SharePoint offers a Web Services integration option, which can be used by the Blink Mobility Platform (BMP) for users who need extra flexibility or access to SharePoint data.
Web Service integration is an advanced method designed to be used by developers with a working level of programming skills.
Lists Web Service
The SharePoint “List Web Service” can be used for data manipulation, or CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete).
An overview of this web service can be found on Microsoft’s website:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms774654(v=office.12).aspx
The List Class, as displayed above, has a large number of methods that will give a developer a high level of access to the SharePoint data.
People Web Service
The SharePoint “People Web Service” is designed for accessing user data.
An overview of this web service can be found on Microsoft’s website:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/people(v=office.12).aspx
The People Class provides classes that can be used to associate user identifiers (IDs) with security groups for Windows SharePoint Services Web site permissions.
How Integration Is Invoked
Back-end integration can be done in a number of places in the BMP, depending on which part of the system is being used. For Blink Forms, integration code can be added in “Step 4”, allowing you to use data posted within a Blink Form to interact with your SharePoint database. Integration code can also be added directly to a Blink Interaction, via the mADL code feature.
SharePoint Web Services Integration Wizard
Wizard Overview
The SharePoint Wizard is a service that runs on the Blink system, and is available to all Blink clients when required.
The Wizard is quick and easy to use, as it does not require programming experience. A user can access the Wizard via their web browser. After entering the appropriate SharePoint connection details, the user can select the SharePoint List they’re interested in, and the Wizard will then create a Blink Form.
This Blink Form is created in a ZIP file format that can be imported into a Blink answerSpace. It contains not only the form definitions, but also all the integration code needed to add new form data, as well as view existing List entries. The integration code is available for advanced users in Step 4 of the Blink Form builder, and so can be customised further, if required.
You can access the wizard at http://media.myanswers.mobi/spwizard/
Compatibility
The SharePoint Wizard is compatible with SharePoint 2007 and 2010. For clients using Forefront or Office 365, the Wizard will also connect to these systems simply by ticking a box.