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Run form in the background API
Availability
Since Orbeon Forms 2017.2.
This is an Orbeon Forms PE feature.
Purpose
The purpose of this service is to run a form definition, either in "new" mode or in "edit" mode, but in the background, optionally running one or more processes in addition to the regular execution of the form.
This allows scenarios such as:
- create new form data in the database
- read, modify and update existing form data
Usage
HTTP request and response
- URLs:
/fr/service/$app/$form/new/fr/service/$app/$form/edit/$document
- Method:
POST
Optional request body when using
/new:Content-Type: application/xml
When not
POSTing any XML data, just POST an empty request body to the service.Response body:
Content-Type: application/xml- contains
- the newly created or existing document id
- whether all processes were successful
Example response body:
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<response>
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<document-id>9eff349bfd95aab8d4d5e048bd25a815</document-id>
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<process-success>true</process-success>
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</response>
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Running processes
The following property controls what process(es) to run:
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oxf.fr.detail.process.
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after-controls|after-data|before-data.
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background.
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new|edit.
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$app.
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$form
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where
$app and $form represent a Form Runner application name and/or form name or * wildcards, as is usual with Form Runner configuration properties.Returning form data
[SINCE Orbeon Forms 2021.1]
This must first be enabled with the following property:
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<property
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as="xs:boolean"
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name="oxf.fr.detail.service.background.enable-return-data.*.*"
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value="true"/>
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Then, if you pass the URL parameter
return-data=true to the service, form data is returned:1
<response>
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<document-id>9eff349bfd95aab8d4d5e048bd25a815</document-id>
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<data>
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<form>
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<my-section>
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<my-control>Cat</my-control>
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</my-section>
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</form>
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</data>
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<process-success>true</process-success>
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</response>
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By default, the data is returned in the 4.0.0 data format. You can override this by passing the
data-format-version parameter:data-format-versionedge: send the data in the latest internal format2019.1.0: send the data in the Orbeon Forms 2019.1-compatible format4.8.0: send the data in the Orbeon Forms 4.8-compatible format4.0.0: send the data in the Orbeon Forms 4.0-compatible format (the default)
The
prune-metadata parameter can be used to control production of metadata:trueto remove all occurrences offr:-prefixed elements and attributesfalseto leave such occurrences- default
falsewhendata-format-versionis set toedgetrueotherwise
Testing whether the form is running in the background
[SINCE Orbeon Forms 2021.1]
Disabling formula evaluation
[SINCE Orbeon Forms 2021.1]
The following URL parameters, passed to the service, allow disabling the evaluation of some categories of formulas when the form runs:
disable-default=true: disable the evaluation of initial valuesdisable-calculate=true: disable the evaluation of calculated valuesdisable-relevant=true: disable the evaluation of visibility values
Examples
Create initial data
The following example saves new instance data to the database for the form
acme/sales when the service is called with /fr/service/acme/sales/new:1
<property
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as="xs:string"
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name="oxf.fr.detail.process.after-controls.background.new.acme.sales">
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save
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</property>
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Update existing data
The following example updates existing instance data with the current time for the form
acme/sales and saves it to the database when the service is called with /fr/service/acme/sales/edit/$document, where $document represents an existing form data document id:1
<property
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as="xs:string"
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name="oxf.fr.detail.process.after-controls.background.edit.acme.sales">
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xf:setvalue(ref ="//current-time", value = "current-dateTime()") then save
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</property>
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Validate data
The following process allows you to
POST XML data to the page:1
<property as="xs:string" name="oxf.fr.detail.process.after-controls.background.new.*.*">
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validate("error")
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</property>
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NOTE: Make sure you use
validate("error") instead of require-valid, as the latter always returns a success value.Using curl
The following examples use the curl command-line utility, on a form
a/a (i.e. with app name = a and form name = a), and where relevant document id 123. Along with using the appropriate server name, you'll want to replace those by your actual form name, app name, and document id.- The
newbackground service:curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/orbeon/fr/service/a/a/new - The
editbackground service:curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/orbeon/fr/service/a/a/edit/123
Permissions
- Appropriate container or permission headers must also be set to allow accessing the form definition and data.
See also
Last modified 18d ago