RE: New project....but where to start??

[Mike Krebs <mkrebs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Start with this question.

What are you trying to do?

    It appears you are trying to send and receive files.

  Do you understand what you are doing?

So, the next question is:

How do you do that?
  By using the HTTP protocol to send and receive files.
    So you better understand something about HTTP. The manual mentions using POST. So do some POST research.
    http://www.google.com/search?q=http+post&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Ok, so doing a post is what probably happens when you fill out a form on a web page. It sends the data on the page to a specific URL with the data appended to the request in a specific way http://www.w3.org/Protocols/ (yep, gets complicated but just try to get an understanding. Follow through the google links and eventually it will start to make sense.)

Okay so now you know something about HTTP and POST and GET.  Did you look at and run the EXAMPLE programs in LIBHTTP? If not, go back to square one and do that (try doing them in number order 1,2,3,4,5...). Work your way through them so you understand more about how it works and what HTTPAPI is able to do.

Now it is piece of cake...except that your documentation is unusual...not entirely clear and the requirements are somewhat unique. Page 9 - has a URL and two required parameters. From your examples and reading you now know that these parameters are handled in HTTPAPI by using the webFORM_xxx procedures. So, you will put your stuff into some webform variables and then transmit the stuff to your server. Your server will reply with a XML document that will tell you if you were successful or not. You will parse that document and check the status and take appropriate actions.

The stuff you put into your variables is complex and I am not sure on how you will have to do it. The first one appears to be this MD5 hash of a bunch of different things. I am guessing that you will have to build a string of that stuff, translate to ascii, then make the MD5 hash, send that string as the first parameter. Messy, messy, messy! Someone on the list might have an idea on how to make that work correctly (you don't want your MD5 hash retranslated from EBCDIC to ASCII in the process of sending it to the server). The second one appears to be the actual file data. It will be a little easier (depending on the file you are sending). Scott included an example of posting a file in one of the examples.

Whew! Good luck with this project. It would be great if you'd be able to post the finished programs back here so that others could see what you had to do to make them work. Maybe we'll all be running Accellion appliances someday!

 



> -----Original Message-----
> From: ftpapi-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ftpapi-
> bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of DivotDug@xxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 4:08 PM
> To: ftpapi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: New project....but where to start??
> 
> 
> 
> The problem is I'm not really sure what I need to do....guess that is
> why
> some of my questions may not make a lot of sense.
> 
> Here is a link to the documentation.
> _https://transferdev.motionsoft.net/courier/Accellion%20SDK.pdf_
> (https://transferdev.motionsoft.net/courier/Accellion%20SDK.pdf)
> 
> THANKS!!!!
> 
> .
> Message dated 1/27/2011 1:46:31 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> sk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> 
> Hi  DivotDug,
> 
> Can you provide more information about what you're looking  for?  I'm
> happy to help you with HTTPAPI, but I can't answer  questions about
> your
> appliance, as I'm not familiar with it.
> 
> Are  you looking to do an HTTP PUT request?   Or an FTP PUT request?
> Or... what are you looking for?  Then you say something about
> consuming
> a web service...
> 
> Can you provide some information?   Maybe a link to documentation?
> 
> 
> On 1/27/2011 7:26 AM,  DivotDug@xxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> > OK I think I have the MD5 under  control but now I have another
> > question.
> >
> > As part of  this proof of concept project I not only have to GET a
> file
> > I have to  also PUT a file.
> >
> > The url is
> >
> >  https://<hostname  of  appliance>/seos/<application  ID>/put/<MD5
> >   hash  token>/<file  handle>
> >
> > The documentation suggests I am initiating an api  on the
> "appliance".
> >
> > This all being new to me, I am unclear as  to whether I am doing a
> > http_url_post_stmf or if I am actually  consuming a web service.  Can
> > someone point me in the right  direction?
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