Example Usage

The recommended way to consume this library is using a strongly typed model as follows.

Please review the /tests/FMData.Rest.Tests/ project folder for expected usage flows.

Setting up your model

A model should roughly match a table in your solution. Its accessed via layout.

// use the DataContract attribute to link your model to a layout
[DataContract(Name="NameOfYourLayout")]
public class Model
{
    [DataMember]
    public string Name { get; set; }

    // if your model name does not match use DataMember
    [DataMember(Name="overrideFieldName")] // the internal database field to use
    public string Address { get; set; }

    [DataMember]
    public string SomeContainerField { get; set; }

    // use the ContainerDataFor attribute to map container data to a byte[]
    [ContainerDataFor("SomeContainerField")] // use the name in your C# model
    public byte[] DataForSomeContainerField { get; set; }

    // if your model has properties you don't want mapped use
    [IgnoreDataMember] // to skip mapping of the field
    public string NotNeededField { get; set; }
}

Using IHttpClientFactory

Constructors take an HttpClient and you can setup the DI pipeline in Startup.cs like so for standard use:

services.AddSingleton<FMData.ConnectionInfo>(ci => new FMData.ConnectionInfo
{
    FmsUri = "https://example.com",
    Username = "user",
    Password = "password",
    Database = "FILE_NAME"
});
services.AddHttpClient<IFileMakerApiClient, FileMakerRestClient>();

If you prefer to use a singleton instance of IFileMakerApiClient you have to do a little bit more work in startup. This can improve performance if you’re making lots of hits to the Data API over a single request to your application:

services.AddHttpClient(); // setup IHttpClientFactory in the DI container
services.AddSingleton<FMData.ConnectionInfo>(ci => new FMData.ConnectionInfo
{
    FmsUri = "https://example.com",
    Username = "user",
    Password = "password",
    Database = "FILE_NAME"
});
// Keep the FileMaker client as a singleton for speed
services.AddSingleton<IFileMakerApiClient, FileMakerRestClient>(s => {
    var hcf = s.GetRequiredService<IHttpClientFactory>();
    var ci = s.GetRequiredService<ConnectionInfo>();
    return new FileMakerRestClient(hcf.CreateClient(), ci);
});

Behind the scenes, the injected HttpClient is kept alive for the lifetime of the FMData client (rest/xml) and reused throughout. This is useful to manage the lifetime of IFileMakerApiClient as a singleton, since it stores data about FileMaker Data API tokens and reuses them as much as possible. Simply using services.AddHttpClient<IFileMakerApiClient, FileMakerRestClient>(); keeps the lifetime of our similar to that of a ‘managed HttpClient’ which works for simple scenarios.

Test both approaches in your solution and use what works.

Authentication with FileMaker Cloud

We can use the FileMakerRestClient, when the setup is done. Just create a new ConnectionInfo object and set the required properties:

var conn = new ConnectionInfo();
conn.FmsUri = "https://{NAME}.account.filemaker-cloud.com";
conn.Username = "user@domain.com";
conn.Password = "********";
conn.Database = "Reporting";

Then instantiate the FileMakerRestClient with a FileMakerCloudAuthTokenProvider as follows:

var fm = new FileMakerRestClient(new HttpClient(), new FileMakerCloudAuthTokenProvider(conn));

For a full description of using FileMaker Data API with FileMaker Cloud, see this comment.

Performing a Find

var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
var toFind = new Model { Name = "someName" };
var results = await client.FindAsync(toFind);
// results = IEnumerable<Model> matching with Name field matching "someName" as a FileMaker FindRequest.

Create a new record

var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
var toCreate = new Model { Name = "someName", Address = "123 Main Street" };
var results  = await client.CreateAsync(toCreate);
//  results is an ICreateResponse which indicates success (0/OK or Failure with FMS code/message)

Updating a record

var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
var fileMakerRecordId = 1; // this is the value from the calculation: Get(RecordID)
var toUpdate = new Model { Name = "someName", Address = "123 Main Street" };
var results = await client.EditAsync(fileMakerRecordId, toCreate);
//  results is an IEditResponse which indicates success (0/OK or Failure with FMS code/message)

Find with FileMaker ID Mapping

Note you need to add an int property to the Model public int FileMakerRecordId { get; set; } and provide the Func to the FindAsync method to tell FMData how to map the FileMaker ID returned from the API to your model.

Func<Model, int, object> FMRecordIdMapper = (o, id) => o.FileMakerRecordId = id;
var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
var toFind = new Model { Name = "someName" };
var results = await client.FindAsync(toFind, FMRecordIdMapper);
// results is IEnumerable<Model> matching with Name field matching "someName" as a FileMaker FindRequest.

Find with Data Info

var toFind = new Model { Name = "someName" };
var req = new FindRequest<Model>() { Layout = layout };
req.AddQuery(toFind, false);
var (data, info) = await fdc.SendAsync(req, true);

Alternatively, if you create a calculated field Get(RecordID) and put it on your layout then map it the normal way.

Find and load Container Data

Make sure you use the [ContainerDataFor("NameOfContainer")] attribute along with a byte[] property for processing of your model.

var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
var toFind = new Model { Name = "someName" };
var results = await client.FindAsync(toFind);
await client.ProcessContainers(results);
// results = IEnumerable<Model> matching with Name field matching "someName" as a FileMaker FindRequest.

Insert or Update Container Data

// assume recordId = a FileMaker RecordId mapped using FMIdMapper
// assume containerDataByteArray is a byte array with file contents of some sort
var client = new FileMakerRestClient("server", "fileName", "user", "pass"); // without .fmp12
_client.UpdateContainerAsync(
    "layout",
    recordId,
    "containerFieldName",
    "filename.jpg/png/pdf/etc",
    containerDataByteArray);

Note: In order to create a record with container data two calls must be made. One that creates the actual record ( see above) and one that updates the container field contents.