.NET SDK for 4me GraphQL

A .NET and .NET Framework client for accessing the 4me GraphQL API.

Licensing

The SDK uses the Newtonsoft.Json framework NuGet Package, which is a high-performance JSON framework for .NET and available under MIT licensing.

NuGet

Stable binaries are published to NuGet.org, and contain everything you need to use .NET SDK for 4me GraphQL in your application.

Introduction

The .NET SDK simplifies the process of interacting with the 4me GraphQL API, allowing you to take full advantage of its query and mutation capabilities with ease. It abstracts away the complex task of managing low-level details such as sending requests, parsing responses, filtering and pagination, making it simple to integrate 4me GraphQL API into your .NET applications and fully leverage its functionalities.

For a general introduction to the GraphQL query language please see graphql.org, and for a 4me specific introduction see 4me GraphQL Training.

The data entities in the SDK are modeled after the 4me Quality Assurance GraphQL schema, which may include objects or properties that are not yet available in production.

Client

The Sdk4meClient class provides access to all the necessary methods for querying and modifying data. With the Get and Mutation methods, there are five properties that allow for default behavior customization.

The EnumeratorTolerantSerializer property, when set to true, allows for ignoring unmappable enumerator values and instead returns null or a default value.
The DefaultItemsPerRequest property sets the number of items per connection request, with a default and maximum value of 100.
The MaximumRecursiveRequests property controls the number of recursive requests that the client can make when pagination occurs in the top level query. The default value is 10.
The MaximumQueryDepthLevelConnections property controls the depth of nested queries. While it is possible to increase this limit, it can negatively affect performance. The default value is 2.
The DefaultFieldSelection property automatically selects a predefined set of commonly used fields when no specific fields are requested. It is enabled by default for backwards compatibility, but the recommended setting is false. When enabled, it may select objects for which the current token does not have the necessary permissions.

Authentication

The SDK supports both Personal Access Token and OAuth 2.0 Client Credential Grant authentication methods. It automatically renews the token 1 minute before it expires when using OAuth 2.0 Client Credential Grant.

Querying

The SDK provides a simple and intuitive way to write queries, allowing you to easily retrieve the data you need. The query interface also enables you to write nested queries, making it simple to work with related data. You can easily execute complex queries and retrieve data with minimal effort, making it simple to build efficient and performant applications that leverage the full capabilities of the 4me GraphQL API.

Filtering

You can easily apply filters on root connections when creating a query, making it simple to retrieve specific data. This feature allows you to limit the results returned by the query by adding conditions to the fields you are querying. This way you can filter the results based on specific values or ranges, making it easy to find the data you need.

Views

In addition to the filtering capabilities, the SDK also allows you to specify the scope of your query by using the view argument on the root connections. The view argument allows you to target a specific set of data. By default, it is set to the current account, but it can also be used to query all accounts or another predefined subset of data for that specific data entity.

Pagination

The SDK takes care of pagination for you. The maximum number of items returned per connection is 100. If your query returns more than 100 items on a connection, it will automatically retrieve the next 100 items without the need to write a new query, thus making it easy to work with large datasets.

Date and Time Exceptions

The 4me GraphQL API has a data type called ISO8601Timestamp which includes three non-datetime values: best_effort, no_target, and clock_stopped that cannot be converted to a standard date and time format. To handle these values, the API's SDK includes a custom JsonConverter that converts the exception values to specific date and time values:

best_effort is converted to the date and time value of 0001-01-01 01:01:01.111
no_target is converted to 0002-02-02 02:02:02.222
clock_stopped is converted to 0003-03-03 03:03:03.333

These specific values can be accessed through the DateTimeValue class.

Interface-Based Properties

Certain properties return objects that conform to an interface, providing flexibility in the variety of objects they can provide. To obtain a specific object type from an interface-based property, it's crucial to indicate the desired type in the select statement of the query. Without specifying a type in the select statement, the property will return null. The .NET SDK facilitates querying such properties by allowing multiple select statements. This feature enables the retrieval of diverse sets of values for each object.

Mutations

Mutations are used to create, update, or delete data. Like queries, the SDK provides a simple and intuitive way to perform mutations.

Attachments

The SDK features an UploadAttachment method for easily uploading attachments, which can later be associated with any create or update mutation. The response from this request includes information necessary for linking these attachments.

Events API

The .NET SDK provides access to the 4me Events REST API. For more information, please visit the 4me developer pages.

Bulk API

The .NET SDK provides access to the 4me Bulk REST API, enabling data import and export. For more information, please visit the 4me developer pages.

