NAME

POE::Component::Server::SOAP - publish POE event handlers via SOAP over HTTP

SYNOPSIS

use POE;
use POE::Component::Server::SOAP;

POE::Component::Server::SOAP->new(
	'ALIAS'		=>	'MySOAP',
	'ADDRESS'	=>	'localhost',
	'PORT'		=>	32080,
	'HOSTNAME'	=>	'MyHost.com',
);

POE::Session->create(
	'inline_states'	=>	{
		'_start'	=>	\&setup_service,
		'_stop'		=>	\&shutdown_service,
		'Sum_Things'	=>	\&do_sum,
	},
);

$poe_kernel->run;
exit 0;

sub setup_service {
	my $kernel = $_[KERNEL];
	$kernel->alias_set( 'MyServer' );
	$kernel->post( 'MySOAP', 'ADDMETHOD', 'MyServer', 'Sum_Things' );
}

sub shutdown_service {
	$_[KERNEL]->post( 'MySOAP', 'DELMETHOD', 'MyServer', 'Sum_Things' );
}

sub do_sum {
	my $response = $_[ARG0];
	my $params = $response->soapbody;
	my $sum = 0;
	while (my ($field, $value) = each(%$params)) {
		$sum += $value;
	}

	# Fake an error
	if ( $sum < 100 ) {
		$_[KERNEL]->post( 'MySOAP', 'FAULT', $response, 'Client.Add.Error', 'The sum must be above 100' );
	} else {
		# Add the content
		$response->content( "Thanks.  Sum is: $sum" );
		$_[KERNEL]->post( 'MySOAP', 'DONE', $response );
	}
}

ABSTRACT

An easy to use SOAP/1.1 daemon for POE-enabled programs

DESCRIPTION

This module makes serving SOAP/1.1 requests a breeze in POE.

The hardest thing to understand in this module is the SOAP Body. That's it!

The standard way to use this module is to do this:

use POE;
use POE::Component::Server::SOAP;

POE::Component::Server::SOAP->new( ... );

POE::Session->create( ... );

POE::Kernel->run();

POE::Component::Server::SOAP is a bolt-on component that can publish event handlers via SOAP over HTTP. Currently, this module only supports SOAP/1.1 requests, work will be done in the future to support SOAP/1.2 requests. The HTTP server is done via POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP.

Starting Server::SOAP

To start Server::SOAP, just call it's new method:

POE::Component::Server::SOAP->new(
	'ALIAS'		=>	'MySOAP',
	'ADDRESS'	=>	'192.168.1.1',
	'PORT'		=>	11111,
	'HOSTNAME'	=>	'MySite.com',
	'HEADERS'	=>	{},
);

This method will die on error or return success.

This constructor accepts only 7 options.

ALIAS

This will set the alias Server::SOAP uses in the POE Kernel. This will default to "SOAPServer"

ADDRESS

This value will be passed to POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP to bind to.

Examples: ADDRESS => 0 # Bind to all addresses + localhost ADDRESS => 'localhost' # Bind to localhost ADDRESS => '192.168.1.1' # Bind to specified IP

PORT

This value will be passed to POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP to bind to.

HOSTNAME

This value is for the HTTP::Request's URI to point to. If this is not supplied, POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP will use Sys::Hostname to find it.

HEADERS

This should be a hashref, that will become the default headers on all HTTP::Response objects. You can override this in individual requests by setting it via $response->header( ... )

The default header is: Server => 'POE::Component::Server::SOAP/' . $VERSION

For more information, consult the HTTP::Headers module.

MUSTUNDERSTAND

This is a boolean value, controlling whether Server::SOAP will check for this value in the Headers and Fault if it is present. This will default to true.

SIMPLEHTTP

This allows you to pass options to the SimpleHTTP backend. One of the real reasons is to support SSL in Server::SOAP, yay! To learn how to use SSL, please consult the POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP documentation. Of course, you could totally screw up things, just use this with caution :)

You must pass a hash reference as the value, because it will be expanded and put in the Server::SimpleHTTP->new() constructor.

Events

There are only a few ways to communicate with Server::SOAP.

ADDMETHOD

This event accepts four arguments:
	- The intended session alias
	- The intended session event
	- The public service name	( not required -> defaults to session alias )
	- The public method name	( not required -> defaults to session event )

Calling this event will add the method to the registry.

NOTE: This will overwrite the old definition of a method if it exists!

DELMETHOD

This event accepts two arguments:
	- The service name
	- The method name

Calling this event will remove the method from the registry.

NOTE: if the service now contains no methods, it will also be removed.

DELSERVICE

This event accepts one argument:
	- The service name

Calling this event will remove the entire service from the registry.

DONE

This event accepts only one argument: the SOAP::Response object we sent to the handler.

Calling this event implies that this particular request is done, and will proceed to close the socket.

