1. Developing SOA Applications with Oracle SOA Suite
  2. Using Binding Components
  3. Integrating REST Operations in SOA Composite Applications
  4. Creating REST Support in Service and Reference Binding Components
  5. How to Set REST Header Properties
  6. Inbound and Outbound Headers

Inbound and Outbound Headers

For inbound cases in which an external client is interacting with a SOA REST service, you can configure the service to send a hyperlink to the next resource with which the client interacts. This hyperlink can be sent in the payload of the response or the HTTP link response header. The following normalized message properties build and return the next link:

  • rest.binding.requestBaseURI

    This property is available on the request message. It holds the base URI of the REST service. In the SOA composite application, this can be combined with the path of another resource in the same REST service to build an absolute URL linking back to that resource.

  • rest.binding.http.Link

    When this property is set on the response message, a link header is added to the HTTP response. The value of this header is the value of the normalized message property.

For outbound cases in which the SOA composite application is invoking an external REST service, the service may return a response with the next link either in the link header or the payload. The following normalized message properties are available to help get the next link and invoke the resource located at that link:

  • rest.binding.http.Link

    If the HTTP response from the external REST service contains a link header, a rest.binding.http.Link property is added to the response message. The value of this property is the value in the link header.

  • rest.binding.requestURI

    The resource located at the next link can be invoked by setting the rest.binding.requestURI property on the request message. If set, the URL in this property overrides the URL provided at design time. It invokes the external REST service.

There are several preconditions that must be satisfied when a SOA composite application is invoking REST resources based on the next link it receives from the external REST service:

  • The potential resources that can be invoked must be designed in the REST reference binding component at design time.

  • The structure of the request and response must be known and modeled at design time.

For information about setting normalized message properties in the Properties tab, see Propagating Normalized Message Properties Through Message Headers.