Creating a Token based Web Service in FME - Yelp

Introduction

On the FME Hub is a Yelp v2 web connection that uses a token authentication service. This article will show you how the web service was created in FME to use as an example for your own token web services.

Step-by-step Instructions

1. Locate Authentication Documentation

Find the authentication documentation for your desired web service. For the Yelp service, it is here .

2. Understand the Authentication Method

Understand how the web service wants the application to authenticate. For Yelp they require you to create an API Key and send that to Yelp as a HTTP Header: 

3. Create the Web Service in FME

In FME Options, go to Web Connections > Manage Web Services. Create a new Token Service.

4. Configure the Web Service

As the Yelp service only requires the application to send a HTTP Authorization Header, disable the Token Generation REST API parameters.
Add a new parameter to the web connection so that the web connection user can enter their API Key: 

5. Configure the API Call Parameters

As Yelp wants the API Key sent in the header, this needs configuring in the web service definition.

Edit the API Call Parameters so that they match the format that Yelp is expecting.

By default, the API Call Parameters will be:

Yelp requires us to change it (see step 2). Ensure that the API_KEY parameter name matches the parameter name specified in step 4:

6. Add a Web Service Name, Description and Setup Instructions.

It is best practise to provide information about the web service that the user will be connecting to and add in any documentation or setup urls that the user will need to visit in order to generate their token.

In the case of Yelp, there was a change a few years ago in how they authorized so this might be useful information to include for the user (in case they were using the legacy connection).

7. Apply Changes and Create Web Connection

Now that the web service is set up correctly, apply the settings. 

Exit out of the Manage Web Services dialog back to FME Options > Web Connections. Click on the + at the bottom of the page and create a new web connection using the newly created web service.
You can now use your web connection within your workspace.

8. Export and Share (optional)

Now that you’ve created a new web service, you can export the web service definition to upload to the FME Hub or share it with colleagues if they need to connect to the same web service.

You can export your web connection from the Manage Web Services dialog box.