visual basic.net asp.net web services february 25, 2004
DESCRIPTION
Visual Basic.NET ASP.NET Web Services February 25, 2004. Agenda – February 25, 2004. Homework or Other Questions? (Cookies?) Evolution of Visual Basic.NET Programming ASP.NET Web Services HelloService Class Exercise What is SOAP? Web Service Directive - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Visual Basic.NET
ASP.NET Web Services
February 25, 2004
Agenda – February 25, 2004
• Homework or Other Questions? (Cookies?)• Evolution of Visual Basic.NET Programming• ASP.NET Web Services• HelloService Class Exercise• What is SOAP?• Web Service Directive• WSDL (Web Services Description Language)• Web Services Presentation• Web Service Class Exercise• Final Homework / Class Project
Homework or Other Questions?
Evolution of Visual Basic.NET Programming
Console Application
Command Window
Console Application
Windows Form Class
Input Screen
Windows Form Application
Constructors
Fields
Get Set Properties
Methods
Windows Form Class
Class
Input Screen
Windows Form with Class DLL
Database
Constructors
Fields
Get Set Properties
MethodsWindows Form
Class
ClassInput Screen
Windows Form, Class DLL, and ADO
WebForm Class
Browser (IE6)
WebForm Application
Code Behind File
Database
Constructors
Fields
Get Set Properties
Methods
WebForm Class
ClassBrowser (IE6)
WebForm, Class DLL, and ADO
Code Behind File
Database
Constructors
Fields
Get Set Properties
Methods
WebForm Class
ClassBrowser (IE6)
Web Services using localhost
Code Behind File
SOAP
Database
Constructors
Fields
Get Set Properties
Methods
WebForm Class
ClassBrowser (IE6)
Web Services using Remote Host
Code Behind File
Client Server
SOAP
ASP.NET Web Services
Web Services
• Web Services are a new way of performing remote procedure calls over HTTP
• Web Services make use of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). SOAP is an XML-based standard that details how method calls are made over HTTP in a reproducible manner
• Web Services are completely described using WSDL (Web Service Description Language)
• Web Services are able to use the full array of Visual Basic, C# and .NET techniques over the server.
Web Services.• A web service is an application that exposes a Web-
accessible API (i.e. a class method).– The key is that it is Web-accessible, not just browser-
accessible.• Another way of looking at a .NET web service is that it
is a unit of managed code, typically installed under IIS, that can be remotely invoked using HTTP.
• A Web service is language agnostic.– All you care about is invoking the service with the
input parameters formatted correctly, and parsing the output (if any).
Web Services Architecture
Windows Client
Browser Client
Other Client
Web Server (IIS)
Request Handler
Web Service
Web Service
SOAP Messages
Server
Anatomy of a Web Service
• In .NET, a web service is implemented by one or more assemblies, just like any other library.
• In addition, some additional infrastructure is needed:– A wire protocol – used to transmit your service
request and receive a response. (i.e. HTTP/GET, HTTP/POST or SOAP).
– A description service – so clients can programmatically access and examine the interface contract.
– A discovery service – so clients can programmatically discover the existence of web services.
Web Service Security• Project Files are stored in assemblies
• Support for strongly named assemblies
• Stored in GAC (Global Assembly Cache) found in C:\WINDOWS\assembly
• Using Public / Private Key Pairs (Kerberos)– Assembly Signed with the Private Key– Assembly is Opened with the Public Key– Guaranteed to be the correct Assembly
HelloService Class Exercise
Let's Look at Converting this Simple Code into a Web Service
Imports System
Class Hello
Public Function HelloMessage() As String
Return ("Hello .NET Web Service")
End Function
End Class
The HelloService.asmx File<%@ WebService Language="VB" Class="HelloService" %>
'Imports System'Imports System.Web.Services
Public Class HelloService Inherits System.Web.Services.WebService
<System.Web.Services.WebMethod()> _Public Function HelloMessage() As String
Return ("Hello .NET Web Service")End Function
End Class
Steps to Implement
1. Save the above text in a file named hello.asmx file in the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot directory
2. Access the web service by specifying the .asmx file in the URL
(i.e. http://localhost/simplehello.asmx)
3. Invoking the web service this way automatically generates a web page that specifies the message format, and gives you a convenient invocation button for simple parameters. (i.e. it only supports a GET)
4. Notice that the response is wrapped in XML
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
Remote objects can give a program almost unlimited power over the Internet, but most
firewalls block non-HTTP requests. SOAP, an XML-based protocol, gets around this limitation to provide intraprocess communication across
machines.