Multiple Tokens

The client allows for the use of multiple authentication tokens. A single token is limited to 3600 API requests per hour or 5000 points per hour for Query Cost. In some situations, this may not be sufficient. When there are multiple tokens in use, the client will always select the token with the most remaining requests to use. More information about Rate Limiting and Query Cost Limits can be found on the 4me developer website.

Multiple Accounts

When connecting to multiple accounts within a single application, it is recommended to use multiple Sdk4meClient instances. While the AccountID can be set via the Sdk4meClient.AccountID, using the same client instance to execute multiple requests simultaneously across different accounts can lead to potential issues and unexpected behavior. To ensure effective management of multiple accounts, it's advisable to utilize a dictionary structure. For further information, please refer to the example.

Response Timing

The 4me GraphQL API limits the number of requests to 20 per 2 seconds. The SDK will keep track of the response time and lock the process to make sure it takes at least 100 milliseconds per request.

Trace Capabilities

The Trace class is used to produce detailed information about the GraphQL query or mutation. Trace Listeners can be used to gather detailed information that can be helpful for debugging during release or for auditing purposes. Each request produces two entries with identical identifiers — the initial one containing the account ID, the HTTP verb, the URL, and the content, while the second includes the API response time in milliseconds.

Examples

Minimum Example

using Sdk4me.GraphQL;

AuthenticationToken token = new AuthenticationToken("clientID", "clientSecret");
Sdk4meClient client = new(token, "account-id", EnvironmentType.Production, EnvironmentRegion.EU);
Person me = client.Me().Result;
Console.WriteLine($"{me.Name} ({me.PrimaryEmail})");

Queries

Get People

DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(Query.Person);
foreach (Person person in people)
{   
}

Specific Fields

DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(Query.Person
    .Select(PersonField.ID, PersonField.Organization, PersonField.Name, PersonField.CustomFields));

By using the Select method on the Query.Person object, you can specify the fields you want to include in the response. The example shows the selection of fields such as ID, Organization, Name, and CustomFields.

DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(Query.Person
    .Select(PersonField.ID, PersonField.Name)
        .SelectOrganization(new OrganizationQuery()
            .Select(OrganizationField.ID, OrganizationField.Name, OrganizationField.Disabled)));

To further refine the selection of fields by using a query for a specific GraphQL Object type field, in this case, Organization. By using the SelectOrganization method on the Query.Person object, you can specify the fields to include for the Organization field. The example demonstrates the selection of fields like ID, Name, and Disabled for the Organization field.

All Fields

DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(Query.Person.SelectAll());

SelectAll() should only be used for debugging purposes as it may include fields that are not yet available in production and can negatively impact performance. It's recommended to only select the necessary fields.

Get All People in the Directory and Support Domain Accounts

DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(Query.Person.View(PersonView.All));

A view can only be used on the top level query.

Nested Queries and Items per Request

IQuery query = Query.Person
    .Select(PersonField.ID, PersonField.Name)
    .ItemsPerRequest(10)
    .SelectTeams(Query.Team)
    .SelectSkillPools(Query.SkillPool
        .SelectMembers(Query.Person
            .SelectConfigurationItems(Query.ConfigurationItem
                .Select(ConfigurationItemField.ID, ConfigurationItemField.Label, ConfigurationItemField.Name))));

client.MaximumQueryDepthLevelConnections = 4;
DataList<Person> people = await client.Get(query);

The default, and maximum, number of items per connection is 100, the maximum number of items that can be returned in a single request with multiple connections is limited to 500,000. When querying nested data, such as 100 people with 100 skill pools and 100 members each, the total number of items (100 x 100 x 100) exceeds the maximum of 500,000. Therefore, specifying the number of items per request is important to avoid exceeding this limit.

The default maximum depth for nested queries is 2. While it is possible to increase this limit, doing so can affect performance when pagination applies on the Members their ConfigurationItems.

client.MaximumQueryDepthLevelConnections = 5;

Filtering

There are three methods to filtering: Filter, CustomFilter, and FreeFormatFilter. Filters can only be applied at the top level of the query.

Filter

The Filter method allows you to specify field filters at the top level of the query. You can define the field, the operator (e.g., equals, not equals), and the value to match against.

IQuery query = Query.Person.Filter(PersonFilter.Name, FilterOperator.Equals, "Howard");

Filter by ID

The ID filtering allows you to search for an object based on its unique ID. When using the ID filter, any additional filters and view selections will be ignored. It is recommended to use the ID filter instead of the .Filter(PersonFilter.ID, FilterOperator.Equals, "") approach, as it provides an average response time improvement of approximately 15%.

PersonQuery query = new PersonQuery("NG1lLnFhL1blcnNvbi8yMjMxSjIx");

Custom Filter

The CustomFilter method enables the use of existing custom filters.

