Introduction

This tutorial is meant for the users who want to get more out of the AppMachine platform and are willing to spend some time to get familiar with our Web service Pro block and all of its features. 

The tutorial will be split up in several shorter sections, explaining each step that you'll need to take to understand the basics. We're keeping the tutorials short and to the point to prevent confusion in addition to making it easier to troubleshoot issues you may encounter. What you decide to do with the Web service block will be completely up to you and your own imagination. 

But first, a couple of remarks: 

• The examples shown in this tutorial are just that; examples. There are many other creative setups/solutions users came up with. 
• The Web service block are part of the DIY section of AppMachine. Support may be limited. 

The example used in this tutorial

We'll be creating a system to submit reports. The app user will need to be able to create, edit, list and delete their own data. In addition the data will need to be accessible for admin users for management purposes. It's a very simple concept, but it requires most features that the Web service block has to offer and it isn't likely to cause any difficult issues.

Requirements

All of the tutorials in this series are focussed on our Pro section. In particular the Web service block. The tutorials are meant as an introduction for new users or as a refresher for more experienced users. Though it is not a requirement per se, it will be beneficial if you already have some experience with our Pro blocks. 

However, there are a few actual requirements:

• Pro subscription - Using the Pro blocks requires a Pro subscription or a Reseller bundle. If you currently have a Plus subscription you will need to upgrade to Pro to be able to use the blocks used in these tutorials. 
• User Registration - To be able to link the submitted data to the user you'll need to have User Registration enabled. 
• Time - It will take some time setting this up, and you may have to rebuild some parts in the process. 

And that's about it as far as requirements go. 

Blocks and features used

All the work we'll be doing will take place in the Web service block. However, the Web service block comes in different forms. The GET web service block will come as a combination of a List block and a Screen block. The POST/PUT/DELETE  web service blocks will come as a Screen block. 

Supporting articles: Web services

User registration is an important feature that we'll be using, though it will not be difficult to set up. 

Supporting articles: User registration

To lock off the system for users who aren't logged in or registered we'll be using a Lock block. If you're building an admin section this block will come in handy as well. 

Supporting articles: Lock block

We'll also be using the Developer section of the AppMachine CMS. In this screen you can find all of your web services and datastores.

Supporting articles: n/a

Lastly the Layout editor will frequently be used to create and edit layouts for our screens and forms. 

Supporting articles: Layout Editor Tips & Tricks, Manipulate data presentation

Now that we've covered all the boring stuff, let's get on with it. You'll find part 1 of this tutorial by clicking here.