spvickers / bb-ws-php

A simple example of how to use PHP to access the SOAP-based web services in Blackboard Learn 9

bb-ws-php

These files are provided as-is to provide a simple illustration of one way in which the Blackboard Learn 9 SOAP web services can be accessed using PHP.

System requirements

• PHP with SOAP library installed
• WS-Security library (from http://code.google.com/p/wse-php/, files included with this script)
• System admin access to Learn 9
• Context, Course and User web services should be both available and discoverable (see Administrator Panel > Web Services page); if not using SSL then also ensure the "SSL Required" option is not enabled

Using the example script

1. Extract the PHP files into a single directory.
2. Edit the config.php file to add the URL of your Learn 9 server and the Proxy Tool Registration Password (see the Administrator Panel > Building Blocks > Proxy Tools > Proxy Tools Global Properties page)
3. From a command line prompt in the directory where the files have been placed run the bb_ws.php file (e.g. "php bb_ws.php"); this will display a page showing the available options
4. Register the tool in Learn 9: "php bb_ws.php register".
5. Make the tool available in Learn 9 (see Administrator Panel > Building Blocks > Proxy Tools page).
6. The other options should now work; for example:

       php bb_ws.php courses administrator (list of courses for a user)
       php bb_ws.php course _2_1 (course details by id, more than one id can be passed)
       php bb_ws.php course cid (course details by courseId, more than one courseId can be passed)
       php bb_ws.php user _1_1 (user details by id, more than one userId can be passed)
       php bb_ws.php user administrator (user details by username, more than one username can be passed)
       php bb_ws.php member _2_1 (membership details by courseId)
       php bb_ws.php member _2_1 _1_1 (membership details by courseId by userId, more than one userId can be passed)

Version history:

• 1.0.0 10-Feb-13 Initial version
• 1.1.0 27-Apr-13
  • Added members option to retrieve course memberships
  • Allow course and user options to list multiple IDs
• 1.2.0 7-Apr-16
  • Added option to allow self-signed SSL certificates
  • Fixed bug with courses option when a user has only one membership
  • Added role ID to member option output

Licence

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.