PersonQuery query = new PersonQuery()
    .CustomFilter("Age", FilterOperator.NotEquals, new string[] { null });

Free Format Filter

The FreeFormatFilter method enables the usage of same filter functionality available in the top screen filter in the user interface (UI).

PersonQuery query = new PersonQuery()
    .FreeFormatFilter("Howard");

Sorting

IQuery query = Query.Person.OrderBy(PersonOrderField.Name, OrderBySortOrder.Ascending);

Sorting can only be used on the top level query.

Nested Query with Filtering and Sorting

PersonQuery query = new PersonQuery()
    .View(PersonView.All)
    .OrderBy(PersonOrderField.Vip, OrderBySortOrder.Descending)
    .Filter(PersonFilter.CreatedAt, FilterOperator.GreaterThanOrEqualsTo, new DateTime(2020, 1, 1))
    .SelectContacts(new ContactQuery()
        .SelectAll())
    .SelectPermissions(new PermissionQuery()
        .ItemsPerRequest(10)
        .Select(PermissionField.Account, PermissionField.Roles))
    .SelectTeams(new TeamQuery()
        .ItemsPerRequest(10)
        .SelectConfigurationManager(new PersonQuery()
            .Select(PersonField.Name, PersonField.EmployeeID))
        .SelectMembers(new PersonQuery()
            .ItemsPerRequest(50)
            .Select(PersonField.Name)))
    .SelectConfigurationItems(new ConfigurationItemQuery()
        .Select(ConfigurationItemField.Label)
        .ItemsPerRequest(10)
        .SelectRequests(new RequestQuery()
            .ItemsPerRequest(10)
            .Select(RequestField.Subject, RequestField.Supplier)));

DataList<Person> people = client.Get(query).Result;

Interface-Based Properties

Retrieve all archived properties and cast only those belonging to Person, Request, or Task types, each with their unique properties.

DataList<Archive> archives = client.Get(Query.Archive
    .SelectArchived(new PersonQuery()
        .Select(PersonField.ID, PersonField.Name, PersonField.PrimaryEmail))
    .SelectArchived(new RequestQuery()
        .Select(RequestField.ID, RequestField.RequestId))
    .SelectArchived(new TaskQuery()
        .Select(TaskField.ID, TaskField.Subject)
            .SelectWorkflow(new WorkflowQuery()
                .Select(WorkflowField.ID, WorkflowField.Subject)))
    ).Result;

Mutations

Create a New Person and Return the ID

CustomFieldCollection customFields = new();
customFields.AddOrUpdate("internal_reference", "an internal reference");

PersonCreateInput input = new() {
    Name = "James",
    PrimaryEmail = "[email protected]",
    Disabled= true,
    CustomFields = customFields,
    EmployeeID = "123",
    TeamIds = new() { "NG1lLnFhL1RlYW0vMjA1MTQ", "NG1lLnFhL1RlYW0vMjA1MGv" },
    Source = "Sdk4me",
    TimeFormat24h = true,
    TimeZone = "Brussels",
    DoNotTranslateLanguages = new() { "en", "nl" }
};

PersonCreatePayload result = await client.Mutation(input, new PersonQuery().Select(PersonField.ID), false);
if (result.IsError())
{
    Debug.WriteLine(result.Errors.ToString());
    return;
}

Person newPerson = result.Person;

Updating an Existing Person and Return the ID, Name and Site

try
{
    PersonUpdatePayload result = await client.Mutation(new PersonUpdateInput
    {
        ID = "NG1lLnFhL1blcnNvbi8yMjMxSjIx",
        Name = "Jimmy",
        PrimaryEmail = "[email protected]",
    }, new PersonQuery().Select(PersonField.ID, PersonField.Name, PersonField.Site), true).Result;

    Person updatedPerson = result.Person;
}
catch (Sdk4meException ex)
{
    Debug.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}

Updating the Custom Fields of an Existing Person

Person person = client.Get(
    new PersonQuery("NG1lLnFhL1blcnNvbi8yMjMxSjIx")
        .Select(PersonField.CustomFields)
    ).Result.First();

person.CustomFields.AddOrUpdate("internal_reference", "none");

PersonUpdatePayload result = client.Mutation(new PersonUpdateInput()
{
    ID = person.ID,
    CustomFields = person.CustomFields
}).Result;

Only the custom fields provided will be added or updated; all other non-specified custom fields remain unchanged. Custom fields cannot be removed; once added, they can only be updated or set to null. For example, if an object contains two custom fields, start_date and leave_date, and only the start_date is provided in an update, the leave_date remains untouched.

