Chapter 12. Connecting to HTTP and HTTPS endpoints

In an integration, you can connect to HTTP and HTTPS endpoints to execute the GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS, TRACE, or PATCH method. To do this, create an HTTP or HTTPS connection and then add it to an integration flow. The following topics provide details:

12.1. Creating a connection to an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint

In an integration, to execute the HTTP GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS, TRACE, or PATCH method, create a connection to an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint. You can then add the connection to one or more integrations.

Prerequisite

You must know the URL for the endpoint that you want to connect to.

Procedures

  1. In Fuse Online, in the left panel, click Connections to display any available connections.
  2. Click Create Connection to display Fuse Online connectors.
  3. If you want to use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol to connect to the endpoint, then click the HTTP connector. If you want to use Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure, then click the HTTPS connector.
  4. In the Base URL field, enter the endpoint path. For example, www.mycompany.com/sales.
  5. Click Validate. Fuse Online immediately tries to validate the connection and displays a message that indicates whether validation is successful. If validation fails, revise specification of the base URL and try again.
  6. If validation is successful, click Next.
  7. In the Name field, enter your choice of a name that helps you distinguish this connection from any other connections. For example, enter HTTPS My Company Sales.
  8. In the Description field, optionally enter any information that is helpful to know about this connection.
  9. Click Save to see that the connection you created is now available. If you entered the example name, you would see that HTTPS My Company Sales appears as a connection that you can choose to add to an integration.

12.2. Adding an HTTP or HTTPS connection to an integration

You can add an HTTP or HTTPS connection to any number of integrations.

Prerequisite

  • You created an HTTP or HTTPS connection.
  • You are creating or editing a flow and Fuse Online is prompting you to add to the integration. Or, Fuse Online is prompting you to choose a start connection, or to choose a finish connection.

Procedure

  1. On the Add to Integration page, click the plus sign where you want to add the connection. Skip this step if Fuse Online is prompting you to choose the finish connection.
  2. Click the HTTP or HTTPS connection that you want to add to the flow.
  3. Select the action that you want the connection to perform:

    • If you are adding a start connection, then Periodic invoke URL is the only available action. This action invokes the endpoint at intervals that you specify and triggers the integration if the endpoint returns any data.
    • If you are adding a middle or finish connection, then Invoke URL is the only available action. This action invokes the endpoint once.
  4. In the URL Path field, specify the location of the endpoint that you want to invoke.
  5. In the HTTP Method field, select the method that you want the connection to perform. The default method is GET.

    • GET obtains the content at the URL path.
    • PUT replaces the content at the URL path with the integration data.
    • POST stores the integration data at the URL path to create new content.
    • DELETE removes content at the URL path.
    • HEAD obtains metadata about the content at the URL path.
    • OPTIONS obtains communication option settings at the URL path.
    • TRACE obtains information for testing and diagnostic purposes.
    • PATCH partially updates the content at the URL path according to the integration data.
  6. If you are adding a start connection, which periodically invokes the URL, then in the Period field, accept the default interval of 1 second or specify a number and its unit (milliseconds, seconds, minutes, or hours) to indicate how long to wait between invocations.
  7. Click Next to specify the action’s input or output type.
  8. In the Select Type field, if the data type does not need to be known, accept Type specification not required and click Next. You do not need to follow the rest of these instructions.

    However, a structured data type is recommended. For example, if you want to map the connection input/output in a data mapper step then you must specify the data type. The data mapper cannot display fields for unstructured data.

    To specify the data type, click in the Select Type field and select one of the following as the schema type:

    • JSON schema is a document that describes the structure of JSON data. The document’s media type is application/schema+json.
    • JSON instance is a document that contains JSON data. The document’s media type is application/json.
    • XML schema is a document that describes the structure of XML data. The document’s file extension is .xsd.
    • XML instance is a document that contains XML data. The document’s file extension is .xml.
  9. In the Definition input box, paste a definition that conforms to the schema type you selected. For example, if you select JSON schema then you would paste the content of a JSON schema file, which has a media type of application/schema+json.
  10. In the Data Type Name field, enter a name that you choose for the data type. For example, if you are specifying a JSON schema for vendors then you might specify Vendor as the data type name.

    You will see this data type name when you are creating or editing an integration that uses the connection for which you are specifying this type. Fuse Online displays the type name in the integration visualization and in the data mapper.

  11. In the Data Type Description field, provide information that helps you distinguish this type. This description appears in the data mapper when you hover over the step that processes this type.
  12. Click Next.

Result

The connection appears in the integration visualization where you added it.