Integration APIs
SAP Commerce's Integration API module offers a set of interfaces (Integration Objects and Integration APIs) used for data integration with SAP Commerce. You can use the Integration API module to connect services to send data or receive data from SAP Commerce.
A new Integration Object creates an integration. A new integration creates API Service Endpoints that accept one or more objects and define the object’s payload. Each Integration Object is specific to its own use case, or purpose.
For example, an SAP ERP order object might use all available fields, but an SAP Marketing order object might use only the fields related to Marketing needs.
When you install Integration API extensions in SAP Commerce Cloud, several services are available out-of-the-box, such as the Meta API, that provides integration objects and associated integration object items using Integration Services endpoint.
The following request returns all of the Integration Objects in the Integration API.
1GET https://localhost:9002/odata2webservices/IntegrationService/IntegrationObjectsTo retrieve metadata, add the $metadata query option to the request URL. For example:
1GET https://localhost:9002/odata2webservices/IntegrationService/IntegrationObjects?$metadataFor more information, view this SAP Help Portalresource.
The Integration API module simplifies data integration with SAP Commerce, using Integration Objects. These objects are used in the payload that’s sent or received from SAP Commerce to define data types.
Integration API module features include:
- Integration Objects
- Enhancements to the OData protocol for use with Integration API services
- SAP Commerce Cloud Backoffice tools for modeling Integration Objects
- Monitoring of Integration API requests
OData Services
The Integration API uses and extends the OData protocol for building and using RESTful APIs.
An Integration Object describes the structure of a business-level entity and are the foundation for an EDMX schema and for the APIs used for Process Integration and Master Data Synchronization of SAP Commerce Cloud.
Creating an Integration Object extends the SAP Commerce Cloud type system and exposes an OData Service (OData endpoint) that you can call to get data about that Integration Object.
Working with OData Services
There are necessary steps to prepare with your OData Services for the integration. Learn about these steps in the next interaction.
Follow these recommendations to work effectively with OData Services in your integration project:
- To minimize the number of Integration Objects that you must maintain, determine if you can reuse existing objects. If your third-party systems can receive additional data, you may be able to reuse an existing integration object that contains required and optional fields.
- Leverage MetaAPI to keep integration objects consistent across local and cloud environments.
- Limit access of Integration UI perspective in Backoffice to Administrators and owners of the integrations.
- Integration APIs are not exposed automatically.
- Ensure that Authentication is configured first.
- Configure access rights for each of your defined Integration Objects.
Inbound and Outbound Communication
Communication has been mentioned many times in this course. Integrating inbound and outbound communications in the scope of the SAP Commerce Cloud and SAP S/4HANA Cloud integration requires knowledge of important practices.
Inbound Communication
You can generate OData v2 services by creating Integration Objects. Each service is generated through the Backoffice Integration UI Tool perspective or via ImpEx at runtime. The Integration Object definitions offer a business-world view of the types defined in the platform, which are better suited to real-world integration scenarios.
For example, there are many parts composing products, orders, and customers that the Integration Objects encapsulate into a cohesive unit of work.
Outbound Communication
You can dynamically define the payload of an Integration Object published to an external target. Developers leverage this ability to create skeletal business processes and interceptors (building blocks).
If you are less technical, you can dynamically modify the building blocks at runtime using Backoffice.