Walkthrough: Amazon Web Service Sample

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In addition to databases, the Business Data Catalog can connect with back-end applications through XML Web services. The Amazon Web service sample metadata shows you how to write metadata for Web service systems. For illustration purposes, the sample uses the public Amazon E-Commerce Service Web Service. The Amazon E-Commerce Service Web Service (ECS) is an API that allows you to access Amazon data and functionality through a Web site or Web-enabled application. ECS follows the standard Web services model: Users of the service request data through SOAP, and data is returned by the service as an XML-formatted stream of text. For information about the Web service, see Amazon E-Commerce Service.

This sample uses the ItemLookup and ItemSearch methods of the E-Commerce Service Web Service and defines two entities called Item and EditorialReview. The EditorialReview entity shows an association.

The ItemLookup method allows you to look up specific products. It takes an array of ItemID objects as a required input parameter and returns product reviews, variations, similar products, pricing, availability, images of products, accessories, and other information. This method is suitable for the FindSpecific method in the Business Data Catalog because it takes an ID and returns entity information.

The ItemSearch method does not use an ID. Instead, it takes search keywords or criteria and allows you to search for product data and display a list of matching items. The sample uses the ItemSearch method as the Finder method.

Writing the Metadata

For the sample metadata, see Sample: Amazon Web Service Metadata90bcda70. The XML also has comments that explain the important concepts around the metadata.

Registering the Metadata

To register the metadata in the Business Data Catalog, follow the steps in How to: Add an Application Definition to the Business Data Catalog.

Testing the Metadata

For instructions on how to test the metadata, see Testing the Amazon Web Service Sample.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Get Started with Using the Runtime Object Model
How to: Get Started with Using the Administration Object Model

Concepts

Business Data Catalog: Metadata Model
Business Data Catalog: Architecture
FAQ: Business Data Catalog
Business Data Catalog: Glossary