Version 9.6
 —  API Management Solutions  —

Creating an API

To create APIs in an organization, you must belong to a role that has the "Create Assets" or "Manage Assets" permission for that organization. To see a list of the predefined roles that include the "Create Assets" or "Manage Assets" permission, see the section About Roles and Permissions in the document Users, Groups, Roles and Permissions.

Start of instruction setTo create an API

  1. In CentraSite Business user interface, click the Create Asset activity. This opens the Create a New Asset wizard.

  2. In Basic Information panel, specify the following fields:

    In this field... Do the following...
    Name Mandatory. Enter a name for the API. An API name can contain any character (including spaces).

    An API name does not need to be unique within the catalog. However, to reduce ambiguity, you should avoid giving multiple APIs of the same type the same name. As a best practice, we recommend that you adopt appropriate naming conventions to ensure that APIs are distinctly named within an organization.

    Type

    Choose the type of API that you want to create in the catalog. The APIs that are supported out-of-the-box are: Service, REST service, XML Service, Virtual Service, Virtual XML Service, and Virtual REST Service.

    Organization

    Choose the organization in which the API will be created. (The drop-down list will contain the list of organizations in which you are permitted to create APIs.) If you select an organization other than your own organization, you will nevertheless be the owner of the API.

    Version Optional. Enter an identifier for the initial version of the API. This is the user-defined version, as opposed to the automatically assigned system version. You can enter any string in this field, i.e. the version identifier does not need to be numeric. You can also leave the field blank. You can later create new versions of the API.
    Description Optional. Enter a comment or descriptive information about the API.
    Import File For a SOAP API. Specify whether the input file will be read from a URL-addressable location on the network (the URL option) or from your local file system (the File option).
    • If the file you are importing resides on the network, specify its URL.

    • If the file resides in your local file system, specify the file name. You can use the Choose button to navigate to the required folder.

    Advanced Settings For a SOAP API.
    1. If you have specified a URL, and the site you want to access via the URL requires user authentication, under the Credentials, enter your username and password for authentication at the URL site.

    2. Choose a Resolution strategy, which will allow you to specify how the imported files will be handled. For each of the imported files you have one of these options:

      • Always overwrite: Overwrite the importing file (WSDL or schema) with new content.

      • Always create versions: Create a new version of the file with the new content (if, for example, you want to modify a schema but want to retain its previous version).

  3. Click Next.

    You will not be allowed to move to the next panel unless all of its required parameters have been set.

  4. In the Preview panel, review the basic information for API before you actually add to CentraSite.

    If necessary, you can click Previous to return to the Basic Information panel and change your specifications.

  5. Click Save to create the new API.

    If at any time you wish to abandon your unsaved API and return to your previous screen, just click the Cancel button.

  6. Configure the API’s extended attributes as described in the section Editing the Properties of an API.

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