Passing Data in your API Calls

REST API endpoints can pass data within their requests through 4 types of parameters: Header, Path, Query String, or in the Request Body.  Igloo APIs provide you the functionality to create, modify /update, and delete content and objects, so it is important to understand how certain endpoints pass data into their requests.  

Header parameters: Parameters included in the request header, usually related to authorization.

After making the create session API calls against your digital workplace (visit creating a session with Igloo via APIs to learn more), a token is returned which is a necessary parameter to make subsequent API calls (visit the subsequent API calls page for more information). This parameter is passed in the header as it is an authorization credential. Example: 

  headers: {
        Accept: 'application/json',
        Cookie: `iglooauth=${this.token}
  }

• Path parameters: Parameters within the path of the endpoint. In the documentation, they're denoted with { curly braces }.

Examples of this type of parameterizing can be found in a variety of Igloo APIs like:

/.api/api.svc/blogarticles/{blogArticleId}/update

As shown below, the blogArticleID is passing within the actual request URL.

  /.api/api.svc/blogarticles/7217f760-c960-4233-a42c-2fc3ed41a9c1/update

• Query string parameters: Parameters in the query string of the endpoint, after the  "?" separator.

In the query string, each parameter is listed one right after the other with an ampersand (&) separating them. The order of the query string parameters does not matter. Example of updating a wiki article where the title, parentId, description, etc. are passed as query parameters. It is also beneficial to use URL Search Parameters to reduce the size of your query string for more complex queries. This works by storing the query string in a variable and then referencing it at the end of a request. Visit the MDN article on URLSearchParams for your reference. 

updateWiki(wikiArticleId, title, parentId, description, content, urlTitle) {
    
  const querystring = `title=${title}&parentId=${parentId}&description=${description}&content=${content}&urlTitle=${urlTitle}`;

    axios.post(`https://${this.url}/.api/api.svc/wikiarticles/${wikiArticleId}/update?${querystring}`, null, this.options)
      .then((response) => {
        console.log(response.data.response);
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        if (err) {
          console.log(err);
        }
      });
  }

• Request body parameters: Parameters included in the request body. Usually submitted as JSON.

The JSON object contains key-value pairs and may include multiple levels of nesting. For example: 

updateWiki(wikiArticleId) {
    var payload = new FormData();
    payload.append("title", "This is the title.");
    payload.append("content", "This is the content");
    var options = {
    headers: {
      Accept: 'application/json',
      'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
      }
    };
    axios.post(`https://${this.url}/.api/api.svc/wikiarticles/${wikiArticleId}/update`, payload,    options)
      .then((response) => {
        console.log(response.data.response);
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        if (err) {
          console.log(err);
        }
      });
  }

Where can I find more information?

Be sure to refer to the API documentation as they contain the way the parameters need to be passed into the request. If you have questions about making API calls with our APIs or need guidance, you can contact the Developer Relations Team through devsupport@igloosoftware.com.