30.2.1 The Client API in the rsvp Example Application

The rsvp application allows users to respond to event invitations using JAX-RS resources, as explained in Chapter 29, "The rsvp Example Application". The web application uses the Client API in CDI backing beans to interact with the service resources, and the Facelets web interface displays the results.

The StatusManager CDI backing bean retrieves all the current events in the system. The client instance used in the backing bean is obtained in the constructor:

public StatusManager() {
    this.client = ClientBuilder.newClient();
}

The StatusManager.getEvents method returns a collection of all the current events in the system by calling the resource at http://localhost:8080/rsvp/webapi/status/all, which returns an XML document with entries for each event. The Client API automatically unmarshals the XML and creates a List<Event> instance.

    public List<Event> getEvents() {
        List<Event> returnedEvents = null;
        try {
            returnedEvents = client.target(baseUri)
                    .path("all")
                    .request(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
                    .get(new GenericType<List<Event>>() {
            });
            if (returnedEvents == null) {
                logger.log(Level.SEVERE, "Returned events null.");
            } else {
                logger.log(Level.INFO, "Events have been returned.");
            }
        } catch (WebApplicationException ex) {
            throw new WebApplicationException(Response.Status.NOT_FOUND);
        }
        ...
        return returnedEvents;
    }

The StatusManager.changeStatus method is used to update the attendee's response. It creates an HTTP POST request to the service with the new response. The body of the request is an XML document.

    public String changeStatus(ResponseEnum userResponse, 
            Person person, Event event) {
        String navigation;
        try {
            logger.log(Level.INFO, 
                    "changing status to {0} for {1} {2} for event ID {3}.",
                    new Object[]{userResponse,
                        person.getFirstName(),
                        person.getLastName(),
                        event.getId().toString()});
             client.target(baseUri)
                     .path(event.getId().toString())
                     .path(person.getId().toString())
                     .request(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
                     .post(Entity.xml(userResponse.getLabel()));
            navigation = "changedStatus";
        } catch (ResponseProcessingException ex) {
            logger.log(Level.WARNING, "couldn''t change status for {0} {1}",
                    new Object[]{person.getFirstName(),
                        person.getLastName()});
            logger.log(Level.WARNING, ex.getMessage());
            navigation = "error";
        }
        return navigation;
    }

30.2.2 The Client API in the customer Example Application

The customer example application stores customer data in a database and exposes the resource as XML, as explained in Chapter 31, "The customer Example Application". The service resource exposes methods that create customers and retrieve all the customers. A Facelets web application acts as a client for the service resource, with a form for creating customers and displaying the list of customers in a table.

The CustomerBean stateless session bean uses the JAX-RS Client API to interface with the service resource. The CustomerBean.createCustomer method takes the Customer entity instance created by the Facelets form and makes a POST call to the service URI.

public String createCustomer(Customer customer) {
    if (customer == null) {
        logger.log(Level.WARNING, "customer is null.");
        return "customerError";
    }
    String navigation;
    Response response =
            client.target("http://localhost:8080/customer/webapi/Customer")
            .request(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
            .post(Entity.entity(customer, MediaType.APPLICATION_XML),
                    Response.class);
    if (response.getStatus() == Status.CREATED.getStatusCode()) {
        navigation = "customerCreated";
    } else {
        logger.log(Level.WARNING, 
                "couldn''t create customer with id {0}. Status returned was {1}",
                new Object[]{customer.getId(), response.getStatus()});
        FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
        context.addMessage(null, 
                new FacesMessage("Could not create customer."));
        navigation = "customerError";
    }
    return navigation;
}

The XML request entity is created by calling the Invocation.Builder.post method, passing in a new Entity instance from the Customer instance, and specifying the media type as MediaType.APPLICATION_XML.

The CustomerBean.retrieveCustomer method retrieves a Customer entity instance from the service by appending the customer's ID to the service URI.

public String retrieveCustomer(String id) {
    String navigation;
    Customer customer =
            client.target("http://localhost:8080/customer/webapi/Customer")
            .path(id)
            .request(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
            .get(Customer.class);
    if (customer == null) {
        navigation = "customerError";
    } else {
        navigation = "customerRetrieved";
    }
    return navigation;
}

The CustomerBean.retrieveAllCustomers method retrieves a collection of customers as a List<Customer> instance. This list is then displayed as a table in the Facelets web application.

public List<Customer> retrieveAllCustomers() {
    List<Customer> customers =
            client.target("http://localhost:8080/customer/webapi/Customer")
            .path("all")
            .request(MediaType.APPLICATION_XML)
            .get(new GenericType<List<Customer>>() {
            });
    return customers;
}

Because the response type is a collection, the Invocation.Builder.get method is called by passing in a new instance of GenericType<List<Customer>>.