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Overview

HTTP Node Properties

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Use a 

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 to

to make HTTPS requests to external APIs

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Worked Example

For full details on how to create a HTTP node, including videos and worked examples, see HTTP Action Configuration.

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Basic Settings

Expects literal values or expressions encapsulated within ${} syntax, for example ${in.MyValue}.

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HTTP Action Configuration
HTTP Action Configuration
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Input Connection Points

Can Accept a single

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The grid contains a list of all input connection points and their type.

  • To add a new input connection point, in the section toolbar click 
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     to open a new input connection point and set its properties; see Input Connection Points.
  • To edit an existing input connection point, double-click it in the list to open its properties.
  • To remove an input connection point, select one and in the section toolbar click 
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    .

Output Connection Points

The grid contains a list of output connection points, by default this will be out and error.

Output Connection PointDescription
OutContains the resulting record of the request. 
ErrorContains the resulting record of the request where it satisfies the error expression specified on the HTTP Node. 

Output Record

An HTTP Node has two output connection points out and error. An HTTP Node is triggered for each input record and will generate one output record which will be sent on either the out or error output. 

The resulting record contains the attributes specified by the output connection point, successful records are passed down the out connection point and records containing an error are passed down the error connection point. The stricture of the records by default is as follows:

body: The content returned by a successful request. For example, JSON content.

  • contentType: The type of response provided by the target HTTP request. For example, application/json; charset=utf-8.

  • status: the returned status code. For example, 200.

  • status message: the returns status message. For example, OK.

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    2.13

    HTTP Action Configuration

    2.13

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    Tip

    Connect to a JSON

    Node

    Action Properties or XML

    Node

    Action Properties to the output connection to interpret the response into individual records.

    Headers

    Are typically used to specify information for the request such as character sets, session tokens or passwords. Headers can make use of the Secret Key Details see below. For more information see HTTP Header. 

    For example,

    • Name: Content-Type
    • Value:  text/xml; charset=UTF-8


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    See HTTP Action Configuration for an example.

    Secret Key Details

    Secret Keys allow sensitive data such as passwords or security tokens to be encrypted and stored in the PhixFlow Database.

    Secret keys have a name which they can be referenced by using the syntax ${_datasource.keyName}. For full details on secret keys

    see 

    , see Secret Key and Local Secret.

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    Retry

    Enter an expression 

    Added a new "Retry" section for HTTP Actions. This section contains three fields pertaining to automatically reattempting the

    Retry allows automatic reattempting of the the HTTP connection under

    certain conditions. The first is "Retry Expression", when this expression resolves to "true" instead of the record continuing normally through the actionflow it will instead attempt to retry the connection. "Retry Interval Expression" is an expression that when it evaluates to an integer determines the amount of time between attempted requests. "Max Attempts" is the maximum number of times the HTTP action will try the HTTP connection before continuing, this must be an integer between 1 and 60.that it is not always appropriate to automatically retry after a timeout

    the conditions specified by the Retry Expression.

    For example:

    • A transmission error or timeout occurs

    • Specific status codes are returned

    • Specific response body or headers are returned

    Tip

    Care should be taken if setting an automatic retry in response to a timeout as it may not always be appropriate, e.g. if the

    URL

    HTTP action causes a job to be started on a target system, receiving a timeout does not mean that the job was not started

    and

    , therefore retrying (and possibly starting multiple processes or updates on a target system) might not be the

    wrong solution).

    upport retrying operations in the following scenarios:

  • A transmission error / timeout occurs

  • Specific status codes are returned

    • Specific response body or headers are returned

    desired solution.

    Returned Results

    Expressions use _result to access the last response and tracking information. The initial requests will get a partially populated _result record. Using _result allows the action to modify the request, such as to follow redirects or links, or submit a token returned by the previous request.

    Retry Properties

    FieldDescription
    Retry Expression

    The default is false.

    Enter an expression that when it evaluates to true, the connection will be reattempted, instead of continuing through the Actionflow.

    When a Retry Expression is entered, the following options are available:
    Retry Interval Expression (ms)

    The default value is 1000. 

    Enter an expression that when it evaluates to an integer, it determines the amount of time between attempted requests.

    Maximum Retries

    The default value is 3. 

    This is the maximum number of times the HTTP action will try the HTTP connection before continuing. This must be an integer between 1 and 60.

    Description

    We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.

    Advanced

    FieldDescription
    Connection Timeout (s)The maximum time to wait to while attempting to create a connection, measured in seconds. The default for this is set to 300 seconds.
    Response Packet Timeout (s)The maximum time to wait between responses from the data packets, measured in seconds. The default for this is set to 180 seconds.
    Prioritise throughput over ordering

    When this option is ticked records are processed in parallel to optimise performance. This means the order records are processed is nondeterministic.

    When unticked (default), records are processed in the order they are provided.

    More Options > Run Action

    Individual

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    action nodes can be run in isolation from the rest of the Actionflow, using the
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    option, found under the
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    menu on the HTTP action's Properties. See Running Actions and Actionflows.

    Learn More

    For links to all pages in this topic, see Actionflow Properties