Frequently Asked Questions About Developing Document Approval API Applications

How do I construct an Approval Graph from a flat structure JSON response?

Follow these steps to build an Approval Graph:

  1. Identify leaf nodes as ones whose dependencyApprovalRequestsUID field is empty.

  2. Parents of leaf nodes can be hooked in by finding the nodes for each leaf that include the leaf's ID in their dependencyApprovalRequestsUID fields.

  3. Going up a level, repeat step 2 to build the approval hierarchy.

Can I post comments on an approvable document without approving/rejecting of the document?

Yes. Submit your comment as the value of the action field.

How do I ensure that I am pulling all the changes since my last pull?

Ensure that you specify the most recent item pulled by filtering on changeSequenceId, as follows: $filter=changeSequenceId gt '{ID}'

I need to pull my changes again. Can I use history to pull old records?

Yes, you can specify an older value for changeSequenceId to pull records from the past.

Does SAP Ariba maintain any status or offset of my data pull?

No. The APIs are stateless and do not maintain records of data pulled by customers.

Are change events logged in the system?

Yes, change events are logged in the system and kept for 180 days, after which they are purged. To change this timespan, your administrator can change the value of the ExternalApprovableChangesDaysToKeep parameter to the desired number of days.