How to get customAPI url from node.js app? - integration

Question

I am just starting with BlueMix and in my space I have:
a Cloud Integration service: using a Basic Secure Connection, for which I have created an API endpoint; then in that Cloud Integration service I have added the corresponding API by importing a swagger 1.2 file, and published that customAPI to my organization;
a pretty simple node.js application;
From the Cloud Integration service> API view, I can get the URLs for the different resources (for instance http://endpoint_ip:endpoint_port/api/version/path_to_resource), so I can hardcode these URLs in my node.js application and it works.
But if I bind the Cloud Integration service and even the customAPI to my node.js application, I don't get any information in VCAP_SERVICES about the endpoint URL; but I have seen examples of VCAP_SERVICES where the API URL is available.
Below is my VCAP_SERVICES
{"CloudIntegration": [
{
"name": "Cloud Integration-b9",
"label": "CloudIntegration",
"plan": "cloudintegrationplan",
"credentials": {
"userid": "apiuser#CloudIntegration",
"password": "S!2w3e40",
"apis": [
{
"name": "Catalog Manager API",
"desc": "Catalog Manager API",
"resource": ""
}
]
}
}
]
}
What I am trying to achieve is to avoid hardcoding URLs in my application, since I can bind a BlueMix service to it, and perhaps get info from the environment.
Am I doing something wrong? Or is that not the way it is supposed to work?
Also I don't really get why there is nothing in the VCAP_SERVICES.CloudIntegration[0].credentials.apis[0].resource even though I have my customAPI specifies resources.

Answer 1

#Rick
Make sure you "publish" your API after configuring the Cloud Integration service. Then service credentials will reflect the changes:
"CloudIntegration": [
{
"name": "Cloud Integration-v5",
"label": "CloudIntegration",
"plan": "cloudintegrationplan",
"credentials": {
"userid": "apiuser#CloudIntegration",
"password": "S!2w3e40",
"apis": [
{
"name": "SwaggerPetStore",
"desc": "SwaggerPetStore",
"resource": "http",
"baseurl": "http://mypypatchank.mybluemix.net"
}
]
}
}
]
in the same way, if you use the API management service, you will have a corresponding VCAP_SERVICES entry
"Swagger Petstore v1 : Sandbox 551b2dcf0cf2521d98d061d4 prod": [
{
"name": "Swagger Petstore v1 : Sandbox prod-w0",
"label": "Swagger Petstore v1 : Sandbox 551b2dcf0cf2521d98d061d4 prod",
"plan": "plan1 : Sandbox prod",
"credentials": {
"clientID": "55cfe3fa-ff59-474c-a1b6-46d3cc9871",
"clientSecret": "uK3xM3eF4cA1qF7yW8mC2lP6wS6aG7sQ5cL2yJ4sC6iS1dE7",
"url": "https://api.eu.apim.ibmcloud.com/garciatemx1ibmcom/sb/api"
}
}
]

Answer 2

Since your goal is to "to avoid hardcoding URLs in my application, since I can bind a BlueMix service to it, and perhaps get info from the environment." I would like to suggest using a user provided service.
This will create a user provided service and start interactive input for you to enter the api url and a password. You can add more parameters if you need.
cf cups servicename -p "url, password"
Bind this service to your application and restage. You can access these parameters in your Node.js application easily with the cfenv module.
var cfenv = require("cfenv");
var appEnv = cfenv.getAppEnv();
var myService = appEnv.getService("servicename");
//use myService.credentials.url to access the url value.
//use myService.credentials.password to access the password value.
The user provided services VCAP_SERVICES looks like:
{
"user-provided": [
{
"name": "servicename",
"label": "user-provided",
"credentials": {
"url": "myURL",
"password": "myPassword"
}
}
]
}