REST Debugger Tool

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Tools > REST Debugger

The REST Debugger is a tool for making ad hoc requests. The TRESTDataSetAdapter and TClientDataSet components convert the JSON representation into a dataset.

With this tool, you can use different authentication methods to connect to services such as Google API or Twitter. You can send a request to the specified service and view the response.

The Request Pane

Request

Use the Request tab to specify the TRESTClient and the TRESTRequest properties.

Item	Description
Method	Lists the TRESTRequest methods, as follows: POST--submits data to be processed to the TRESTRequest resource. PUT--updates data for the TRESTRequest resource. GET--requests data from the TRESTRequest resource. DELETE--deletes the data from the TRESTRequest resource. PATCH--patches the data on the TRESTRequest resource by updating only the pairs that are sent within that PATCH body.
URL	Specifies the BaseURL property of the TRESTClient. The BaseURL property is the first half of the complete request-url. Tip: Press ENTER in this field to send your request. See Send Request.
Content-Type	Specifies the ContentType property of the TRESTRequestParameterList.
Custom body	Specifies the CustomBody property of the TRESTRequestParameterList.

Parameters

Use the Parameters tab to define the actual action to be executed on the service and the TRESTRequest parameters.

Item	Description
Resource	Specifies the Resource property of the TRESTRequest. The Resource property is the second half of the full request-url and represents the actual query-string.
Request Parameters	Specifies the TRESTRequest parameters. There are different parameters types: Header Parameters--have the form of key=value and will be embedded into the HTTP header of the request. Post/Get Parameters--have the form of key=value. For HTTP post requests, the Post Parameters will be embedded into the request body. For HTTP get requests, the Get Parameters will be embedded into the URL as part of the query string. Body Parameters--consist of only one value and are integrated in the TRESTRequest body. URL Segment Parameters--have the form of key=value and their value is appended to the HTTP URL prior to the query string of the request. Multiple URL Segment Parameters are delimited by a backslash (\). Cookie Parameters--have the form of key=value and will be sent as cookie-values.
Add	Adds a new parameter to the TRESTRequest Parameter List. Specify the parameter type using the Kind ComboBox, the parameter name in the Name TComboEdit, and the parameter value in the Value TEdit.
Edit	Edits a parameter from the TRESTRequest Parameter List. Change the type, name, or value of the parameter selected.
Delete	Deletes the parameter selected from the TRESTRequest Parameter List.

Authentication

Authentication is required by most of the services. An authenticator is attached to the client and is automatically executed on each completed request.

Item	Description
Method	Specifies the standard authenticators that are attached to the rest-clients. NONE--is used when the service does not require an authentication. By default, the TRestClient Authenticator method is amNONE. SIMPLE--mimics a basic authentication like an HTML form. TSimpleAuthenticator requires the values and the keys name of Username and Password. BASIC--refers to the HTTP basic authentication. THTTPBasicAuthenticator requires the Username and the Password to be embedded into the HTTP header of the request. OAUTH--is a method that implies user interaction. The application that is using TOAuth1Authenticator receives tokens from the service provider and it needs to use these tokens to access the service. OAUTH2--receives tokens from the service provider and it needs to use these tokens to access the service. Compared with TOAuth1Authenticator, TOAuth2Authenticator relies on HTTPS for security and you do not have to sign a request anymore.
Username	Represents the AuthUsername property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Username TEdit is enabled for the simple and basic authenticators.
Password	Represents the AuthPassword property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Password TEdit is enabled for the simple and basic authenticators.
Username-key	Represents the AuthUsernameKey property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Username-key TEdit is enabled for the simple authenticator.
Password-key	Represents the AuthPasswordKey property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Password-key TEdit is enabled for the simple authenticator.
Client-ID	Represents the ClientID property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Client-ID TEdit is enabled for the OAUTH and OAUTH2 methods.
Client-Secret	Represents the ClientSecret property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Client-Secret TEdit is enabled for the OAUTH and OAUTH2 methods.
Access-token	Represents the AccessToken property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Access-token TEdit is enabled for the OAUTH and OAUTH2 methods.
Request-token	Represents the AccessTokenSecret property of the TRESTRequestParameterList. The Request-token TEdit is enabled for the OAUTH and OAUTH2 methods.
OAuth-Assistant	Opens a new window that has all the parameter values for OAUTH or OAUTH2 methods. In this newly opened window, there are fields that are not present in the main page of Authentication, so you can use different services, as Google or Twitter.

