How can I do a SOAP application?

Question

I'm new to InDesign server and my question may seem obvious.
I have done many tests with JS scripts using TestClient.
Now I would like to create my SOAP application for MacOSX, cause I think it can be more powerful then running a script
How can I do this, with XCode?
SDK fro ID Server is the same of ID desktop?
thanks in advance.
Ivan

Answer 1

You should be able to use anything, as a client, that's capable of sending SOAP messages. However, you will find some differences between clients in how they format the XML that comprises the SOAP message. If you build your client app in C++ then you'll be better off using the gsoap technology that InDesign uses. You'll be less likely to encounter any compatibility problems. I'd recommend just taking code from the SoapClient SDK sample and using it in your app - and using Codewarrior (if you can still find a copy)
If you're comfortable with Java then Axis (available from ws.apache.org/axis) also works well. You can build that using any IDE you're comfortable with. I've used XCode to build Java apps to communicate with IDServer.
In CS2 the desktop and server versions are both covered by the same SDK.
It can be helpful, if you're experimenting with some other client technology, to get a packet sniffer to capture the XML SOAP packet sent by the SDK sample app. You can compare that to what your client is sending if InDesign Server doesn't seem to be responding to your messages. The problem is often that the client is formatting the XML in a way that IDServer doesn't recognize.