HTTP Tasks

The HTTP task provides a flexible HTTP client to send and receive data to web servers.

Remarks

The HTTP task implements a highly configurable HTTP client that is capable of sending and receiving data to and from web servers. Support includes issuing simple GET requests as well as defining custom form and file parameters to be POSTed to server. URL defines the location to which the request is made.

The task supports HTTP 1.0, 1.1, and 2.0 which can be configured in the HTTPVersion property.

The HTTPMethod property defines the HTTP method to use. Possible values are:

DELETE
GET (default)
HEAD
POST
PUT
TRACE

Getting Data From the Server

In both the Send Task and the Receive Task if HTTPMethod is set to GET the request is issued to the server specified by URL. Additional custom headers may be specified in the request by setting OtherHeaders.

The response received by the task will be saved to LocalFile if specified. Otherwise it will populate the variables specified by TransferredHeaders and TransferredData

Sending Data To the Server

When HTTPMethod is set to POST or PUT data will be sent to the server. The RequestParams property specifies one or more parameters to add to the POST or PUT request. This property is only applicable when the HTTPMethod property is set to POST or PUT.

To specify additional parameters set this property to one or more name value pairs. Set one pair on each line. For instance:

name1=value1
name2=value2

The task will format a request with parameters slightly differently depending on whether the request is made by the Send or Receive adapter.

Note: To have complete control over the data being sent set PostData instead.

Send Adapter

When sending a POST or PUT request the AttachedFile will always be used as the last parameter regardless of the values specified in RequestParams. Several examples and additional details follow. Basic Example: Setting the RequestParams to a value of:

name1=value1
name2=value2

Will result in a HTTP request like:

POST / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.nsoftware.com
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
User-Agent: IPWorks HTTP Component - www.nsoftware.com
Connection: close
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary="boundaryV+iTxA=="
Content-Length: 335

--boundaryV+iTxA==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="name1"
Content-Type: text/plain
	
value1
--boundaryV+iTxA==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="name2"
Content-Type: text/plain
	
value2
--boundaryV+iTxA==--

Notice that the default "Content-Type" for the individual request parameters is "text/plain" See the following examples for further details.

Custom Request Parameter Content-Type Values:

When sending requests the RequestParams may optionally include a custom Content-Type value. The syntax is:

[ContentType]name=value

For instance setting RequestParams to a value of:

[text/html]name1=value1
[my/type]name2=value2
name3=value3

Will result in a HTTP request like:

POST / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.nsoftware.com
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
User-Agent: IPWorks HTTP Component - www.nsoftware.com
Connection: close
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary="boundaryQDNEUw=="
Content-Length: 439

--boundaryQDNEUw==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="name1"
Content-Type: text/html
	
value1
--boundaryQDNEUw==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="name2"
Content-Type: my/type
	
value2
--boundaryQDNEUw==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="name3"
Content-Type: text/plain
	
value3
--boundaryQDNEUw==--

Note the updated Content-Type header values for the "name1" and "name2" parameters.

Custom Content-Type and Name Values for the AttachedFile Variable:

The default Content-Type value for the AttachedFile form variable is "application/octet-stream". This can be explicitly defined in the ContentType property. For instance setting:

ContentType to "text/html"
AttachedFile to "C:\myfile.txt

And leaving RequestParams unspecified (no parameters) will result in a HTTP request like:

POST / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.nsoftware.com
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
User-Agent: IPWorks HTTP Component - www.nsoftware.com
Connection: close
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary="boundaryVAJHkA=="
Content-Length: 142

--boundaryVAJHkA==
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="myfile.txt"
Content-Type: text/html
	
file contents
--boundaryVAJHkA==--

Receive Adapter

In the receive adapter the RequestParams are used to form the body of the POST or PUT request using the more lightweight encoding "application/x-www-form-urlencoded". For instance, setting the request parameters to:

name1=value1
name2=value2

Will result in a HTTP request like:

POST / HTTP/1.1
Host: www.nsoftware.com
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate
User-Agent: IPWorks HTTP Component - www.nsoftware.com
Connection: close
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Content-Length: 25

name1=value1&name2=value2

To maintain complete control over the POST body PostData may be set instead.

Additional Settings

In addition to the basic operation as discussed above the task supports a variety of other settings that control authentication, proxy settings, and other behavior. Some of additional features include:

Authentication (NTLM, Kerberos, Digest, Basic) via the AuthScheme, User, and Password properties.
Full Proxy/Firewall support using the HTTPProxy and Firewall properties.
CustomRequestMethod provides support for custom HTTP methods.
Specify redirect behavior with FollowRedirects.
Add cookies to the request via Cookies.
Configurable UserAgent.
And many more!

