Overview
The SixBit Applications Programming Interface (API) is designed to provide users with a means of more tightly integrating SixBit into existing processes. The API provides calls that allow users to trigger features of SixBit as well as retrieve, add or update data in the SixBit database. These calls can be made programatically from external systems or by placing requests in a drop folder.
With the SixBit API, integration tasks that previously required user intervention can now be automated. Tasks such as updating items from a supplier or dropshipper, importing orders from another sales channel, or exporting orders to an order processing system are now easily achieved.
Making API Calls
To accomodate different levels of computer expertise, the SixBit API provides two different methods of making calls. First, users who are proficient in programming or have programming skills available to them can use the SixBit API executables in existing programs to make calls programmatically. Making calls programmatically is as simple as filling a request structure with the parameter values and then making the call using the request structure. Results are returned in a response structure that can be checked and processed accordingly.
In addition, SixBit can be setup to poll a drop folder looking for API call requests. A drop folder is simply a location where SixBit will periodically look for api call requests. Users place their call requests into files in a particular format and place the files in the drop folder. No programming is necessary, users simply have to provide the request data in a particular format.
Interchange Format
All exchanges of data within the SixBit API use XML. XML is a hardware and software independent format that is designed to describe data. Excellent information and tutorials on XML can be found at w3schools.com.
The particular structure of an XML file is defined by a schema. The XML Elements used by SixBit are documented in SixBit API Schema. Exporting XML from SixBit is the easiest way to see examples of the different XML elements in the SixBit Schema.
There are tools and websites available that will take an XML document and validate it against a schema to ensure the XML is compliant. The SixBit schema file is called SixBitAPI.xsd and can be found in the SixBit API SDK folder of the SixBit installed directory. This file can be used to validate XML during the development process to ensure the XML created will be compliant with SixBit. In addition, all API calls that accept an XML parameter will validate the XML before processing.
The API is designed so that output from a list call can be used as input for an add or update call. When fields outputted in a list call do not apply to an add/update call, they are ignored. This allows for exporting data, making changes to the values in the XML and reimporting easily.