API Documentation

Owned by Hannah Petty
Last updated: Mar 24, 2017Version comment
2 min read

In this section:

Overview

This section provides information about the APIs available to extend and integrate the EchoSystem at your institution.

The Schedule API is used to communicate with the ESS. The Schedule API Reference Guide for EchoSystem 5.5 is available using the following links (click the link to download the file):

 

EchoSystem 5.5 API guide updated March 2017 to include the Publisher Name and Course ID (if applicable) details in the publish-channel XML response for a Section.

 

The Capture API, sometimes also called the Capture Appliance API, is used to communicate with capture devices. The current Capture API version is 3.0. The Capture API 3.0 Reference Guide for use with EchoSystem 5.5 is available using the following links (click the link to download the file):

 

EchoSystem Capture API guide updated October 2016 to reflect our compliance with HTTP 1.1 request-header requirements.

Using Object IDs and Alternate Identifiers

Beginning with EchoSystem 5.3, the EchoSystem Server (ESS) interface provides the ability to enter an Alternate Identifier for the following eight object types:

  • Campus
  • Building
  • Room
  • Term
  • Course
  • Section
  • User

The Alternate Identifier field is designed to allow you to enter the object id from an external system, such as an LMS or LDAP, into the ESS to identify the corresponding object. This "meeting of the IDs" can help streamline the use of API calls between systems because it allows both systems to use the same ID for the same objects across systems.

The API variable for calling a specific object (or set of objects) is {entityName-id} and uses a GUID string as the ID. Valid GUIDs include the EchoSystem Identifier, which is automatically assigned by the ESS, and the Alternate Identifier entered manually by the user who configures the object. Use of the Alternate Identifier is optional.

Please note that if you use Alternate IDs, each Alternate ID for each object type must be unique. However, Alternate IDs can be the same for different object types, such as for a course and a section, or a building and a room if there is a 1:1 relationship between them across systems. For example, a campus theater building might be entered into the system as "Straughn Hall" but the actual auditorium inside is entered as a room named "Crum Auditorium". For all practical purposes, the building and the room are the same, but the ESS requires them to be identified separately. You can enter the same Alternate Identifier for both items, to help make your API calls less cluttered.