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I have been trying to find a way to connect Flex to sharepoint in an elegant way that allows me to update lists, build charts, and create widgets with FLEX on the client-side. I have researched this extensively but I am running into circles.

I understand the basics of Flex data connection/webservices/etc... , I just can't seem to get my head around how to use the sharepoint list services.

Does anybody out there have a nice detailed example of what I'm trying to achieve? Simple examples work too! :)

Thanks so much Everyone!

-E.

Eddie
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Look at the "SOAP query example" or the WSDL from the SharePoint web-service (e.g. .../_vti_bin/lists.asmx?op=GetListItems or ../_vti_bin/lists.asmx?op=GetListItems&WSDL) and then look at the corresponding MSDN documentation (such as GetListItems) on how to "use" the web-service.

It takes a little bit of familiarity to "know" to map viewFields with <viewFields>...</viewFields> (most work like this), but... the MSDN documentation (if prodded carefully) says "what" to put in the XML where the WSDL just gives the near-useless outline. There are a number of examples in the tubes (and related SO questions) of hand-rolled SOAP access for SP for various tasks.

Microsoft also has some Open Specifications -- the link is always hard for me to find. Lots of stuff under the SharePoint branch. YMMV and it's mostly white-paper, but a good resource.

Not sure what tools Flex has but because of the limited WSDL support, most of the mapping has to be hand-coded or come from a better definition source -- hopefully "an existing library" which can be used directly or modified-to-suit.

I would highly recommend using a tool for testing the service access -- e.g. soapUI, which actually has a horrid UI -- because even the littlest error will come back with a cryptic error messages. Also, make sure to use SOAP 1.2.

Happy (less than maximal pain) coding.

P.S. A more specific question about a specific web-service would likely yield better responses.

  • great, thanks so much! I think the MSDN documentation will help me out. Yeah, I think the WSDL outline was throwing me off and I just couldn't comprehend it. I was beginning to feel pretty stupid. – Eddie Mar 15 '11 at 12:02
  • oh, and thanks for the advice: I'll construct a more specific question for UpdateListItems and FLEX, maybe somebody out there has dealt with it already... – Eddie Mar 15 '11 at 12:06