Instruction Manual
This input is a string of encoded XML containing a list of objects, or the desired settings of
any number of the configuration properties associated with the i.LON 100. The contents of
the string vary by function. The string of encoded XML contained within the <Data>
parameter is the single parameter you will supply as input when calling the SOAP
functions described in Chapters 5-13 of this document. This differs from the DataPoint
functions described in Chapter 3, as those functions take a series of parameters as input,
instead of the singe <Data> parameter.
NOTE: Some programming environments will require you to include the <Data> parent
element in the input you supply to each function. Others, such as Microsoft Visual Studio
.NET, do not. They insert the <Data> parent element into the SOAP message automatically
when the function is invoked, and as a result you are only required to supply the contents of
the <Data> parameter (i.e. the XML string only) as input.
The properties and attributes that you must define in the XML string passed within the
<Data> parameter when calling each SOAP function are described in Chapters 5-13 of this
document. In addition, the i.LON 100 resource files contain format definitions and
descriptions of all configuration properties and network variable used on the i.LON 100. This
information will be necessary when determining the values to assign to each property within
the XML string. For more information on the i.LON 100 resource files, see the next section,
i.LON 100 Resource Files.
This document includes a sample <Data> parameter with sample values that you could
supply to each function included in the SOAP interface. For ease of understanding, these
samples are shown in standard XML format. However, all data contained within the
<Data> parameter must be passed over the network in encoded XML format.
Some programming environments, such as Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, will accept the
data to be included in the <Data> parameter in standard XML format, and convert it to
encoded XML format before the SOAP message is sent to the i.LON 100. In this case, you can
enter the data in standard XML format when coding your application.
Other programming environments will not automatically convert the data from standard
XML to encoded XML. This requires you to supply the string to the function in encoded XML
format when you program your application. The following sections describe the difference
between encoded XML and standard XML.
NOTE: The input supplied to the DataPointRead, DataPointWrite, and
DataPointResetPriority functions requires a different format. For more information, see
Formats of SOAP Messages on page 2-2.
4.3.1.1 Encoded XML and Standard XML
The following sample shows a SOAP message in enocded XML format, as it would appear
when transmitted over the network to the i.LON 100. The string inside the <Data>
parameter is a valid XML structure in the encoded format discussed in the previous section.
This prevents the encapsulated XML data from being interpreted as individual parameters
in the SOAP message.
The encoding used in the i.LON 100 SOAP interface uses character escaping for the &, < and
> characters as defined for XML 1.0 by the W3C in “Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0”
(http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-xml-20001006
). The rules for this character escaping are
as follows:
• < character is replaced by <
• > character is replaced by >
i.LON 100 Internet Server Program4-6 mer’s Reference