Application Techniques
Using RESTFul Web Services with JSON

A plain JSON follows the industry standard JSON format (as specified in https://www.json.org) and has one of the following structures depending on the actual export/import scenario.

A plain JSON can only contain elements of the following 4 data types: integer, string, boolean, and null.

One-level structure

A one-level plain JSON string must have only one level (cannot be two or more) and must be an object (cannot be an array).

This format is supported by the following methods (For all formats supported by a particular method, see Applicable methods):

Here is an example of a one-level plain JSON string:

{ "column1":1, "column2":"name", "column3":true, "column4":null... }

Two-level structure

A two-level plain JSON must have its top-level as an array and the second-level as object(s) which represent a row of data.

[ SIMPLE-ROW1, SIMPLE-ROW2, SIMPLE-ROW3, SIMPLE-ROW4, SIMPLE-ROW5... ]

This format is supported by the following methods (For all formats supported by a particular method, see Applicable methods):

Here is an example of a two-level plain JSON string:

[{"emp_id":1,"emp_fname":"Fran","emp_lname":"Whitney", &
     "street":"9 East Washington Street","city":"Cornwall"}, &
 {"emp_id":2,"emp_fname":"Matthew","emp_lname":"Cobb", &
     "street":"7 Pleasant Street","city":"Grimsby"}, &
 {"emp_id":3,"emp_fname":"Philip","emp_lname":"Chin", &
     "street":"539 Pond Street","city":"Oakville"}, &
 {"emp_id":4,"emp_fname":"Julie","emp_lname":"Jordan", &
     "street":"1244 Great Plain Avenue","city":"Woodbridge"}, &
 {"emp_id":5,"emp_fname":"Robert","emp_lname":"Breault", &
     "street":"358 Cherry Street","city":"Milton"}, &
 {"emp_id":6,"emp_fname":"Melissa","emp_lname":"Espinoza", &
     "street":"1121 Apple Tree Way","city":"Iroquois Falls"}, &
 {"emp_id":7,"emp_fname":"Jeannette","emp_lname":"Bertrand", &
     "street":"2090A Concord Street","city":"Waterloo"}, &
 {"emp_id":8,"emp_fname":"Marc","emp_lname":"Dill", &
     "street":"897 Hancock Street","city":"Milton"}, &
 {"emp_id":9,"emp_fname":"Jane","emp_lname":"Francis", &
     "street":"127 Hawthorne Drive","city":"Scarborough"}, &
 {"emp_id":10,"emp_fname":"Natasha","emp_lname":"Shishov", &
     "street":"151 Milk Street","city":"Grimsby"}, &
 {"emp_id":11,"emp_fname":"Kurt","emp_lname":"Driscoll", &
     "street":"1546 School Street","city":"Grimsby"}, &
 {"emp_id":12,"emp_fname":"Rodrigo","emp_lname":"Guevara", &
     "street":"72 East Main Street","city":"Fort Henry"}]

A DataWindow JSON is an object that contains elements representing the various aspects of a DataWindow.

This format is supported by the following methods (For all formats supported by a particular method, see Applicable methods):

The structure of DataWindow JSON is as follows:

{
"identity": "70c86603-983b-4bd9-adbc-259436e43cbd",
"version":1.0,
"platform":"PowerBuilder",
"mapping-method": 0,
"dataobject":{"name":"d_example",
    "meta-columns": [COLUMN-META1, COLUMN-META2…],
    "primary-rows": [DW-STANDARD-ROW1, DW-STANDARD-ROW2…],
    "filter-rows": [DW-STANDARD-ROW1, DW-STANDARD-ROW2…],
    "delete-rows": [DW-STANDARD-ROW1, DW-STANDARD-ROW2…],
    "dwchilds":{"department_id": [SIMPLE-ROW1,SIMPLE-ROW2…],
                "category_id": [SIMPLE-ROW1,SIMPLE-ROW2…]
                     …
                    }
}
}

COLUMN-META

COLUMN-META is an object that contains elements representing the various aspects of the DataWindow column (but not the computed column).

{
"name": "department_id",
"index": 1,
"datatype": "long", 
"nullable": 0
}

name -- (required) a string specifying the name of the column.

index -- (required) an integer specifying the sequence order of the column. This value will be used to map with the DataWindow column when the mapping-method value is set to 1.

datatype -- (required) a string specifying the type of the column. This value is not used by import.

nullable -- (required) an integer specifying whether to allow a null value. 0 - a null value is not allowed, 1 - a null value is allowed.

DW-STANDARD-ROW

DW-STANDARD-ROW is an object that contains elements representing the detailed information of the DataWindow row.

{
 "row-status": 0,
 "columns":{"column1": [CURRENT-VALUE, COLUMN-STATUS, ORIGINAL-VALUE],
           "column2": [CURRENT-VALUE, COLUMN-STATUS, ORIGINAL-VALUE],
            ...
          }
}

row-status -- (required) an integer specifying the status of the DataWindow row. 0 - NotModified!, 1 - DataModified!, 2 - New!, 3 - NewModified!.

columns -- (required) an object specifying the DataWindow column information including the current value, the column status, and the original value.

SIMPLE-ROW

SIMPLE-ROW is an object that contains elements representing the simple information of the DataWindow row. The data must be in the following data type: integer, string, boolean, or null.

