Thread: Help getting started.

I am having difficulty understanding the basics of what WSI does more specifically how to create an XML file with my data in it. What programs do I use? How do I actually get data out of a database into an XML file? Does anyone have any recommended resources that will get me up to speed on what I need to know to create the xml files that WSI can use to import my customers into the storefront database? I have gotten help from support but I am not making any sense of what they are telling me to do which appears to be look at some xml file (wsi.xml) and from that I somehow supposed figure out how to do everything else.
Thank you,

For a decent explanation of what WSI is and how it would be used in the real world, have a look at this forum thread.

If you want an example of a simple desktop application that can pass and consume xml to and from the web-service, you can download the example application here or from the Sample Test Program page in the AspDotNetStorefront WSI manual. You can open the files included in the test program to see how the connection is made and how xml is consumed by the web service and then rendered and displayed in the tool.

For examples of how to build xml in code, you can have a look at our ERPS specification pdf that we link to from the AspDotNetStorefront manual.

I'm happy to provide a specific example as well, but I think it's prudent that you review all of the available resources and documentation available for WSI to help you understand exactly what WSI is and what it's capable of first

Thank you. I have read the WSI manual through and just wasn't getting it. The fault is my own. I have years experiance with SQL and other technologies but for some reason I haven't gotten XML and have avoided it. Up until now I have never really needed it so I think when I read through the manuals I couldn't follow along because I didn't know what I was looking at.

Thanks, I will go through those examples again and see if I can get it.