`"responseOptions"`

Configures the server to return a customized response

The "responseOptions" property is an optional object that configures the server to return a customized response.

Essential information:

An API may add additional properties to "responseOptions".
jsonAction APIs should implement the "binaryFormat" and "numberFormat" properties because JSON does not support binary data and JSON parsers often do not adequately handle large numbers.
Use "binaryFormat" to control how binary data is embedded in JSON strings.
Use "numberFormat" to control whether JSON numbers are rendered as digits or digits embedded in a string.
Use "omit" to remove a property from a response, such as omitting "errorMessage".

"responseOptions": 
{ 
  "numberFormat": "number",
  "binaryFormat": "base64",
  "omit": ["error", "fieldDefs" ]
}

Table 1. "responseOptions" property summaries

Property

Description

Default

Type

Limits (inclusive)

binaryFormat

specifies how binary values are returned

"base64"

string

One of the following: "base64", "hex", or "byteArray".

numberFormat

specifies how numbers are formatted in the JSON response message

"number"

string

"number"

"string"

omit

specifies which properties are excluded in the response message

{}

object

`"binaryFormat"`

The "binaryFormat" property designates how binary values are formatted in the JSON request and JSON response message. Beginning in version 13.0.4, FairCom changed the default value for "binaryFormat" from "base64" to "hex". You can maintain backward compatibility by changing the "defaultBinaryFormat" property to "base64" in the <faircom>/config/services.json file.

Note

Typically, response options apply only to the server’s response, but the "binaryFormat" property applies to both the request and the response.

The "binaryFormat" property may occur inside "params", "responseOptions", "defaultResponseOptions" , and "result".
When "binaryFormat" occurs in "params" it specifies how the sender represents binary values.
For example, when "binaryFormat" is set to "hex", the FairCom server expects the binary values of fields and keys to be represented in strings with hexadecimal format.
When "binaryFormat" occurs in "responseOptions" or "defaultResponseOptions" it specifies how the FairCom server should represent binary values in responses.
For example, when "binaryFormat" is set to "hex", the FairCom server represents binary values in strings with hexadecimal format.
When "binaryFormat" occurs in "result", it signifies how binary values are represented.
For example, when "binaryFormat" is set to "base64", the FairCom server represents binary values in the response in base64 format.
The following are the possible values for each format.
- "base64"
  When the server reads and writes from a binary field, it represents the binary value as a base64 string.
  - Base64 is harder for people to read and convert to binary.
  - Base64 creates the smallest payload for the most efficient data transmission in JSON.
  - "base64" strings contain the characters 0 - 9 , A - Z, a - z, +, /, and =.
- "hex"
  When the server reads and writes from a binary field, it represents the binary value as a hexadecimal string.
  - Hexadecimal is easier for people to read and convert to binary.
  - Hexadecimal creates a 30% larger payload than "base64", which makes it less efficient for data transmission.
  - Hexadecimal strings contain the characters 0 - 9 and A - F.
- "byteArray"
  When the server reads and writes from a binary field, it represents the binary value as an array of bytes.
  - An array of bytes is easiest for a program to manipulate.
  - An array of bytes creates a larger payload than "base64" and "hex", which makes it less efficient for data transmission.
  - An array of bytes returns a JSON array containing one integer number between 0 and 255 for each byte in the binary value:
    "aBinaryField": [ 255, 0, 255 ]

Create a "binary_test" table

This example creates a table containing one binary field named "bin" with a fixed length of 5 bytes.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "createTable",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "fields": [
      {
        "name": "bin",
        "type": "binary",
        "length": 5
      }
    ]
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Insert a record into the "binary_test" table using an array of bytes format

This example inserts a record with the ASCII characters "123" in the "bin" field. The value of "bin" is represented as an array of bytes.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "insertRecords",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "byteArray",
    "sourceData": [
      {
        "bin": [49,50,51]
      }
    ]
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Insert a record into the "binary_test" table using hexadecimal format

This example inserts a record with the ASCII characters "123" in the "bin" field. The value of "bin" is represented as a string in hexadecimal format.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "insertRecords",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "hex",
    "sourceData": [
      {
        "bin": "313233"
      }
    ]
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Insert a record into the "binary_test" table using base64 format

This example inserts a record with the ASCII characters "123" in the "bin" field. The value of "bin" is represented as a string in base64 format.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "insertRecords",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "base64",
    "sourceData": [
      {
        "bin": "MTIz"
      }
    ]
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Retrieve a record with "binaryFormat" as an array of bytes

This example requests the first record in the "binary_test" table with the value of "bin" represented as an array of bytes.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "getRecordsByTable",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "maxRecords": 1
  },
  "responseOptions": {
    "binaryFormat": "byteArray",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "numberFormat": "number"
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Note

Our examples insert only 3 bytes into "bin". Because the "bin" field has a fixed length of 5 bytes, the server pads unused bytes with 0x00 and stores the result. When a record is retrieved, the server returns all 5 bytes.

