This blog is part 2 of a 4 part series on the above topic. Here is a listing of all the post in the series

Part 1: All about the Data – Databases, LINQ to SQL, WCF Data Contracts

Part 2: In deep with WCF – Looking at the methods that will assist us in our ECT and Testing

Part 3: Introducing SharePoint Online BCS – All that you need to configure in SharePoint Online to consume WCF Services for ECT

Part 4: SharePoint Designer Components – Creating your ECT, EL, and your Results

Enjoy…

Part 2: In deep with WCF – Looking at the methods that will assist us in our ECT and Testing

Last we left off we had the data component completed up to the data contract in the WCF, in this post you will see how to create the Service Contract and the Implementation of the Service Contract Interface. To do that, you will add a new class to the project, this is really an interface to annotate it as such as indicated below.

So to start off, just as in the Data Contract we need to make some annotation to this file as well in order for it to be a WCF Service Contract. Label the interface with [ServiceContract] and the Methods with [OperationContract], once that is done, then we need to define what operations we want to undertake. Here is where for the first time we have an eye on the SharePoint External Content Type and External List. So, to make an External Content Type you need at a minimum two methods, Read List and Read Item, basically one to return a list of what you are trying to surface and the other to return a single item when one it is needed out of the list. In our case; i.e. our WCF operation, we will be using the following:

• List<Speakers> GetSpeakers()
• List<Speakers> GetSpecificSpeakers()

GetSpeakers is representive of our Read List External Content Type Method and returns all the speakers in the SQL Contact Table where CID is equal to 100

GetSpecificSpeakers is representive of our Read Item External Content Type Method and returns a single speaker in the SQL Contact Table where a contactId is passed in as a parameter

In addition to that because we want CRUD activities we also need a Create Method, Update Method & Delete Method (now the delete I will show you in the blog but I wont implement it.. just because I don't want a way to delete any of my data without a person on the SQL box J I mean do u blame me.. )

• String AddSpeaker (Speakers speaker)
• String UpdateSpeaker (Speakers speaker)
• String RemoveSpeaker (int contacted)

In these methods we are returning a string simply for the purpose of acknowledgement of what was done, i.e. did it work or didn't work… however our ECT wont use it, that's just for the WCF when used in other places than SharePoint BCS; like I said, I plan to write a WP7 App to do this as well. And just to round it out..

AddSpeaker is representive of our Creator External Content Type Method and adds a single Contact to the SQL Contact Table where CID is equal to 100

UpdateSpeaker is representive of our Update External Content Type Method and modifies a single item in the SQL Contact Table where a Speaker is passed in as a parameter

RemoveSpeaker is representive of our Delete External Content Type Method and removes a speaker in the SQL Contact Table where a contactID is passed in as a parameter

Now the code…

Now it goes without saying that Im not going to put my servers name, username and password out there to John Q Public, so replace the "my…" with your instances please in the Connection String, which by the way could have been put in a App.Config file but Im lazy and this way, if you see it over and over again, you will learn it better huh? I also know that there are MANY, Many, many way that we can write code, this is my way… don't like it.. do it your way J

The above is the GetSpeakers Method

The above is the GetSpecificSpeakers Method, the only difference in this method and the last is that it takes a parameter to locate the unique contact.

The above is the Creator Method, nothing much to say here except Im starting to use Try Catch braces… yah, I should have them above as well, oops.. doesn't hurt unless I really goof something though..

Lastly the Updateor Method is above, now I have a few more that we can discuss in another blog post, but for now this gives you what we need for SharePoint Online (Office 365), next we will turn our attention to testing this WCF and get it ready to be hosted in a publicly accessible IIS (Web Site/Application) so we can consume it from Office 365.

Configuring our WCF, Configuring our IIS and Testing our WCF

So, at this time, this has NOTHING to do with SharePoint Online (Office 365) or BCS, but since you have spent all this time learning about WCF, lets talk about how you configure it to work, (based on HOW I created it in the first place) and how you get it to IIS so it may be called from SPOnline (O365)

1. ReConfigure your App.Config – Remember that the stupid template when you begin a project was set for Service1.svc; we deleted that to create our DataContract, ServiceContract Interface and Implementation. Well, our App.Config needs to know where our Dlls are.

Right Click on the App.Config and click "Edit WCF Configurations" when you do that, you will see…

Where you see Service1.svc click the ellipse next to the name, and go to the bin directory in the folder dialog box that will come up and find your files that you created. One thing to call out here is that the bindings here for our EndPoints are wsHTTP and mex; I wont get too much into that now, but NOT HERE, but in our Web.Config we will add httpBasic binding because we are coming across the internet and we want to impersonate/use service account for access to WCF, wsHttp will need us to pass credentials and I don't want to complicate this blog post with that, well not yet.

Once you have done that, you basically have a working WCF that you can test using the WCF Test Client CommandLine Utility that ships with Visual Studio… see below, and yes, I blacked/whited out upn's

Now you can open up any of those service, pass into it the requisite information and Invoke Service and it will work for you, for now you will have to trust me till you see it work in the ECT/EL

Host your WCF on an Publicly Available Web Site.. I have a rant here.. I have to do it…

<Rant>

Now I wanted to do this complete exercise using Windows/ SQL Azure and I signed up not more than 3 – 4 weeks ago for a 90 day Trial. 2 weeks ago, I get an email from Microsoft saying that even though I have 68 days left in my trial, I have exceed my limit in usage. Now they want me to pay for it, and all I am trying to do is showcase their service to the world, what a Jip!

</Rant>

So, fortunately the good folks at FPWeb (twitter: @fpweb) where my SharePoint Site is hosted, the way they operate, provides you with all that you really need to either help or if you are a nitwit, hurt you. So, I spun up another Web App under IIS and hosted my WCF there. So, the point here is that I am NOT using Windows Azure Hosted Service for this WCF file, but the concept is still the same, I am using WCF hosted somewhere and SharePoint Online (Office 365) will call my WCF from that location.

So, to host your WCF on IIS, one simple way is to just add a "New Web Site" to our Project Solution, like so..

Once you have added the Web Site (C:\...\CommunityWorkSite as in my example) you need to add the project reference to the WCF Project you created. That inturn, will add the DLL you see in the Web Site Project. Here also, I deleted the Service1.svc file that comes with the Template and added my own, you will have to make a change to that file to set the take away the code behind, and set the location of the assembly to the Dll in the project reference. The file I have now is CommunityWorkService.svc

Next, mod the Web.Config

This basically follows the same rules as the App.Config except as I mentioned, I also added another EndPoint for basicHttpBinding since Im coming across the Internet. Once you have done that, all that is needed to host this in IIS is to go to your IIS Web Site that is publicly accessible, either (1) create a new Web Application or (2) create a new Virtual Directory under an Existing Web App and add this project folder of the Web Site as its location. Once you do that, it is now available.

That is it for Part 2, now you have a working and publicly available WCF.