Resource request from native Android applications

Overview

To create and configure an Android native project, first follow the Configuring a native Android application with the MobileFirst Platform SDK tutorial.

MobileFirst applications can access resources using the WLResourceRequest REST API.
This tutorial explains how to use the WLResourceRequest API with an HTTP adapter.

Initializing WLClient

1. Create an instance of the WLClient class.
   The WLClient instance requires a reference to the activity in which it is running.

   WLClient client = WLClient.createInstance(context);

2. To establish a connection to the MobileFirst Server instance, use the connect method by specifying the MyConnectListener class instance as a parameter.

   The WLClient instance tries to connect to the MobileFirst Server according to the properties of the wlclient.properties file.
   After the connection is established, it invokes one of the methods of the MyConnectListener class.

3. Specify that the MyConnectListener class implements the WLResponseListener interface.

   public class MyConnectListener implements WLResponseListener  {

   The WLResponseListener interface defines two methods:
   - public void onSuccess (WLResponse response) { }
   - public void onFailure (WLFailResponse response) { }

4. Use these methods to process connection success or connection failure.

Invoking an adapter procedure

After the connection is established with a MobileFirst Server instance, you can use the WLResourceRequest class to invoke adapter procedures or call any REST resources.

1. Define the URI of the resource. For a JavaScript HTTP adapter: /adapters/{AdapterName}/{ProcedureName}
   

   URI adapterPath = new URI("/adapters/RSSReader/getFeed");

2. Create a WLResourceRequest object and choose the HTPP Method (GET, POST, etc).
   

   WLResourceRequest request = new WLResourceRequest(adapterPath,WLResourceRequest.GET);

3. Add the required parameters.
   • For JavaScript-based adapters, use the params parameter name to set an array of parameters.
     

     request.setQueryParameter("params","['MobileFirst_Platform']");

   • For Java adapters or other resources, you can use setQueryParameter for each parameter.
     

     request.setQueryParameter("param1","value1");
     request.setQueryParameter("param2","value2");

   • Trigger the request with .send().
     Specify a MyInvokeListener class instance as a parameter.
     You learn how to define this class instance in the next section.

     request.send(new MyInvokeListener());

     Other signatures, which are not covered in this tutorial, exist for the send method. Those signatures enable you to set parameters in the body instead of the query, or to handle the response with a delegate instead of a completion handler. See the user documentation to learn more.

Receiving a procedure response

After the procedure invocation is completed, the framework calls one of the methods of the MyInvokeListener class.

1. Specify that the MyInvokeListener class implements the WLResponseListener interface.

   public class MyInvokeListener implements WLResponseListener {

   The WLClient instance invokes the onSuccess and onFailure methods.

   If the procedure invocation is successful, the onSuccess method of MyInvokeListener is invoked.

2. Use that method to get the data that is retrieved from the adapter. The response object contains the response data.
   You can use its methods and properties to retrieve the required information.

   public void onSuccess(WLResponse response) {
       String responseText = response.getResponseText();
       AndroidNativeApp.updateTextView("Adapter Procedure Invoked Successfuly\n" + responseText);
   }
   
   public void onFailure(WLFailResponse response) {
       String responseText = response.getResponseText();
       AndroidNativeApp.updateTextView("Failed to Invoke Adapter Procedure\n" + responseText);
   }

Sample application

Click to download the MobileFirst project.

Click to download the Native project.

– The InvokingAdapterProcedures project contains a MobileFirst Native API to deploy to your MobileFirst Server instance.
– The InvokingAdapterProceduresAndroid project contains a native Android application that uses a MobileFirst native API library to communicate with MobileFirst Server.
- Make sure to update the wlclient.properties file in the native Android project with the required server settings.