When using the
webService keyword, keep the following
considerations in mind:
- You cannot use the webService keyword when defining a class. However, you can use it to define
top-level, outer class methods, and methods of an inner class.
- You cannot use the webService keyword to define an interface, or to define an interface's methods
and variables.
- System-defined enums cannot
be used in Web service methods.
- You cannot use the webService keyword in a
trigger.
- All classes that
contain methods defined with the webService keyword must be declared as global. If a method or inner class is declared as global, the outer, top-level class
must also be defined as global.
- Methods defined with the webService keyword are inherently global. These methods can be used by any Apex code that has access to the class. You can consider the webService keyword as a type of access
modifier that enables more access than global.
- You must define any method that uses
the webService keyword as static.
- You cannot deprecate webService methods or variables in
managed package code.
- Because there are no SOAP analogs for certain Apex elements, methods defined with the webService keyword cannot take the following elements as
parameters. While these elements can be used within the method, they
also cannot be marked as return values.
- Maps
- Sets
- Pattern objects
- Matcher objects
- Exception objects
- You must use the webService keyword with any member variables that you want
to expose as part of a Web service. You should not mark these member
variables as static.
Considerations for calling
Apex SOAP Web service methods:
- Salesforce denies
access to Web service and executeanonymous requests from an AppExchange package
that has Restricted access.
- Apex classes and triggers saved (compiled) using API version
15.0 and higher produce a runtime error if you assign a String value
that is too long for the field.
- If a login call is made from the API for
a user with an expired or temporary password, subsequent API calls
to custom Apex SOAP Web service methods aren't supported and result in the INVALID_OPERATION_WITH_EXPIRED_PASSWORD
error. Reset the user's password and make a call with an
unexpired password to be able to call Apex Web service methods.
The following example shows a class with Web service member variables
as well as a Web service method:
global class SpecialAccounts {
global class AccountInfo {
webService String AcctName;
webService Integer AcctNumber;
}
webService static Account createAccount(AccountInfo info) {
Account acct = new Account();
acct.Name = info.AcctName;
acct.AccountNumber = String.valueOf(info.AcctNumber);
insert acct;
return acct;
}
webService static Id [] createAccounts(Account parent,
Account child, Account grandChild) {
insert parent;
child.parentId = parent.Id;
insert child;
grandChild.parentId = child.Id;
insert grandChild;
Id [] results = new Id[3];
results[0] = parent.Id;
results[1] = child.Id;
results[2] = grandChild.Id;
return results;
}
}
@isTest
private class SpecialAccountsTest {
testMethod static void testAccountCreate() {
SpecialAccounts.AccountInfo info = new SpecialAccounts.AccountInfo();
info.AcctName = 'Manoj Cheenath';
info.AcctNumber = 12345;
Account acct = SpecialAccounts.createAccount(info);
System.assert(acct != null);
}
}
You can invoke this Web service using AJAX. For more information,
see Apex in AJAX.