Enhanced Web services

Background

OpenMRS has an explicit API which has not been cleanly or explicitly exposed through web services.  We have a REST module and SOAP-based module(s) where folks have done work in the area.  We need a clear and explicit strategy for supporting web services.

Design

A single OpenMRS module to support the core web service needs.

Heavyweight vs. lightweight objects? This is similar to Amazon.com's approach. We could consider small & big versions objects OR consider having a standard object with the option to list additive properties (e.g., custom object).

Based on Canada's experience with WS, Returning a "summary" of objects in a list may lead to a chatty interaction.

Look at Google Charts.

Consider that we may want to support both publish & subscribe – i.e., OpenMRS may

SOAP Style

• Annotations to generate web services

Do we want to use DTOs at the API level?

• At this point, we can leave the Java objects with Hibernate magic (all object properties assumed to exist) and

Changes to the API

• Eliminate the "magical save" -- i.e., editing an object in any context should not make/persist changes to the database.  This should *always* require a save method call.
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Action Plan

1. Web services will be developed as an augmentation to the existing API... that is, we will not rewrite the current API and then expose them as webservices... we will rewrite the webservices as an independent activity.

See Also

• ?Web Services
• ?SOAP Web Services
• ?Web Services for OMRS10