{ "column1":1, "column2":"name", "column3":true, "column4":null... }

Example

Here is an example of a DataWindow JSON string:

{
  "identity": "70c86603-983b-4bd9-adbc-259436e43cbd",
  "version": 1,
  "platform": "PowerBuilder",
  "mapping-method": 0,
  "dataobject": {
    "name": "d_employee",
    "meta-columns": [
      {
        "name": "emp_id",
        "index": 0,
        "datatype": "long",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "manager_id",
        "index": 1,
        "datatype": "long",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "emp_fname",
        "index": 2,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "emp_lname",
        "index": 3,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "dept_id",
        "index": 4,
        "datatype": "long",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "street",
        "index": 5,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "city",
        "index": 6,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "state",
        "index": 7,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "zip_code",
        "index": 8,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "phone",
        "index": 9,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "status",
        "index": 10,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "ss_number",
        "index": 11,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "salary",
        "index": 12,
        "datatype": "decimal",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "start_date",
        "index": 13,
        "datatype": "date",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "termination_date",
        "index": 14,
        "datatype": "date",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "birth_date",
        "index": 15,
        "datatype": "date",
        "nullable": 1
      },
      {
        "name": "bene_health_ins",
        "index": 16,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "bene_life_ins",
        "index": 17,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 0
      },
      {
        "name": "bene_day_care",
        "index": 18,
        "datatype": "string",
        "nullable": 0
      }
    ],
    "primary-rows": [
      {
        "row-status": 1,
        "columns": {
          "emp_id": [ 102 ],
          "manager_id": [ 501 ],
          "emp_fname": [ "Fran" ],
          "emp_lname": [ "Whitney" ],
          "dept_id": [ 400, 1, 100 ],
          "street": [ "49 East Washington Street" ],
          "city": [ "Needham" ],
          "state": [ "MA" ],
          "zip_code": [ "02192    " ],
          "phone": [ "6175554321", 1, "6175553985" ],
          "status": [ "A" ],
          "ss_number": [ "017349033" ],
          "salary": [ 50000, 1, 45700 ],
          "start_date": [ "1994-02-26" ],
          "termination_date": [ null ],
          "birth_date": [ "1966-06-05" ],
          "bene_health_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_life_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_day_care": [ "N" ]
        }
      },
      {
        "row-status": 0,
        "columns": {
          "emp_id": [ 129 ],
          "manager_id": [ 902 ],
          "emp_fname": [ "Philip" ],
          "emp_lname": [ "Chin" ],
          "dept_id": [ 200 ],
          "street": [ "59 Pond Street" ],
          "city": [ "Atlanta" ],
          "state": [ "GA" ],
          "zip_code": [ "30339    " ],
          "phone": [ "4045552341" ],
          "status": [ "A" ],
          "ss_number": [ "024608923" ],
          "salary": [ 38500 ],
          "start_date": [ "2005-08-04" ],
          "termination_date": [ null ],
          "birth_date": [ "1974-10-30" ],
          "bene_health_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_life_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_day_care": [ "N" ]
        }
      },
      {
        "row-status": 3,
        "columns": {
          "emp_id": [ 104, 1, null ],
          "manager_id": [ 902, 1, null ],
          "emp_fname": [ "Chris", 1, null ],
          "emp_lname": [ "Young", 1, null ],
          "dept_id": [ 200, 1, null ],
          "street": [ "57 Carver Street", 1, null ],
          "city": [ "Concord", 1, null ],
          "state": [ "MA", 1, null ],
          "zip_code": [ "12345    ", 1, null ],
          "phone": [ "6185551234", 1, null ],
          "status": [ "A", 1, null ],
          "ss_number": [ "010123456", 1, null ],
          "salary": [ 63000, 1, null ],
          "start_date": [ "2018-05-06", 1, null ],
          "termination_date": [ null ],
          "birth_date": [ "1984-10-12", 1, null ],
          "bene_health_ins": [ "Y", 1, null ],
          "bene_life_ins": [ "Y", 1, null ],
          "bene_day_care": [ null ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "filter-rows": [
      {
        "row-status": 0,
        "columns": {
          "emp_id": [ 148 ],
          "manager_id": [ 1293 ],
          "emp_fname": [ "Julie" ],
          "emp_lname": [ "Jordan" ],
          "dept_id": [ 300 ],
          "street": [ "144 Great Plain Avenue" ],
          "city": [ "Winchester" ],
          "state": [ "MA" ],
          "zip_code": [ "01890    " ],
          "phone": [ "6175557835" ],
          "status": [ "A" ],
          "ss_number": [ "501704733" ],
          "salary": [ 51432 ],
          "start_date": [ "2004-10-04" ],
          "termination_date": [ null ],
          "birth_date": [ "1959-12-13" ],
          "bene_health_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_life_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_day_care": [ "N" ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "delete-rows": [
      {
        "row-status": 0,
        "columns": {
          "emp_id": [ 105 ],
          "manager_id": [ 501 ],
          "emp_fname": [ "Matthew" ],
          "emp_lname": [ "Cobb" ],
          "dept_id": [ 100 ],
          "street": [ "77 Pleasant Street" ],
          "city": [ "Waltham" ],
          "state": [ "MA" ],
          "zip_code": [ "02154    " ],
          "phone": [ "6175553840" ],
          "status": [ "A" ],
          "ss_number": [ "052345739" ],
          "salary": [ 62000 ],
          "start_date": [ "1994-07-02" ],
          "termination_date": [ null ],
          "birth_date": [ "1968-12-04" ],
          "bene_health_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_life_ins": [ "Y" ],
          "bene_day_care": [ "N" ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "dwchilds": {
      "dept_id": [
        {
          "dept_id": 100,
          "dept_name": "R & D"
        },
        {
          "dept_id": 200,
          "dept_name": "Sales"
        },
        {
          "dept_id": 300,
          "dept_name": "Finance"
        },
        {
          "dept_id": 400,
          "dept_name": "Marketing"
        },
        {
          "dept_id": 500,
          "dept_name": "Shipping"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

The following table summarizes the methods that support the different JSON formats.

See also

Plain JSON: One-level or Two-level structure

DataWindow JSON