Passing data to another server as variables

Report · Nov 12, 2009

I need to pass some variables back to a 3rd party server after it makes a request which I initially validate.

right now I just put the result into the web browser, however I want to be able to feed the variables in a format that appears to the 3rd party server as if the info was passed back as url variables, a=123,b=456 etc

Can somebody enlighten me on how to do this?

Thanks

Mark

Report · Nov 14, 2009

Check out the cfhttp and cfhttpparam tags, basically like posting a form without pressing submit (just runs when page runs).

Report · Nov 14, 2009

I don't think that this will do it, I've used this in another part of the site to integrate with PayPal

CFHTTP enabled me to post to another server, but what I need to do is have a server retrieve information from MY server when it hits a particular URL

Thanks

Mark

Report · Nov 14, 2009

Write a web service.

Report · Nov 14, 2009

Are you aware you can send and receive data with cfhttp. You might like to have a play around with the code below...

<cfhttp
        name="myQuery"
        url="localhost:8500/test/source.cfm"
        method="get"
        firstrowasheaders="no"
        columns="firstName,lastName">
    <cfhttpparam type="url" name="password" value="letmein">
</cfhttp>

<cfif myQuery.RecordCount NEQ 0>
    <cfdump var="#myQuery#">
    <cfelse>
    <p>You don't have permission to access this content</p>
</cfif>

<cfset myQuery = QueryNew("firstName, lastName", "Varchar, Varchar") />
<cfset newRow = QueryAddRow(myQuery, 2) />
<cfset temp = QuerySetCell(myQuery, "firstName", "Alan", 1) />
<cfset temp = QuerySetCell(myQuery, "lastName", "Jones", 1) />
<cfset temp = QuerySetCell(myQuery, "firstName", "Bob", 2) />
<cfset temp = QuerySetCell(myQuery, "lastName", "Jane", 2) />

<cfif StructKeyExists(url, "password") AND url.password EQ "letmein">

<cfoutput query="myQuery">
#firstName#,#lastName#
</cfoutput>
</cfif>

Report · Nov 15, 2009

CFHTTP enabled me to post to another server, but what I need to do is have a server retrieve information from MY server when it hits a particular URL

Chris has pointed you in the right direction. The cfhttp tag can do it both ways. What you used in posting was <cfhttp method="post">. What someone else would use to get data from your server is <cfhttp method="get">, or the equivalent code if their language is different from Coldfusion.

And what do you have to do on the requested page? Anything you want. As you have already mentioned, something like this will do:

a=1; b=2

In any case, it would be nice to let the client know how you will be presenting the data. Then he will know how to fetch it.

The query-string, that is, a URL variable, is generally for sending data, not for receiving. However, if you insist that the client should get URL variables, then he could click on a link on your site in which you append URL variables. Alternatively, you could use cflocation to redirect him to a URL to which you have appended URL variables.

Report · Nov 15, 2009

I had used CFHTTP to GET data but never post it back, it looks like I have to do more research on the POST part.

Let me clarify the actual process

a) The 3rd party server makes a server side request to our server for a 'key;

b) Our server validates variables within the received post, user ID, password etc, and validates

c) If validated correctly, a key is generated and passed back to the 3rd party server

It's all coded and working, but at the moment I display the key in HTML, I put <cfsetting enablecfoutputonly="true"> in there to stop any white space, but for some unknown reason it dumps a ton of empty lines into the source.

So the mission was to have the final output which is passed to the 3rd party in a format that allowed it to read the variable

so instead of display the key in the HTML as ABCDEFGH, it would receive key=ABCDEFGH

In the future I may return more variables, so I need to accomodate for this

Do you think CFHTTP is still the way to go?

Thanks

Mark

Report · Nov 15, 2009

Do you think CFHTTP is still the way to go?

If the other servers are using CFML, probably yes. If not, Google 'coldfusion web services'. The advantage of using a web service is that it can be transformed into any language. If you do decide to go with CFHTTP, the following should set you in the right direction.

<cfhttp url="localhost:8500/test/source.cfm" method="get">
<cfhttpparam type="url" name="password" value="letmein">
</cfhttp>

<cfoutput>#cfhttp.FileContent#</cfoutput>

<cfset session.key = cfhttp.FileContent />

<cfif StructKeyExists(url, "password") AND url.password EQ "letmein">
    
    <cfset variables.key = CreateUUID()>
    
    <cfoutput>#variables.key#</cfoutput>
</cfif>

Report · Nov 15, 2009

In the future I may return more variables, so I need to accomodate for this
Do you think CFHTTP is still the way to go?

CFHTTP is OK, but I would now lean more towards Dan's idea, a web service. This assumes of course that you will have no trouble convincing your clients to convert.

Report · Nov 16, 2009

I won't be able to ask the 3rd parties to convert their systems, so I'm going to have to leave them to their own devices on that side of things, .NET, PHP whatever they decide to use to make the post to our server.

I'm currently outputting the info in HTML just literally using <CFOUTPUT>#key#</CFOUTPUT> but as I mentioned earlier it's putting a ton of line breaks above it. I've tried all the options to stop it displaying white space and it appears to keep ignoring them

The part I need to resolve is the final stage, delivering the data to them when they hit our server with a request, preferably as a variable, I looked at CFHTTP but the documentation suggested that a URL was REQUIRED so I'm not sure how it could be used to feed data back to a requesting url?

I'm a little confused on this one

Thanks

Mark

Report · Nov 16, 2009

Use

<cfcontent reset="yes" type="text/xml; charset=UTF-8" /><CFOUTPUT><key>#key#</key></CFOUTPUT>

to get rid of the whitespace and present your data in XML.

Congratulations, you have just written your first webservice

Message was edited by: Jochem van Dieten to unbreak what the stupid HTML conversion macro's that Jive refuses to document broke

Report · Nov 16, 2009

the problem is that I can't get rid of that darn white space!

Report · Nov 16, 2009

I made the code that these forums broke readable. Use the cfcontent tag to strip all the whitespace.

Report · Nov 16, 2009

I want to strip out white space BEFORE it's served out to the 3rd party so they don't have to worry about it.

Report · Nov 16, 2009

Did you try the code?

Report · Nov 16, 2009

ahh, I did not notice the code, I'll try it later, as I have to take care of a time sensitive issue right now

Report · Nov 16, 2009

The part I need to resolve is the final stage, delivering the data to them when they hit our server with a request, preferably as a variable, I looked at CFHTTP but the documentation suggested that a URL was REQUIRED so I'm not sure how it could be used to feed data back to a requesting url?
I'm a little confused on this one

I suspect it's easier than you think. Suppose you put the line

key=12kg7tsy34

in the page getKey.cfm of your site. Then a client on Coldfusion can do the following:

1) Run a page containing <cfhttp url="http://yourDomain/getKey.cfm" method="get">

2) Parse cfhttp.filecontent to obtain the key.

Other languages have their own way of doing the same thing.

Report · Nov 16, 2009

that method did cross my mind, but I thought that perhaps there was a more 'techincal' way of performing this, especially if I start to get into displaying more than one variable

Report · Nov 16, 2009

I thought that perhaps there was a more 'techincal' way of performing this, especially if I start to get into displaying more than one variable

Yes, a web service. Use it to return the client an XML containing something like

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Passing data to another server as variables