Using Parameters with the WebServiceDataSource Component
The WebServiceDataSource component can request data in JSON format from a running web service. It requires the base URL of the service specified in the Service URL property. The WebServiceDataSource can take parameters. The supported data source parameter types are:
Inline Parameters
The values of this parameter type replace the corresponding part of the Service URL, and can be included in the body of a POST request.
Using Inline Parameters in Service Url
In the WebServiceDataSource Wizard, the Service URL can be provided as constantUrl, for example:
In the next step of the Wizard it is necessary to set the run-time and the design-time values for the parameter:
The final request made by the WebServiceDataSource component to the web service with the design-time parameter value as captured by Fiddler will look like:
The entire Service URL can also be set to a WebServiceDataSource parameter, for example to @serviceUrl. This allows for larger flexibility in using different end-points of a Web Service, or even different Web Services for the same data item.
Using Inline Parameters in the Body of the POST request
The single-value parameter should be surrounded by quotation marks. The multi-value parameter is provided as it is. For example, in the next set-up, @name is a single-value parameter and @surname is a multi-value parameter:
It is necessary to provide an additional Header "Content-Type" with the value "application/json". Generally, the Header Names are case-insensitive. The 'Content-Type' header that is needed for the POST requests is case-sensitive.
The multi-value parameter run-time and design-time values should be surrounded in square brackets to indicate an array:
The final request performed by the WebServiceDataSource component with the design-time values as seen in Fiddler:
Query Parameters
The query type parameters will be automatically concatenated to the Service URL. The final URL will be in the format serviceUrl?queryParameterName1=value1&queryParameterName2=value2&....
For example, in a Web Api project to call the Action GetWithQueryParameters(int id, string category) the default service URL will be http://localhost:50160/api/data/GetWithQueryParameters. The images display how to set the query parameters in the Web Service Data Source Wizard of the Report Designer:
and how will the generated final URL for the design-time parameter values look in Fiddler:
Header Parameters
The parameter will be included as a Header in the request with Header Name the name of the parameter, and Header Value the value of the parameter. A setup in the Web Service Data Source Wizard like:
will result in a request with the Header named headerParameter and value MyHeader for its design-time values:
Cookie Parameters
The parameter will be included as a Header Cookie in the request. For example, the parameter setup in the Web Service Data Source Wizard as:
for its design-time values will result in a request with a Cookie Header as captured by Fiddler:
