[Info-vax] Restful API w/JSON client package or library on OpenVMS

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 3/13/2024 6:34 PM, Richard Jordan wrote:
> One of our customers currently on VSI VMS on Integrity has been using 
> the GSOAP kit from HP as a client to communicate with a third party app 
> on windows server.  The company making that product is dropping 
> SOAP/GSOAP and moving to only support JSON-based Restful API.
> 
> I see several items that purport to provide a Restful API for 'server' 
> side use on VMS, like WSIT from VSI.  Client mentions seem to be 
> relegated to other platforms.  Other options seem to be the same; server 
> only.
> 
> Are there any packages, callable libraries, "Netlib" like options, etc 
> that would allow VMS programs to access restful API servers?  Whether 
> its encapsulation like the GSOAP kits, or just linking in a callable 
> library of routines?
> 
> Major props if it can be called from BASIC without intervening C or 
> other language.
> 
> Is VMS Python an option since it looks like Restful API is supported by 
> recent versions of that language on VMS?  I assume we'd have to get 
> BASIC to talk to Python to do the communications in that case...

I know of some options for client for RESTful web services:
* Java with any HTTP client including builtin HttpURLConnection
   and any JSON library including GSon
* Python with request and json modules
* PHP with curl extension and json_encode/json_decode
* native code with plain sockets and some JSON library
   like cJSON

There are code examples for client in Java, Groovy, Python,
PHP, C and Pascal here:
   https://www.vajhoej.dk/arne/articles/vmsipc.html#rest

I guess I could come up with a Basic example similar to
the Pascal example.

But else:

Basic program--(binary/socket)--Java/Groovy/Python gateway 
program--(JSON/HTTP)-->web service

should not be that bad.

Arne