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
• Traditionally, HTTP is the application level protocol used between web-clients and web servers.
• Web clients are now more than browsers requesting HTML.
• HTTP is fairly simple, restricted to requesting and sending resources with GET, PUT and POST, but is not designed for flexible exchange of data between applications.
• The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) aims to fix this by defining a protocol that any application can use to communicate and exchange data with any other application
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
• SOAP is a simple, lightweight XML-based protocol for exchanging structured and type information on the Web.
• SOAP uses XML Grammar tailored for exchanging web service data
• .NET Web Service usually sends SOAP messages over HTTP
• SOAP Protocol was originally developed by Compaq, HP, IBM, Lotus, Microsoft, and others
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
• To achieve maximum flexibility, SOAP uses XML syntax to format its content.
• SOAP is designed to be:– As simple as possible– Provide a minimum functionality
• Therefore SOAP is both modular and flexible.• However, the SOAP protocol does not include anything
on security or transactions
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
• Since SOAP is an application level protocol, it can run on any transport e.g. TCP.
• The protocol defines a messaging framework that contains no application or transport semantics. As a result, the protocol is modular and very extensible.
• Since SOAP messages are XML, which is plain text, they can easily pass through firewalls
• SOAP is not limited to name/value pairs as HTTP-GET and HTTP-POST are, but can send complex objects including datasets, classes, and other objects.
• SOAP focuses on the ability to send messages from a sender to a recipient. The use of SOAP as an RPC mechanism is purely a byproduct of this functionality. RPC-like behavior is achieved by sending messages in both directions.
SOAP(Simple Object Access Protocol)
• One negative to using SOAP is that messages tend to be verbose, because of the nature of XML.
• If bandwidth or transmission performance is an issue, HTTP-GET or HTTP-POST maybe better choices.
• .NET Frameworks provides a class, the SoapHttpClientProtocol for using the SOAP protocol in your clients.
• .NET Frameworks provides a number of classes for interacting with HTTP protocol, including a hierarchy of classes for SOAP, HTTP-GET and HTTP-POST client protocols, all deriving from WebClientProtocol and HttpWebClientProtocol.
Structure of a SOAP Message
SOAP Envelope
SOAP Header
SOAP Body
Header parts
Payload
SOAP Fault
Structure of a SOAP message• The Envelope is the top-level container
representing the message. • The Header is a generic container for added
features to a SOAP message in a decentralized manner. SOAP defines attributes to indicate who should deal with a feature and whether understanding is optional or mandatory.
• The Body is a container for mandatory information intended for the ultimate message receiver. SOAP defines one element for the body to report errors, called a SOAP Fault.
SOAP styles
• SOAP can have 2 styles – Document-style SOAP, which is used to simply
exchange XML data.– RPC-style SOAP, which is used to make an RPC
request and get it’s response.• Both styles of SOAP messages look the same, but the
body of an RPC style SOAP message has some rules around how requests/responses are tagged.
A Basic SOAP Message
<SOAPENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAPENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"/>
<SOAPENV:Body> <StockQuoteRequest symbol="FOO"/> </SOAPENV:Body>
</SOAPENV:Envelope>
• This message has just an envelope and a body.• The SOAP envelope namespace has to be specified to make
this a valid SOAP message.• This shows a document-style SOAP message.