Connection

Use the Connection tab to specify the Proxy properties of TRESTClient.

Item	Description
Use Proxy Server	Check the Use Proxy Server TCheckBox or leave the checkbox unchecked to specify if the TRESTClient handles proxy servers.
Proxy Server	Specifies the ProxyServer property of the TRESTClient.
Proxy Port	Specifies the ProxyPort property of the TRESTClient. By default, the value of ProxyPort is 0.
Username	Specifies the ProxyUsername property of the TRESTClient.
Password	Specifies the ProxyPassword property of the TRESTClient.

Request Buttons

Item	Description
Send Request	Configures the Proxy Server if needed, defines the BaseURL and the Resource properties, and the TRESTRequest method. Click the Send Request button to execute TRESTRequest and show the response.
New Request	Resets the Request, Parameters, Authentication, and Connection page fields to their default values.
Load Request	Uses the TOpenDialog component to load the properties values for TRESTClient, TRESTRequest, or TRESTResponse from the file selected.
Save Request	Saves into a file the properties values of the TRESTClient, TRESTRequest, or TRESTResponse component.
Copy Components	Copies the TRESTClient, TRESTRequest, and TRESTResponse components to the clipboard. You can copy these components to the clipboard, and then paste them to the Form Designer.

The Response Pane

Use the Response page to read the returned data from the service through the TRESTResponse class.

There are three labels within the TGroupBox that show the response received from the service: the LastRequest URL and the LastRequest Stats labels are right on the top of the TGroupBox, while the Proxy State label is at the bottom of the TGroupBox.

Item	Description
LastRequest URL	Displays the BaseURL property of the TRESTClient.
LastRequest Stats	Contains information about: Response status--displays the StatusCode, StatusText, and ContentLength properties of the TRESTResponse. Execution performance--displays timing information: PreProcessingTime : time from the start of the execution until the request is handed over to the the actual http client and sent to the server. ExecutionTime : time since the request is sent to the server and until the response is received. PostProcessingTime : time from receiving the server response until all post processing work is done (including JSON parsing). TotalExecutionTime : the total execution time - the sum of PreProcessingTime, ExecutionTime, and PostProcessingTime.
Proxy State	Specifies if the ProxyServer is enabled or not.

Headers

The response header contains pairs of (key=value) and has information such as date, size, and type of file that the server sends to the client, and also data about the server itself.

The HTTP header fields retrieved by the server differ from an API to another.

Item	Description
ResponseHeader	Displays the Headers property of the TRESTResponse.

Body

The response holds all the returned data from the service. The data includes the HTTP status code, error messages (if these exist), and the returned JSON data.

The response data can be accessed using one of the properties: Content, JSONValue, or RAWbytes.

Item	Description
LabelJSON	Specifies if: the content has a JSON representation or not. the JSON root element is an invalid one.
JSON Root Element	Represents the RootElement property of TRESTResponse. Insert the needed root element into JSON Root Element TClearingEdit.
ResponseBody	Displays all the returned data from the service, that are right after the header.
Apply	Limits the contents of the response body shown, based on the RootElement property.

Tabular Data

A JSON formed response of a service can be transformed into any TDataSet-descendant class with a dataset adapter.

Each JSON object will be a new record in the dataset. The properties of the JSON object(s) will typically form the columns of the dataset.

Item	Description
StringGrid	Shows the response organized as a dataset.

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Installing the REST Debugger

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Using the REST Debugger