Receiver Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the receiver task with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


Authorization	The Authorization string to be sent to the server.
AuthScheme	The authorization scheme to be used when server authorization is to be performed.
ContentType	Defines the Content-Type header in the request.
Cookies	The cookies to be sent in the HTTP request.
Firewall	A set of properties related to firewall access.
FollowRedirects	Determines what happens when the server issues a redirect.
HTTPMethod	The HTTP method used for the request.
HTTPProxy	A set of properties related to proxy access.
HTTPVersion	The HTTP version to use.
LocalFile	The path to a local file for download.
LogFile	The file to write logging information to at runtime.
LogMode	What information gets logged during task execution.
Other	Defines a set of configuration settings to be used by the task.
OtherHeaders	Other headers as determined by the user.
Overwrite	Whether or not the task should overwrite the output file.
Password	A password if authentication is to be used.
PostData	The data to be posted to the server.
RequestParams	Parameters to add to the POST or PUT request.
ResponseInfo	String denoting the name of the variable which contains the last server response.
RuntimeLicense	Specifies the task runtime license key.
SSLAcceptServerCert	Instructs the task to unconditionally accept the server certificate that matches the supplied certificate.
SSLAcceptServerCertAcceptAny	Tells the task to accept any server certificate.
SSLCert	The certificate to use for client authentication during the SSL handshake.
Timeout	A timeout for the task.
URL	The URL to which the request is made.
User	A user name if authentication is to be used.

Sender Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the sender task with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


AttachedFile	A file to include in the POST data.
Authorization	The Authorization string to be sent to the server.
AuthScheme	The authorization scheme to be used when server authorization is to be performed.
ContentType	Defines the Content-Type header in the request.
Cookies	The cookies to be sent in the HTTP request.
Firewall	A set of properties related to firewall access.
FollowRedirects	Determines what happens when the server issues a redirect.
HTTPMethod	The HTTP method used for the request.
HTTPProxy	A set of properties related to proxy access.
HTTPVersion	The HTTP version to use.
LocalFile	The path to a local file for download.
LogFile	The file to write logging information to at runtime.
LogMode	What information gets logged during task execution.
Other	Defines a set of configuration settings to be used by the task.
OtherHeaders	Other headers as determined by the user.
Overwrite	Whether or not the task should overwrite the output file.
Password	A password if authentication is to be used.
PostData	The data to be posted to the server.
RequestParams	Parameters to add to the POST or PUT request.
RuntimeLicense	Specifies the task runtime license key.
SSLAcceptServerCert	Instructs the task to unconditionally accept the server certificate that matches the supplied certificate.
SSLAcceptServerCertAcceptAny	Tells the task to accept any server certificate.
SSLCert	The certificate to use for client authentication during the SSL handshake.
StatusLine	The first line of the last server response.
Timeout	A timeout for the task.
TransferredData	The body of the HTTP response.
TransferredHeaders	The full set of headers as received from the server.
URL	The URL to which the request is made.
User	A user name if authentication is to be used.

Configuration Settings

The following is a list of configuration settings for the task with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


Accept	A list of acceptable MIME types for the request.
AcceptEncoding	Used to tell the server which types of content encodings the client supports.
AllowHTTPCompression	This property enables HTTP compression for receiving data.
AllowHTTPFallback	A list of acceptable MIME types for the request.
ChunkSize	Specifies the chunk size in bytes when using chunked encoding.
CustomRequestMethod	Specifies the HTTP method to be used.
EncodeURL	If set to true the URL will be encoded by the component.
IfModifiedSince	A date determining the maximum age of the desired document.
KerberosSPN	The Service Principal Name for the Kerberos Domain Controller.
LogDebugData	Whether to log debug data.
MaxRedirectAttempts	Limits the number of redirects that are followed in a request.
Pragma	A browser/server specific header line (optional).
Referer	Referer URL/document (optional).
Range	The byte-range to be sent to the server.
TransferredDataLimit	The maximum of data to be transferred.
UseChunkedEncoding	Enables or Disables HTTP chunked encoding for transfers.
UserAgent	Information about the user agent (browser).
ReuseSSLSession	Determines if the SSL session is reused.
SSLCipherStrength	The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption.
SSLEnabledProtocols	Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols.
SSLIncludeCertChain	Whether the entire certificate chain is included in the SSLServerAuthentication event.
SSLSecurityFlags	Flags that control certificate verification.
SSLEnabledCipherSuites	The cipher suite to be used in an SSL negotiation.
TLS12SignatureAlgorithms	Defines the allowed TLS 1.2 signature algorithms when UseInternalSecurityAPI is True.
TLSNamedGroups	The supported (EC)DHE groups.
TLS13SignatureAlgorithms	The allowed certificate signature algorithms.
AbsoluteTimeout	Determines whether timeouts are inactivity timeouts or absolute timeouts.
LocalHost	The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.
TcpNoDelay	Whether or not to delay when sending packets.
UseInternalSecurityAPI	Tells the task whether or not to use the system security libraries or an internal implementation.