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Consume a Simple Web Service

Last modified: August 19, 2024

Introduction

Mendix is the app platform for the enterprise, and in enterprise software it is not likely that you work in a greenfield project. In almost every situation, you will need to integrate with existing systems. Mendix supports many ways of integration, and this how-to focuses on how you can consume web services with Mendix.

In this how-to, you will be using an example web service of W3Schools. This is a very simple web service that converts temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. The converted temperature will be returned as a string value that can be stored in a variable directly. If you want to invoke a web service that returns a complex XML message, you can use the XML-to-domain mappings described in How to Import XML Documents.

This how-to teaches you how to do the following:

  • Import a WSDL
  • Create logic to call the web service

Importing a WSDL

A WSDL describes the operations of a web service and can be imported in Studio Pro. After importing the WSDL, you can invoke the operations of the web service instantly within the microflow editor.

To import a WSDL, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click your module in the Project Explorer and select Add other > Consumed web service:

  2. Enter a name for the new consumed web service (for example, TemperatureConverter):

  3. Click OK. You will now see the Consumed Web Service screen. Click Edit. Enter https://www.w3schools.com/xml/tempconvert.asmx?wsdl as the URL and click Import.

  4. The Select Ports dialog box is displayed for selecting a web service port:

  5. Click OK to select the default, and click OK to close the WSDL Source dialog. The operations CelsiusToFahrenheit and FahrenheitToCelsius will now be imported into the project.

Creating Logic to Call the Web Service

To create logic to call the web service, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click your module in the Project Explorer and select Add microflow from the menu:

  2. Enter a name for the new microflow (for example, ConvertCelsiusToFahrenheit) and click OK.

  3. An empty microflow will be displayed:

  4. Open the Toolbox and drag a Create variable activity to the line between the start and end event.

  5. Double-click the new activity to open the Create Variable properties editor.

  6. For the Data Type, select Integer/Long and enter 100 as the value. For the Output Variable Name enter TemperatureInCelsius:

  7. Click OK. The microflow will look like this:

  8. Drag a Call web service activity from the toolbox and add it to the microflow just before the end event.

  9. Double-click this activity to open the Call Web Service properties editor. For the Operation of your consumed web service, click Select. Expand the TemperatureConverter web service and under TempConvert click CelsiusToFahrenheit and click Select:

  10. In the Location section for this operation, check the Override location box to override the location and use the secure location of the web service.

  11. Click Edit and change http to https for the URL in the Location editor and click OK.

  12. In the SOAP Request Body tab of the Call Web Service properties editor, double-click the Celsius (optional) input parameter and enter toString($TemperatureInCelsius) for the expression. The web service operation expects a string value, which is why you need to use the toString function. Then click OK.

  13. In the SOAP Response tab, select Yes for the Store in variable option. Enter TemperatureInFahrenheit for the Variable name:

  14. Click OK. The microflow will look like this:

  15. Drag a Show message activity from the Toolbox to the line before the end event.

  16. Double-click the new activity to open the Show Message dialog box.

  17. Select Information as the Type, and enter The temperature in Fahrenheit is: {1} for the Template. The {1} functions as a placeholder for the parameters.

  18. Create a new parameter and enter $TemperatureInFahrenheit for the expression (this is the return value of the web service operation) and click OK:

  19. Click OK again to save the show message activity values. The microflow now looks like this:

  20. Create a menu item that triggers this microflow. For details on how to create a menu item, see How to Set Up the Navigation Structure.

  21. Deploy the application and trigger the microflow to call the web service operation. You should see a message with the converted temperature.

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