as well as in production without needing a full, and all inclusive, graphic user interface. Thus, the GUI (graphic user interface) development may start with and focus on the parts that are most important. There's no need - if resources are limited - to implement user interfaces for highly qualified users or for tasks that are seldomly performed.
The RISE Test Web Services utility is available by selecting "Test Web Services" in the Tools menu of the RISE Editor. This will display the test web services dialog shown below. To invoke a web service you must first specify the deployment URL (Application root URL). If you do not specify the actual web service, RISE will make the default assumption that it is an asmx-file. If this assumption is correct, you don't need to point this URL, though you may, to the actual web service. Entering the root folder, containing the web services of your model, is enough. If however, this is not a correct assumption, you will need to specify not only the folder but also the service, e.g. "<myprefix>.WS.<interfacename>.php". To call a web service method you also need to:
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Select a method in the left-hand tree, showing all available methods in your project.
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Fill out the argument list of the selected method. This is displayed on the parameters tab in the right-hand spreadsheet. The spreadsheet shows you the name and data type of each argument. It also states if an argument is mandatory or not. To send NULL as a value check the NULL checkbox.
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Push the "Execute method" button.
In this example the NewFolder method is called with the Name-argument set to "My test folder".
Once a method is executed the utility will swap to the results tab. The results tab display a spreadsheet containing the data returned by the call. The example snapshot shows the results of executing the ListFolder method. Apparently, the example system contains three folder; "My test folder", "My first sub folder" and "Another top folder".
The RISE Test Web Services utility supports all method types and all data types available in RISE. This includes uploading and downloading of BLOB's (Binary Large OBjects), typically files. To pass binary data to an Upload-method, enter the path of the file containing the binary data into the value field of the argument list.
When running a Download-method you'll automatically be prompted to provide a file where the utility may store the retrieved binary data. For download methods the result spreadsheet displays a single column, the size in bytes of the retrieved data.