SOAP Faults and .NET exceptions
• Any .NET exception that is thrown on the web service side is automatically wrapped in a SOAPException, so it can be serialized as a SOAP Fault.
• The InnerException chain is lost.• One way to transmit meaningful information is to catch
exceptions at the Web Service, and re-throw a SOAPException, with additional information stuck into the Details element of the SOAPException class.
• The receiving side can parse out the SOAP fault detail.
SOAP Specification
http://www.w3.org/TR/soap
WSDL (Web Services Description Language)
WSDL (Web Services Description Language)
• The XML Web services infrastructure is founded on communication via XML-based messages that comply with a published service description.
• The service description is an XML document written in an XML grammar called WSDL (Web Services Description Language) that defines the format of messages the XML Web service understands.
• The service description serves as an agreement that defines the behavior of an XML Web service and instructs potential clients in how to interact with it.
• The service description also specifies what the service consumer can expect to happen when a properly formatted message is submitted to the XML Web service.
WSDL File Document Elements• A Web Service is described with a WSDL File. The following
elements are involved in a WSDL document.– definitions – root element of a WSDL document.
– types – optional element can be used to define the data types used to describe the messages exchanged by this service.
– message – describes the messages exchanged by this service. Elements that represent the request and response, one per protocol (SOAP, HTTP GET and HTTP POST).
– portType – defines a set of abstract operations (i.e. a single round-trip query and response), giving it a name.
– binding – connects an abstract message to its message and transport (i.e. SOAP, HTTP GET, HTTP POST). Generally one binding element per transport.
– service – maps each portType to its binding, associates a port and binding to a location (URL) where the service can be reached.
– documentation – contains additional human readable information about the service.
– import – allows a WSDL document to include the contents of another.
WSDL in Visual Studio.NET
In Visual Studio.NET, for most part, you can ignore the details of the WSDL file and
concentrate on implementing the service.
WSDL Specification
http://www.w3.org/TR/wsdl
Web Service Directive
Web Service Directive
Required for all web services• Directive Name WebService• Variable number of attribute/value pairs
– Language (C#, VB, JS, VJ#, ...) C# is default– Class (required, class in either the .asmx or code-
behind file, the code-behind file must be compliled and stored in the ./bin subdirectory)
<%@ WebService Language="VB" Class="Hello" %>
WebService Attribute
• Optional
• Provides additional information to be added to the Web Service
• Properties:
– Description Property
– Name Property
– Namespace Property
WebMethod Attribute
Imports System.Web.Services
Public Class HelloService
Inherits System.Web.Services.WebService
<WebMethod(BufferResponse:=False)> _
Public Function HelloMessage() As String
• the Method must be public
• the WebMethod attribute has a number of properties
WebMethod Attribute Properties
<WebMethod(property="value" ...)>
• BufferResponse Property
• CacheDuration Property
• Description Property
• EnableSession
• MessageName
• TransactionOption
Discovery File
http://localhost/helloservice.asmx?WSDL
• Provides a way for developers to find out about the methods exposed by the web service.
• Written in WSDL (Web Service Description Language)
Creating a Discovery File
In a command window:
disco.exe /out:<output directory name> http://localhost/simplehello.asmx
Creates three output files– .disco file– .WSDL file– results.discomap file
Sample .disco File
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<discovery
xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/">
<contractRef ref=http://localhost/SimpleHello.asmx?wsdl docRef=http://localhost/SimpleHello.asmx xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/scl/" />
<soap address=http://localhost/SimpleHello.asmx xmlns:q1=http://tempuri.org/ binding="q1:HelloSoap" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/soap/" />
</discovery>
Web Service Deployment
• .asmx File (and .disco File) must reside in a virtual directory exposed by IIS so that they are accessible to a browser on the Internet.
