Server APIs: HTTP REST, COM/.NET, Java
RaptorXML+XBRL Server defines an HTTP REST interface, which is used by clients to dispatch jobs to the server. Clients can either access the HTTP REST interface directly or use the high-level COM/.NET and Java Server APIs. These APIs provide easy-to-use COM/.NET and Java classes which manage the creation and dispatch of the HTTP REST requests. The figure below shows a summary of the available HTTP REST client methods to communicate with the RaptorXML server.
There are three server APIs that can be used to communicate with RaptorXML via the HTTP REST interface (also see figure above).
| Note: | The server APIs offer similar functionality as the command line interface (CLI). This includes validation and document transformations. If you wish to use advanced functionality, such as reading, extracting, and analysing data, then use the Engine APIs. The Engine APIs can provide additional information such as the count of elements, their positions in the document, and complex XBRL data access and manipulation. |
Usage
RaptorXML+XBRL Server should be installed on a machine that is accessible by clients over the local network. Once the RaptorXML+XBRL Server service has been started, clients can connect to the server and issue commands. The following access methods are labeled as Server APIs because they provide a way to communicate with a remote RaptorXML server.
•HTTP REST client interface: Client requests are made in JSON format as described in the section HTTP REST Client Interface. Each request is assigned a job directory on the server, in which output files are saved. The server responds to the client with all the information relevant to the job.
•COM/.NET API and Java API: Applications and scripts in COM/.NET programming languages and Java applications use objects of the RaptorXML Server API to access functionality of RaptorXML+XBRL Server. The RaptorXML Server API will issue the corresponding HTTP REST requests on behalf of the client. See the respective sub-sections for more information.
Licensing
RaptorXML+XBRL Server is licensed on the machine on which it is installed. Connections to RaptorXML+XBRL Server are made via HTTP.