Discovery API
Summary
Discovery API is the first API that the partner developer needs to implement in order to become a basic member of the Erasmus Without Paper Network.
Discovery manifest files serve to announce which HEIs your system covers, which features (APIs) you have implemented, and which credentials your clients are going to use when fetching the data from the EWP Network.
Older versions
Note, that there's also an older version 4 of this API, which is still supported by the Registry Service, and documents in this format may still appear in various places.
It is RECOMMENDED for all developers to upgrade their implementations to version 5 though. Version 4 will no longer be developed.
Server requirements
Note, that this API doesn't currently follow rules of the Authentication and Security document (the one that most other APIs explicitly follow). It declares its own security requirements.
In order to implement the Discovery API, you will need to:
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Host the Discovery Manifest file (described below) somewhere on your servers.
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You MUST host it over HTTPS. The SSL certificate used MUST match your domain and be signed by a trusted CA.
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You MUST keep the file up-to-date. Whenever a new version of any of the APIs is supported on your servers, it MUST be immediately reflected in the Discovery Manifest.
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Once you have read and understood the above steps, contact the administrators of the EWP Registry Service administrators and request your EWP Host to be added to the Registry.
Client requirements
In general, Manifest files should be read by the Registry Service only. You SHOULD NOT process the Manifest files of other partners by yourself. Use the Registry instead, to access this data.
Discovery Manifest File
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"Discovery API response", "Discovery Manifest file", "EWP Host's Manifest" - all of these terms describe exactly the same thing. We use them interchangeably throughout the documentation. Similarly, "implementing the Discovery API" and "hosting the Manifest file" also have the same meaning.
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Your Discovery API response MUST conform to the XML Schema provided in the attached manifest.xsd file.
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See manifest-example.xml for a complete example of a valid manifest file.
manifest-entry.xsd files
Each manifest file contains multiple API descriptions (in its
<apis-implemented> element). Each such API description is described by its
own XML namespace
(why?),
and manifest-entry.xsd files describe these namespaces - one namespace per
API.
In other words, you will see a single manifest-entry.xsd file in each EWP
API specification (Discovery Manifest API also has one).
For more information on <apis-implemented> element, see
Registry API's catalogue schema.
