Generating a Model file with the Autonomous REST Composer

The Autonomous REST Composer allows you to generate and edit Model files, instead of manually creating a file. The primary purpose of the Model file is to define endpoints and table mapping, but it is also capable of configuring a number of driver behaviors, such as paging and pushdowns. After generating the Model file, you can share it among multiple installations of the driver. See "Configuring the relational map" for an overview of the Model file.

To generate your Model file:

1. Open the Autonomous REST Composer by using one of the following methods:
   • Select the Autonomous REST Composer (JDBC) icon from your desktop or the Windows Start menu.
   • From a command line, navigate to the directory containing the autorest.jar file and execute the following command:

     java -jar autorest.jar --design

     By default, the autorest.jar file is stored in the following directory: C:\Program Files\Progress\DataDirect\JDBC\lib\60.

   The Autonomous REST Composer opens in your default web browser.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Select Create a Model.
   Note: If you are accessing a publicly available data source, refer to the library of prebuilt Model files for everyday data sources. These Model files contain fully defined requests and pagination setting, allowing you to connect after providing your authentication credentials. See Getting started using prebuilt Model files for details.
3. The Create Model window opens.

   
   

   

   
   

   Complete the following fields to create a new project; then, click OK:
   • Model Name: The name of your project and Model file to be created.
   • Model Description: An optional description of your Model. Note that this description will be stored in clear text in the Model file.
   • Base URL: The host name portion of your REST endpoints.

   The Autonomous REST Composer opens to the Connection tab.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Select the Authentication Method used by your endpoints; then, provide values for the appropriate fields. Note that not all of the fields exposed are required for all services. See Authentication for a full description of these methods.
   Note: Authentication properties specified through the Autonomous REST Composer are not persisted in the Model file. To share authentication settings among all connections using the file, you must manually update the Model file. See OAuth 2.0 authentication for details.

   Note: Custom authentication properties must be specified manually in the Model file. For details, see Custom authentication requests.
5. Select the Configure Endpoints tab on the side menu.

   
   

   

   
   

   Provide the minimum required information for an endpoint to which you want to issue requests:

   • From the Endpoint drop-down menu, select the type of request to issue against your endpoint.
   • In the Endpoint field, type the path portion of your endpoint after the base URL. Note that the value must be valid URL-encoded syntax. For example, spaces in an endpoint are replaced with %20. See "URL-encoded values" for details.
   • In the Table Name field, type the name of the relational table to which you want the endpoint to map.
6. Optionally, further define your endpoint using the customization pane on the right. For example, specifying query parameters, parameterized paths, and POST request bodies. For detailed descriptions of defining different types of endpoints, see Sampling REST endpoints.

   
   

   

   
   

7. Click Send. The driver sends the REST request and generates a relational view of the data based on the response. To add additional endpoints, click + in the request pane on the left.
8. Optionally, in the Pagination section of the customization pane, select the paging method to be used for your Model; then, provide values for the applicable paging parameters. For a description of these parameters, see Paging.
9. Optionally, customize your relational schema, including modifying column names, data type mapping, and primary key designation. See Customizing your schema for details.
10. Optionally, click Test Connect or select the SQL Editor tab to test your model by executing SQL queries. See Testing and querying your Model for details.
11. Click Download to generate and download your Model file.
12. Move your Model file to a location to be used by the driver. When configuring your connection string or data source, you will also need to specify this location using the Config connection property.