1. Using the SugarCRM
REST API

2. About the Speaker
Asa
Kusuma
• Web Developer at Milsoft Utility Solutions
• Junior at Abilene Christian University
• Twitter: asakusuma
• asakusuma.com

3. What is a REST API?
• Web service
• Allow external access to data
• Some protocol for transferring data
• Representational State Transfer
• Transfer an object’s “state” across apps
• Encode with JSON, send using HTTPS

4. REST vs. SOAP
• REST photo by superbomba
• JSON
• Less overhead
• SOAP
• XML
• More overhead

5. Web Services:
What’s the Big Deal?

6. photo by gerlos
www.photographyicon.com
Bridge apps with data

7. CRM needs external data
External apps need CRM data

8. Our Needs at Milsoft
• Support Portal photo by eBeam
• Customers create and view cases
• Add notes with attachments
• Customers update company data
• Give customers limited data access

10. End Goal:
Build a web app that
talks with SugarCRM

11. The End Goal Expanded
• CRUD capability photo by eBeam
• PHP web app
• cURL Library
• JSON
• Wrapper class
• Security photo by Sprengben

12. The Big Picture
PHP App SugarCRM
Model Data
REST API

13. The Big Picture
PHP App SugarCRM
Model Data
REST Wrapper
REST API
Class

14. The Big Picture
PHP App SugarCRM
Model Data
API
Call
REST Wrapper
REST API
Class

15. Get the code
asakusuma.com/sugarcon/2011/

16. Ideal Code Example
photo by eBeam
$sugar = new SugarREST();
$module = “Cases”;
$fields = array(‘id’,‘name’,‘status’);
$records = $sugar->get($module,$fields);
foreach($records as $record) {
echo $record[‘name’];
}

17. But first, some REST API basics

18. What’s an API Call?
• Request to create, read, update, or delete
• API responds with data or confirmation
• 3 Parts
• Method = Specify what to do
• Arguments = Specify details
• API Response = What happened

19. API Call Example
• Create a new Contact
• Method = set_entry
• Arguments = New Contact data
• Response = ID of newly created Contact

20. JSON Primer
array(
photo by eBeam
‘name’ => ‘Robert’,
‘children’ => array(
‘Chris’,
‘Anne’,
‘Bob’
)
)

21. JSON Primer (cont.)
{
photo by eBeam
“name”:“Robert”,
“children” : {
0:“Chris”,
1:“Anne”,
2:“Bob”
}
}

22. JSON Primer (cont.)
photo by eBeam
$my_array = array(1,2,3);
$my_json_str = json_encode($my_array);
$my_array = json_decode($my_json_string);
//$my_array remains unchanged

23. Making REST API Calls
• https://mysite.com/sugarcrm/service/v2/rest.php
• Method name
• Arguments (JSON)
• Input type
• Response type

24. Example POST Data
method=login&
input_type=json&
response_type=json&
rest_data={"name": “value”}

25. Implemented in PHP
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $rest_api_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
$output = json_decode(curl_exec($ch));

26. Authentication
1. Make “Login” REST call photo by eBeam
2. Receive session ID
3. Use session ID to authenticate other calls
4. Make “Logout” REST call with session ID
5. Use HTTPS

27. Example: Modify Contact

28. Modify Contact (cont.)
$arguments = array(
'session' => $session_id,
'module_name' => 'Contacts',
'name_value_list' => array(
'id'=>'9hg5a93a-2dfdf-d6pe-1oq4-cjqic4mxok',
'title'=>'REST API Guy'
)
);

29. Modify Contact (cont.)
$post_data = "method=set_entry&";
$post_data .= "input_type=json&";
$post_data .= "response_type=json&";
$post_data .= "rest_data=".json_encode($arguments);
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $rest_api_url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER, FALSE);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $post_data);
$output = json_decode(curl_exec($ch));

30. REST Wrapper Class
1. Download: asakusuma.com/sugarcon/2011/code
• example.php
• sugar_rest.php
• README.markdown
2. Read the README (it’s there for a reason)
3. Configure sugar_rest.php
4. Run the example

31. Important Functions
set() is for both create and update operations
set($module, $fields, $options);
get($module, $fields, $options);
get_with_related($module, $fields,
$options);

32. Note Functions
• set_note_attachment()
• get_note_attachment()
• Use binary data
• Arguments are a little complicated
• Use documentation in the README

33. Things to Keep in Mind
• You must specify a query LIMIT
• Different output format for get() and
get_with_related()
• Wrapper doesn’t include delete
• Use HTTPS

34. Security
photo by maistora
• Protect your data
• Weakest link
• REST API = liability
• Use caution when
mapping URL to data

35. photo by gerlos
Leverage your data.
www.photographyicon.com
Connect your apps.

36. Presentation + Code at
asakusuma.com/sugarcon/2011
Questions? Comments?
asa.kusuma@milsoft.com
Twitter: asakusuma
Official Docs at
developers.sugarcrm.com