End Point for the HTTP Adapter 

Definition

An end point of this kind is an access point with the technical data for the HTTP adapter to send XML documents to an HTTP server.

The editor work area for this end point type has a more complex structure than the other editors and comprises the three tab pages Addressing, Header, and Payload. On the Addressing tab page you define the actual point of access, while the other two tab pages are used to enhance the message (header and payload) with additional data.

Use

Addressing Tab Page

You define the point of access on this tab page. Choose the addressing mode you want by selecting the appropriate radio button. You can choose between two addressing modes:

·        HTTP Destination

You must select this addressing mode if you want to use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer Protocol).

Specify an HTTP destination. If the receiver system is an SAP system, the destination is defined as a type H RFC destination (HTTP connection to an R/3 system) on the Integration Server. In all other cases, it is defined as a type G RFC destination (HTTP connection to an external server).

If an HTTP destination is used to address the receiver system, you do not need to maintain any logon data because this is already maintained in the HTTP destination.

·        URL Addressing

In this case you must specify the URL of the HTTP server in the input field.

If you address the receiver system using a URL address, then you can specify the following optional parameters for the HTTP adapter:

Proxy: Host	Optional. The host name of a proxy server, for example for a firewall.
Proxy: Port	Optional. The port number of a proxy server, for example for a firewall.

There are two ways to log on if you address the receiver system by using a URL address. Select the way you want to log on by using the radio buttons.

¡        Anonymous Logon

In this case, the receiver does not authenticate the incoming message.

¡        Use Logon Data

In this case, logon data is checked when a message arrives. You specify this data in Logon Data. 

Header Tab Page

On this tab page you can enhance the message header. Specify the content type of the HTTP post in the input field Content Type.

Note the following if the Content Type field does not contain a value:

·        If special characters are to be masked (see the Payload tab page), then the content type is set to: application/x-www-form-urlencoded.

·        If special characters are not to be masked, then the content type is set to: text/xml.

If the HTTP server requires additional fields in the header, you can specify these as Name/Value pairs in your end point. You must not use Content Type, Content Length, Authentication or Host as the name, because these attributes are either set automatically by the system, or explicitly by the sender application.

Payload Tab Page

You can make the following specifications here:

XML Encoding	If the specified code page for the HTTP body does not correspond to the default setting UTF 8, the system converts the HTTP body to the corresponding code page; in the XML document, the system replaces the tag encoding=UTF-8 with the corresponding code page tag. Only select code pages that are installed on the Integration Server.
Mask Special Characters	Use the Mask Special Characters check box to define whether special characters in the payload are URL-coded or not. Examples for escape codes: Escape Code: %2F for the special character / Escape Code: %26 for the special character & Special characters are not masked for the additional (technical) data in the prolog or epilog because these might contain special characters that must not be encoded.

The HTTP body comprises the prolog, message payload (message contents = message without message header), and epilog. Prolog and epilog are optional and enhance the entire payload that is transferred for particular servers (or CGI servers).

Prolog	Optional prolog for the payload. The prolog enables you to enhance the payload with additional (technical) data, for example to include an additional “header” or to comment on the data it contains.
Epilog	Optional epilog for the payload. The epilog enables you to enhance the payload with additional (technical) data.

You can create end points for the HTTP adapter for both SAP and non-SAP systems acting as receiver systems.

Example

See: Example of an End Point (HTTP Adapter).