• Directory structure is the same as for a .NET Web Form application with the code-behind file, web.config file (if it exists), ./bin/WebServiceName.dll, etc.)
Advanced Hello Web ServiceClass Exercise
Let’s write a web service with Visual Studio.NET
• Create a new project of type “ASP.NET Web Service”• Notice that the project automatically creates a new
virtual directory under IIS. (You may specify an existing virtual directory if you want.)
• A number of files are created, but the important ones are:– The .asmx file– The .asmx.vb file– The web.config file
The .asmx file
• The .asmx file contains the WebService processing directive and serves as the addressable entry point for the XML Web service.
<%@ WebService Language="VB" Codebehind="Service1.asmx.vb" Class="ws1.Service1" %>
The .asmx.vb file
• The .asmx.vb class file is a hidden, dependent file of the web service.
• It contains the code-behind class for the XML Web service.
• When viewing the Code View (F7) of the web service, you see the contents of this file.
The .asmx.vb filePublic Class Service1 Inherits System.Web.Services.WebService...
' WEB SERVICE EXAMPLE <WebMethod()> Public Function HelloWorld() As String
HelloWorld = "Hello World"End Function<WebMethod()> Public Function PersonalHello(name As String)
return "Hello "+nameEnd Function
Other files
• The Web.config file– An XML-based file that contains configuration
information for ASP.NET resources
• The .vsdisco file– An XML-based file used by ASP.NET's
dynamic XML Web service discovery process, which uses this file to identify searchable paths on the Web server.
Testing your web service
• If you run your web service in Visual Studio.NET, it brings up a browser window and navigates to the .asmx page.
• This page contains all the web methods supported by the service.
• You also get a link to browse the WSDL service description file.
• Clicking on the method itself brings up a page which shows the various request and response formats.
• If the web method has simple parameters, a test harness allows you to invoke and debug the service.
Adding the Web Service Client
Creating a Web Service Client• Using Visual Studio create both a Hello Web Service
and then a HelloClient which accesses the Hello Web Service.
• Create a few labels, a textbox, and a couple of buttons• Add the Web Service Reference• Using the following code examples:
– Add the using statement– Add the buttonclick code for each button– Remember:
• Instantiate the web service object• Use the web service object to execute the method
Adding a Web Service Proxy Reference
Manual Steps to Create
1. Generate the Proxy Class Source File
wsdl /l:vb http://localhost/...filename.asmx?wsdl
2. Compile the Proxy Class Source File
vbc /out:bin\filename.dll /t:library
/r:system.dll,system.web.dll,system.web.services.dll
filename.vb
3. Copy the dll to the Project Directory
copy bin\filename.dll
c:\inetpub\wwwroot\projectname\bin
Adding a Web Service Proxy Reference using Visual Studio.NET
• Create the ASP.NET Web Application• In the Solution Explorer, right click References and select
Add Web Reference (You can rename the web reference here if you wish).
• Select the desired Web Service or enter following url...
http://localhost/projectname.asmx• Visual Studio.NET queries the service and the WSDL file
and creates a proxy object for you. You can now instantiate and use objects of the service class as if they were in a local assembly.
Adding a Web reference
Add Client Code for Button Click EventsImports HelloClient.localhost Add an Imports statement
Private Sub Button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) Handles Button1
Public obj As New Service1() Instantiate the service object
Label3.Text = obj.HelloWorld() Execute the method.
End Sub
Private Sub Button2_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) Handles Button2
If TextBox1.Text = "" Then
Label3.Text = "First Name Required!"
Else
Public obj As New Service1()
Label3.Text = obj.PersonalHello(TextBox1.Text)
End If
End Sub
Final Homework / Class Project
Final Homework / Class Project
• See Project Description on web.
• Work in teams or two or three.
• Complete work by 9 PM next Wednesday (March 3, 2004)
• Be sure to capture and publish your learnings.
• Each team will present / demonstrate their solution plus discuss any interesting learnings (roughly 15 minutes each).