What is 360Works Web Services Manager?

The Web Services Manager allows any SOAP ( Simple Object Access Protocol ) compatible software to trigger FileMaker scripts using the industry-standard SOAP XML format. This could include Flash, .NET, PHP, Java, Ruby, Python, C++, or FileMaker itself using the FM Nexus Web Services plugin. The Web Services published by the 360Works Web Services Manager are indistinguishable from any other SOAP server, which puts FileMaker on a level playing field with any other IT solution. Using the 360Works Web Services Manager, you can integrate FileMaker with otherwise incompatible software solutions, and both pull and push information to FileMaker databases.

 

What would you use 360Works Web Services Manager for?

• B2B integration: Set up real-time access to selected information in your database for customers to access. This could be order info, payment records, inventory levels, project statuses, or any other business-critical information. Use SSL encryption to guarantee security.
• Medical Groups: An insurance company needs real-time access to a medical group's patient records. Using Web Services Manager, the medical group can provide the insurance company access to its records without the insurance company needing to understand how FileMaker works or how the group stores its data.
• Advertising Agencies: Manage your advertiser and sales information within your filemaker database. Your production department can use the Web Services Manager to read sales data or update ad placements using their own production software without having to slow down workflow to unnecessarily learn how to integrate with the filemaker solution.
• Enterprise Departments: The 360Works Web Services Manager allows your department to manage its own FileMaker scheduling database while providing the information to the rest of your company in a format which can be easily interpreted by other software solutions.

How does 360Works Web Services Manager work?

You use a FileMaker-based control panel to configure which scripts should be exposed, how parameters should be passed to them as input, whether a password is required, and which fields will be returned as the XML result. Tooltips guide you through the process. Once you've configured this, 360Works Web Services Manager will automatically generate a WSDL (Web Services Description Language) describing the available services, which can then be called by any SOAP compatible software.

 

What about performance and scalability?

Web Services Manager is designed with performance and scalability in mind. It triggers scripts by communicating directly with the FileMaker Web Publishing XML gateway, bypassing intermediary layers such as the FileMaker PHP API or FX.PHP. Because of this, there is no maximum limit on the number of records that can be returned by the FileMaker script. It streams the result, which means that it can even return more data than can fit in the available memory of the server that it is running on. It is reasonable to expect anywhere from 2-10 transactions per second under constant load.

Is it a plugin?

360Works Web Services Manager is not a plugin. There is no software that needs to be installed on any client machines. Installation consists of nothing more than putting two FileMaker databases on your FileMaker Server and copying a single PHP file to your Web Publishing Engine. After that, you're ready to begin accessing your FileMaker database through SOAP.

Where can I learn more about XML Web Services?

Here are several resources where you can learn more about FileMaker and web services technology:

Come to the 2009 FileMaker Developer Conference! 360Works President Jesse Barnum will be presenting a session called "XML Web Services with FileMaker Pro". He'll go into detail on this technology in a way that will be accessible to any FileMaker developer. Of course, you're always welcome to simply give us a call at 866-662-9185 where we'll be happy to talk about this stuff all day!

The "Matt Squared" podcast featuring Jesse Barnum, Matt Petrowsky, and Matt Navarre discussing FileMaker and Web Services is available here: http://filemakertalk.com/matt-squared/09021

You can also watch this demonstration movie, presented by Jesse Barnum:

 

What does the FileMaker community think about Web Services Manager?

"I whipped up a quick dummy version of what I'm hoping to use the plugin for, and it was incredibly easy to get going, and it all worked fine - getting 550+ records with 8 fields was fast" —David Wikström, CamelCase Data

"Their folks have insisted that Web Services, not ODBC or file exchange, be the way to integrate our FileMaker app with their ad production app. So the launch of your product came just in time... In case no one has told you, this rocks." —Jens Rasmussen, Structure

• Works on Mac (intel, ppc) and Windows.
• You must be running FileMaker Server or Server Advanced with version 9 or later.
• The Web Publishing Engine must be enabled
  

	Mac OS X 10.4 or later on PPC	Mac OS X 10.4 or later on Intel	Windows XP or later
FileMaker Server 7 Advanced
FileMaker Server 8.0v4 Advanced
FileMaker Server 9 Advanced	X	X	X
FileMaker Server 9	X	X	X
FileMaker Server 10	X	X	X
FileMaker Server 10 Advanced	X	X	X
FileMaker Server 11	X	X	X
FileMaker Server 11 Advanced	X	X	X