The content in $response->content() will be automatically serialized via SOAP::Lite's SOAP::Serializer

NOTE: This method automatically sets some parameters:
	- HTTP Status = 200 ( if not defined )
	- HTTP Header value of 'Content-Type' = 'text/xml'

To get greater throughput and response time, do not post() to the DONE event, call() it!
However, this will force your program to block while servicing SOAP requests...

RAWDONE

This event accepts only one argument: the SOAP::Response object we sent to the handler.

Calling this event implies that this particular request is done, and will proceed to close the socket.

The only difference between this and the DONE event is that the content in $response->content() will not
be serialized and passed through intact to the SOAP envelope. This is useful if you generate the xml yourself.

NOTE:
	- The xml content does not need to have a <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"> header
	- In SOAP::Lite, the client sees '<foo>54</foo><bar>89</bar>' as '54' only!
		The solution is to enclose the xml in another name, i.e. '<data><foo>54</foo><bar>89</bar></data>'
	- If the xml is malformed or is not escaped properly, the client will get terribly confused!

It will be inserted here:
	...<soap:Body><namesp4:TestResponse xmlns:namesp4="http://localhost:32080/">YOURSTUFFHERE</namesp4:TestResponse></soap:Body>...

FAULT

This event accepts five arguments:
	- the HTTP::Response object we sent to the handler
	- SOAP Fault Code	( not required -> defaults to 'Server' )
	- SOAP Fault String	( not required -> defaults to 'Application Faulted' )
	- SOAP Fault Detail	( not required )
	- SOAP Fault Actor	( not required )

Again, calling this event implies that this particular request is done, and will proceed to close the socket.

Calling this event will generate a SOAP Fault and return it to the client.

NOTE: This method automatically sets some parameters:
	- HTTP Status = 500 ( if not defined )
	- HTTP Header value of 'Content-Type' = 'text/xml'
	- HTTP Content = SOAP Envelope of the fault ( overwriting anything that was there )

RAWFAULT

This event accepts only one argument: the SOAP::Response object we sent to the handler.

Calling this event implies that this particular request is done, and will proceed to close the socket.

The only difference between this and the FAULT event is that you are given freedom to create your own xml for the
fault. It will be passed through intact to the SOAP envelope. Be sure to read the SOAP specs :)

This is very similar to the RAWDONE event, so go read the notes up there!

It will be inserted here:
	...<soap:Body>YOURSTUFFHERE</soap:Body>...

CLOSE

This event accepts only one argument: the SOAP::Response object we sent to the handler.

Calling this event will proceed to close the socket, not sending any output.

STARTLISTEN

Starts the listening socket, if it was shut down

STOPLISTEN

Simply a wrapper for SHUTDOWN GRACEFUL, but will not shutdown Server::SOAP if there is no more requests

SHUTDOWN

Without arguments, Server::SOAP does this:
	Close the listening socket
	Kills all pending requests by closing their sockets
	Removes it's alias

With an argument of 'GRACEFUL', Server::SOAP does this:
	Close the listening socket
	Waits for all pending requests to come in via DONE/FAULT/CLOSE, then removes it's alias

Processing Requests

if you're new to the world of SOAP, reading the documentation by the excellent author of SOAP::Lite is recommended! It also would help to read some stuff at http://www.soapware.org/ -> they have some excellent links :)

Now, once you have set up the services/methods, what do you expect from Server::SOAP? Every request is pretty straightforward, you just get a Server::SOAP::Response object in ARG0.

The Server::SOAP::Response object contains a wealth of information about the specified request:
	- There is the SimpleHTTP::Connection object, which gives you connection information
	- There is the various SOAP accessors provided via Server::SOAP::Response
	- There is the HTTP::Request object

Example information you can get:
	$response->connection->remote_ip()	# IP of the client
	$response->soaprequest->uri()		# Original URI
	$response->soapmethod()			# The SOAP method that was called
	$response->soapbody()			# The arguments to the method

Probably the most important part of SOAP::Response is the body of the message, which contains the arguments to the method call. The data in the body is a hash, for more information look at SOAP::Lite -> SOAP::Deserializer.

I cannot guarantee what will be in the body, it is all up to the SOAP serializer/deserializer. I can provide some examples:

NOTE: It is much easier to play around with parameters if they are properly encoded.
If you are using SOAP::Lite, make extensive use of SOAP::Data->name() to create parameters :)

Calling a SOAP method with no arguments:
	print SOAP::Lite
		-> uri('http://localhost:32080/')
		-> proxy('http://localhost:32080/?session=MyServer')
		-> Sum_Things()
		-> result

The body will look like this:
	$VAR1 = undef;

Calling a SOAP method with multiple arguments:
	print SOAP::Lite
		-> uri('http://localhost:32080/')
		-> proxy('http://localhost:32080/?session=MyServer')
		-> Sum_Things( 8, 6, 7, 5, 3, 0, 9, 183 )
		-> result

The body will look like this:
	$VAR1 = {
		'c-gensym17' => '183',
		'c-gensym5' => '6',
		'c-gensym13' => '0',
		'c-gensym11' => '3',
		'c-gensym15' => '9',
		'c-gensym9' => '5',
		'c-gensym3' => '8',
		'c-gensym7' => '7'
	};

	NOTE: The original array ordering can be received by sorting on the keys.