{
  "result": {
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "byteArray",
    "fields": [
      { "name": "id",       "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": false, "primaryKey": 1 },
      { "name": "changeId", "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 },
      { "name": "bin",      "type": "binary", "length": 5,    "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 }
    ],
    "data": [
      {
        "bin": [49,50,51,0,0],
        "changeId": 50217,
        "id": 1
      }
    ],
    "moreRecords": true,
    "requestedRecordCount": 1,
    "returnedRecordCount": 1,
    "totalRecordCount": 3
  },
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Retrieve a record with "binaryFormat" as hexadecimal

This example requests the first record in the "binary_test" table with the value of "bin" represented as a hexadecimal string.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "getRecordsByTable",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "maxRecords": 1
  },
  "responseOptions": {
    "binaryFormat": "hex",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "numberFormat": "number"
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

{
  "result": {
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "byteArray",
    "fields": [
      { "name": "id",       "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": false, "primaryKey": 1 },
      { "name": "changeId", "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 },
      { "name": "bin",      "type": "binary", "length": 5,    "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 }
    ],
    "data": [
      {
        "bin": "3132330000",
        "changeId": 50217,
        "id": 1
      }
    ],
    "moreRecords": true,
    "requestedRecordCount": 1,
    "returnedRecordCount": 1,
    "totalRecordCount": 3
  },
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

Retrieve a record with "binaryFormat" as base64

This example requests the first record in the "binary_test" table with the value of "bin" represented as a base64 string.

{
  "api": "db",
  "action": "getRecordsByTable",
  "params": {
    "tableName": "binary_test",
    "maxRecords": 1
  },
  "responseOptions": {
    "binaryFormat": "base64",
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "numberFormat": "number"
  },
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

{
  "result": {
    "dataFormat": "objects",
    "binaryFormat": "byteArray",
    "fields": [
      { "name": "id",       "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": false, "primaryKey": 1 },
      { "name": "changeId", "type": "bigint", "length": null, "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 },
      { "name": "bin",      "type": "binary", "length": 5,    "scale": null, "autoTimestamp": "none", "defaultValue": null, "nullable": true,  "primaryKey": 0 }
    ],
    "data": [
      {
        "bin": "MTIzAAA=",
        "changeId": 50217,
        "id": 1
      }
    ],
    "moreRecords": true,
    "requestedRecordCount": 1,
    "returnedRecordCount": 1,
    "totalRecordCount": 3
  },
  "errorCode": 0,
  "errorMessage": "",
  "authToken": "replaceWithAuthTokenFromCreateSession"
}

`"numberFormat"`

The "numberFormat" property is an optional, case-insensitive string enum. It defines the format of JSON numbers returned in a response. "number" is the default value.

Tip

Returning numbers embedded in strings puts your application in charge of how numbers are processed. It ensures JSON parsers and programming languages will not convert numbers to a numeric representation that loses precision, introduces rounding errors, truncates values, or generates errors.

Possible values:

"number"
- This setting is most efficient because it causes the server to return numeric values as JSON numbers, such as -1.23 .
- JSON numbers are base-ten numbers that may have any number of digits. Large numbers, such as 18446744073709551616.000144722494 are known to cause problems with JSON parsers and some programming languages, such as JavaScript. This is because they use IEEE floating point numbers, which have binary rounding errors and a limited range.
"string"
- This returns the server to embed numeric values in JSON strings, such as "18446744073709551616.000144722494" .
- This is slightly less efficient because it includes two extra double quote characters.
When omitted or set to null, numberFormat defaults to "number".

`"omit"`

The "omit" property is an optional array or strings that contain the name of a JSON property (not a JSON path) that the server should omit from the JSON response. It allows a client to remove jsonAction properties from a response that it does not want.

Things to know:

"omit" reduces the amount of data transferred from server to client and minimizes parsing overhead.
Top-level jsonAction properties can be removed by simply including the property name in the array, such as "errorMessage".
jsonAction properties inside "debugInfo" can be removed by referencing their JSON path, such as "debugInfo.request" and "debugInfo.warnings".
Properties inside "result" can be removed by referencing their JSON path — for example, if an API returns an "extraData" property in "result", it can be removed by specifying "omit": [ "result.extraData" ].
A server requires processing to remove properties from a response; thus, the processing cost of removing properties should be weighed against the network cost of transmitting properties.

The "responseOptions" property is an optional object within a JSON Action request that enables clients to customize the format and content of the server's response. It includes "binaryFormat" (defaulting to "base64" but also supporting "hex" or "byteArray") to specify how binary data is encoded in JSON strings, addressing JSON's lack of native binary support. The "numberFormat" property (defaulting to "number" but also offering "string") controls how numbers are represented, helping to prevent precision loss in various programming languages. Additionally, the "omit" property allows for the exclusion of specific properties from the response, reducing payload size and parsing overhead by simply listing the property names or their JSON paths.

`"responseOptions"`

Configures the server to return a customized response

`"binaryFormat"`

Note

Note

`"numberFormat"`

Tip

`"omit"`

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