Methods
All web services provide the method
execute ( operation, fileContent, fileURL )
which can be used to invoke the PDF operations of the corresponding web service.
The definition of the call for the Converter web service as an example (excerpt from WSDL):
<xs:complexType name="execute">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element ref="ns1:operation" minOccurs="0"/>
<xs:element name="fileContent" xmime:expectedContentTypes="application/octet-stream" type="xs:base64Binary"
minOccurs="0"/>
<xs:element name="fileURL" type="xs:anyURI" minOccurs="0"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
The function call uses the following parameters:
operation- Used to define the complex type that contains all the parameters for the web service call (the web service operation). The structure of the parameters corresponds to the XML schema (XSD) http://schema.webpdf.de/1.0/operation.xsd.
In addition to the operation, most web services (except "URLConverter") also expect a document for processing. This document can be specified directly as fileContent or as fileURL.
fileContent - File for which the operation should be executed. The file will be passed in "Base64 encoded" format as a "byte stream" (application/octet-stream).
fileURL - A URL ("file:///") that points to the document (e.g.: "file:///C:/temp/mydocument.docx")
As of this writing, fileURL only supports the file: protocol. Other protocols, such as http://, will result in an error.
The execute method will return the executeResponse complex type:
<xs:complexType name="executeResponse">
<xs:sequence>
<xs:element name="return" xmime:expectedContentTypes="application/octet-stream" type="xs:base64Binary"
nillable="true" minOccurs="0"/>
</xs:sequence>
</xs:complexType>
The return parameter is used to return the modified document as a "Base64 encoded byte stream" (application/octet-stream).
Special feature "URLConverter
For the URLConverter web service, only the operation parameter is present, since this does not require a document. The URL to be converted is passed in the data structure at url.
Example with curl
Convert a 10x10 pixel PNG to a PDF document.
curl http://localhost:8080/webPDF/soap/converter \
-H 'Content-Type: application/soap+xml;charset=UTF-8' \
-H 'SOAPAction: "oper:execute"' \
-d '<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope" xmlns:con="http://schema.webpdf.de/1.0/soap/converter" xmlns:oper="http://schema.webpdf.de/1.0/operation">
<soap:Header/>
<soap:Body>
<con:execute>
<oper:operation>
<oper:converter pages="*" jpegQuality="90"/>
</oper:operation>
<fileContent>iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAYAAACNMs+9AAAAFklEQVR42mO88kjuPwMRgHFUIX0VAgCnIhxJzd5DAgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==</fileContent>
</con:execute>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>'
Via SOAPAction the execute method of the web service endpoint /soap/converter is called, which converts a document into a PDF document. In the <soap:Envelope ... /> the parameters for the web service are set. The parameters for the execute method are set in <con:execute>...</con:execute>.
Under <oper:operation>...</oper:operation> the web service parameters are entered as XML, as e.g. defined for the converter under "Converter Parameter".
Via <fileContent>...</fileContent> the document to be converted (10x10 pixel PNG image) is passed encoded as BASE64. Alternatively, the parameter <fileURL>...</fileURL> could be used here to reference a file directly (if it is accessible to the server).
The server responds with a 200 OK after successful conversion and returns the result as an XML message.
< HTTP/1.1 200
< Content-Type: application/soap+xml;charset=utf-8
...
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<S:Envelope xmlns:S="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope">
<S:Body>
<ns3:executeResponse xmlns:ns3="http://schema.webpdf.de/1.0/soap/converter">
<return>JVBERi0xLjQKJfbk/ ........ nR4cmVmCjg2MAolJUVPRgo=</return>
</ns3:executeResponse>
</S:Body>
</S:Envelope>
The tag <return>...</return> contains the created PDF document as BASE64 encoded content.