Calling a SOAP method with an arrayref
	print SOAP::Lite
		-> uri('http://localhost:32080/')
		-> proxy('http://localhost:32080/?session=MyServer')
		-> Sum_Things(
			[ 8, 6, 7, 5, 3, 0, 9, 183 ]
			)
		-> result

The body will look like this:
	$VAR1 = {
		'Array' => [
			'8',
			'6',
			'7',
			'5',
			'3',
			'0',
			'9',
			'183'
		]
	};

Calling a SOAP method with a hash:
	print SOAP::Lite
		-> uri('http://localhost:32080/')
		-> proxy('http://localhost:32080/?session=MyServer')
		-> Sum_Things(	{
			'FOO'	=>	'bax',
			'Hello'	=>	'World!',
		}	)
		-> result

The body will look like this:
	$VAR1 = {
		'c-gensym21' => {
			'Hello' => 'World!',
			'FOO' => 'bax',
		}
	};

Calling a SOAP method using SOAP::Data methods:
	print SOAP::Lite
		-> uri('http://localhost:32080/')
		-> proxy('http://localhost:32080/?session=MyServer')
		-> Sum_Things(
			SOAP::Data->name( 'Foo', 'harz' ),
			SOAP::Data->name( 'Param', 'value' ),
		)-> result

The body will look like this:
	$VAR1 = {
		'Param' => 'value',
		'Foo' => 'harz'
	};

Simply experiment using Data::Dumper and you'll quickly get the hang of it!

When you're done with the SOAP request, stuff whatever output you have into the content of the response object.

$response->content( 'The result is ... ' );

The only thing left to do is send it off to the DONE event :)

$_[KERNEL]->post( 'MySOAP', 'DONE', $response );

If there's an error, you can send it to the FAULT event, which will convert it into a SOAP fault.

# See this website for more details about what "SOAP Fault" is :)
# http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/NOTE-SOAP-20000508/#_Toc478383507

$_[KERNEL]->post( 'MySOAP', 'FAULT', $response, 'Client.Authentication', 'Invalid password' );

Server::SOAP Notes

This module is very picky about capitalization!

All of the options are uppercase, to avoid confusion.

You can enable debugging mode by doing this:

sub POE::Component::Server::SOAP::DEBUG () { 1 }
use POE::Component::Server::SOAP;

In the case you want to see the raw xml being received/sent to the client, set DEBUG to 2.

Yes, I broke a lot of things in the release ( 1.01 ), but Rocco agreed that it's best to break things as early as possible, so that development can move on instead of being stuck on legacy issues.

Using SSL

So you want to use SSL in Server::SOAP? Here's a example on how to do it:

POE::Component::Server::SOAP->new(
	...
	'SIMPLEHTTP'	=>	{
		'SSLKEYCERT'	=>	[ 'public-key.pem', 'public-cert.pem' ],
	},
);

# And that's it provided you've already created the necessary key + certificate file :)

Ah, to use SSL in SOAP::Lite, simply use https://blah.com instead of http://blah.com

SUPPORT

You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.

perldoc POE::Component::Server::SOAP

Websites

• AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation

  http://annocpan.org/dist/POE-Component-Server-SOAP

• CPAN Ratings

  http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/POE-Component-Server-SOAP

• RT: CPAN's request tracker

  http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=POE-Component-Server-SOAP

• Search CPAN

  http://search.cpan.org/dist/POE-Component-Server-SOAP

Bugs

Please report any bugs or feature requests to bug-poe-component-server-soap at rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=POE-Component-Server-SOAP. I will be notified, and then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.

SEE ALSO

The examples directory that came with this component.

POE

HTTP::Response

HTTP::Request

POE::Component::Server::SOAP::Response

POE::Component::Server::SimpleHTTP

SOAP::Lite

POE::Component::SSLify

AUTHOR

Apocalypse <apocal@cpan.org>

I took over this module from Rocco Caputo. Here is his stuff:

POE::Component::Server::SOAP is Copyright 2002 by Rocco Caputo.  All
rights are reserved.  POE::Component::Server::SOAP is free software;
you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl
itself.

Rocco may be contacted by e-mail via rcaputo@cpan.org.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright 2009 by Apocalypse

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

cpanm POE::Component::Server::SOAP

perl -MCPAN -e shell
install POE::Component::Server::SOAP