About the Java SDK (back to all tutorials)

This tutorial focuses on using the Veriplace API Client from a Servlet environment and is only available for the Java SDK. Future tutorials will discuss both the web framework and non-Servlet environments and support for other platforms is coming soon.

The Java SDK consists of three logical components: an OAuth implementation, an API client, and a web framework.

About OAuth

Your application must obtain permission from each user before it can use the Veriplace API to locate them. The OAuth protocol provides a standards-based mechanism for obtaining this permission with minimal interruption to your application's user experience.

The way this works is that your application redirects the user to the Veriplace Privacy Manager where the user is asked to opt-in to your application. After the user has (or has not) opted-in, Veriplace performs a callback to your application (using another redirect). Your application then needs to check whether the opt-in was granted and take the appropriate action.

The Veriplace SDK includes an OAuth implementation, written in Java, which is used by the API client. As a developer, it is unlikely that you will need to use the OAuth implementation directly, but its source and additional documenation are available as a separate download, if desired.

About the Veriplace API

The Veriplace API employs a combination of OAuth, HTTP, and XML. The full details of the API can be found in the Veriplace Developer Guide.

Since the Veriplace API is built on top of open standards, it can be used on any platform supporting OAuth, HTTP, and XML (that is, practically all of them). However, to make life easier for developers, we've written a Java API Client to make using the Veriplace API as simple as possible.

About the Web Framework

The OAuth protocol requires support for HTTP redirection and callbacks. As such, the API Client assumes you are developing in a Java Servlet environment; the examples below make frequent reference to javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest and javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse.

However, modern web applications rarely use Servlets directly, so Veriplace also supports a web framework that optimizes development for JSPs and the Spring MVC framework, as well as providing a useful Servlet base class. The Veriplace web framework literally reduces integration to a few lines of code.