webservice application in Demandware

Question

I need to develope WAS application and should be hosted into Demandware platform. Can i develop the WAS application using tomcat and can host it into the Demandware or should WAS application be developed in the Demandware platform?

I am new to Demanware platform and WAS. Guide me.

Dunagan

Answer 1

You cannot build a web service outside of the UX Studio paradigm like what you described, but you can build a psuedo-service like pipeline in UX Studio that returns JSON, XML, etc. and it will work more or less just like any other REST service.

Tanning

Does anyone have more information about building "a psuedo-service like pipeline in UX Studio that returns JSON, XML, etc."? A link to documentation, etc. – Noma

You have to pay, a lot, to view the official documentation and even then it won't help you. The old way of building a service was using Pipelines which involved physically drawing out a flowchart that would execute logic on each of the nodes. That logic would be simple if-conditions or something that would execute a more complex IS-Script (Demandware's version of Javascript). The new way of doing it is more like or Node/Express, but w/o the luxury of NPM packages....but you don't have to draw flowcharts. – Tanning

If you want to return non-HTML you basically build an ISML template (DW's version of HTML) and make it look like JSON (or XML or whatever) when it gets rendered, then the the response type to application/json and if all goes well it'll be like a real REST service. – Tanning

Answer 2

Demandware is Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, which will not allow you to access the underlying infrastructure (e.g. Tomcat server, Oracle DB, etc.) to make/install your custom extensions.

UPDATE (25.09.2015): Currently Demandware are making extensions to their controllers, migrating from pipeleine-based controllers to script based ones. Chances are that at some point they may even introduce an API for creating web-services.

Until this happens, your only option is to make some custom pipelines and utilize something like XML/JSON over HTTP for this type of functionality. (Or if you insist on having it as SOAP based service, you would need to parse the SOAP envelopes with explicit code)

Skeen

Answer 3

Demandware platform is a proprietary technology which allows developing only using their sandboxes and own IDE "UX Studio". All this stuff is available for demandware developers on their xchange portal. Access there could be requested by a merchant you do a development for.

Affiche

Answer 4

Demandware has the core framework is closed to third parties and is exposed via the Demandware script and REST API's as well as Demandware's own Pipelet system. Sadly you can't deploy external application in Demandware server, we have to separately create new app in UX studio You can get the proper help on Demandware Wiki or on Exchange

Bleat

so if I, as a third party, want to talk to Demandware stores, what are my options? – Pierpont

You most probably will be doing this for a customer who has access to the corresponding documentation and support. Gain access to them, through your customer. (and sorry for the necromancy, I know it is a 3-year old ask) – Skeen