Step 7. Run the Ed-Fi ODS / API
- Ian Christopher (Deactivated)
The projects in the Ed-Fi-ODS-Implementation repository are configured to run the desktop version of Internet Information Server (i.e., IIS Express). This server is installed with Visual Studio and facilitates easy debugging with minimal configuration.
After the startup projects are set, you are ready to run or debug the Ed-Fi ODS / API.
- To run the Ed-Fi ODS / API without debugging, press Ctrl+F5.
- To interactively debug the Ed-Fi ODS / API solution, press F5 (or press the Start button in the Standard Toolbar).
The first time you build the solution, you may get a build error related to the Ed-Fi-Common project. If this occurs, simply building the solution again will generally result in a successful build.
The solution builds and starts each of the projects that were added to the startup projects list. Each web application starts an instance of IIS Express. By default, the websites are configured according to the following table:
Website | Project | URL |
|---|---|---|
Ed-Fi ODS API | EdFi.Ods.WebApi | http://localhost:54746/ |
Sandbox Administration | EdFi.Ods.Admin.Web | http://localhost:38928/ |
Ed-Fi ODS API Documentation | EdFi.Ods.SwaggerUI | http://localhost:56641/ |
The Ed-Fi ODS / API Home Page
The Ed-Fi ODS / API homepage is a page at the root level of the Ed-Fi ODS / API REST interface directory. This page's purpose is to help developers orient themselves to the overall solution. This is a developer resource not intended to be an end-user-facing web page and should be deleted from production installations.
Follow each of the steps on the screen to finish configuring the solution. This involves:
- Visiting the API Sandbox Administration Portal
- Logging in with the Test User Account
- Reviewing the Ed-Fi ODS API Documentation
The Sandbox Administration Portal
The Sandbox Administration Portal is a web application used to create sandbox databases containing data that can be accessed through the Ed-Fi ODS / API.
As the name implies, Sandbox Administration Portal is useful for development machines and sandbox instances of the ODS / API, but should not be present on production instances. See the Platform Developers' Guide - Deployment section for details.
The Ed-Fi ODS / API Documentation Web Page
The REST interface to the Ed-Fi ODS / API exposes metadata describing the exposed resources as well as the inputs, HTTP verbs, and schema of the exposed entities. This metadata enables a user interface (based on the Swagger framework) to display API documentation.
The Ed-Fi ODS / API Documentation web page uses a key and secret (typically the same one used for the Sandbox Administration Portal) to access the data that has been placed in the corresponding sandbox.
To view the data in your sandbox, enter the key and secret in the appropriate fields and retrieve a token. This token is used throughout your session to access your sandbox. This is the same process used by other applications to access their data.
Similar to the Sandbox Administration Portal, the ODS / API Documentation Web Page is useful for development machines and sandbox instances of the ODS / API, but is generally not present on production instances. See the Platform Developers' Guide - Deployment section for details.