Attachments

Upload an Attachment

var request = client.Get(new RequestQuery()
    .Select(RequestField.ID)
    .Filter(RequestFilter.ID, FilterOperator.Equals, "123")
    ).Result.First();

var response = client.UploadAttachment(@".\HelloWorld.txt", "text/plain").Result;
var updatedRequest = client.Mutation(new RequestUpdateInput()
{
    ID = request.ID,
    Note = "Please review the attached document",
    NoteAttachments = new List<AttachmentInput>
    {
        new AttachmentInput
        {
            Key = response.Key, 
            Size = response.Size,
            Inline = false
        } 
    }
}, new RequestQuery().Select(RequestField.ID)).Result;

Upload an Attachment from URL

using (HttpClient httpClient = new())
{
    using (HttpResponseMessage responseMessage = await httpClient.GetAsync("https://www.4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/4me-platform-features-large.png"))
    {
        using (Stream stream = await responseMessage.Content.ReadAsStreamAsync())
        {
            AttachmentUploadResponse response = await client.UploadAttachment(stream, "4me-platform-features-large.png", "image/png");

            DataList<Request> requests = await client.Get(new RequestQuery("NG1lLnFhL1nNvb4MjMxSjIx"));
            if (requests.Any())
            {
                RequestUpdatePayload updatedRequest = await client.Mutation(new RequestUpdateInput()
                {
                    ID = requests.First().ID,
                    Note = "[The Complete Service Management Platform](https://www.4me.com/)",
                    NoteAttachments = new List<AttachmentInput>()
                    {
                        new AttachmentInput
                        {
                            Key = response.Key,
                            Size = response.Size,
                            Inline = false
                        }
                    }
                }, new RequestQuery().Select(RequestField.ID));
            }
        }
    }
}

Upload an Inline Attachment

var request = client.Get(new RequestQuery()
    .Select(RequestField.ID)
    .Filter(RequestFilter.ID, FilterOperator.Equals, "123")
    ).Result.First();

var attachment = client.UploadAttachment(@".\image.png", "image/png").Result;
var updatedRequest = client.Mutation(new RequestUpdateInput()
{
    ID = request.ID,
    Note = $"This is an embedded image.\n![]({attachment.Key})",
    NoteAttachments = new List<AttachmentInput>
    {
        new AttachmentInput
        {
            Key = attachment.Key, 
            Size = attachment.Size,
            Inline = true
        } 
    }
}, new RequestQuery().Select(RequestField.ID)).Result;

Create a New Event via the Events API

RequestEventCreateInput requestCreate = new RequestEventCreateInput()
    .Category(RequestCategory.Incident)
    .Note("The first note")
    .Subject("Sdk4me.GraphQL Test")
    .Source("Sdk4me.GraphQL")
    .SourceID("1")
    .ServiceInstance(416)
    .Impact(RequestImpact.Medium)
    .ConfigurationItem(1998)
    .Team(12);

Request request = client.CreateEvent(requestCreate).Result;

Note that the 4me Events API operates as a REST API, not GraphQL. The response is transformed into the GraphQL Request object.

Bulk Import and Export

The Bulk API lets you export CSV and Excel files, and import CSV files.

Excel Export

Start an Excel export of the configuration items and people, waits until the export completes, and saves the file.

string token = await client.Bulk.StartXlsxExport("cis", "people");
await client.Bulk.AwaitDownloadAndSave(token, 5, @".\export.zip");

CSV Export

Start a CSV export of the configuration items, waits until the export completes, and saves the file.

string token = client.Bulk.StartCsvExport(DateTime.Now.AddMonths(1), ExportLineSeparator.LineFeed, "cis");
await client.Bulk.AwaitDownloadAndSave(token, 5, @"c:\temp\cis.csv");

Import

Start an import, waits for the completion, and writes the output to the console.

string token = client.Bulk.StartImport("cis", @"c:\temp\cis_import_.csv").Result;
BulkImportResponse response = client.Bulk.AwaitImport(token, 5).Result;
if (response.State == ImportExportStatus.Done)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"  Created: {response.Results.Created}");
    Console.WriteLine($"   Update: {response.Results.Updated}");
    Console.WriteLine($"  Deleted: {response.Results.Deleted}");
    Console.WriteLine($" Failures: {response.Results.Failures}");
    Console.WriteLine($"Unchanged: {response.Results.Unchanged}");
}

Exception Handling

try
{
    var result = client.Mutation(new PersonUpdateInput()
    {
        ID = person.ID,
        CustomFields = person.CustomFields
    }, false).Result;

    Console.WriteLine(result.Errors.First());
}
catch (Sdk4meException ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}

By default the SDK will throw an new exception. The mutation method has one additional argument throwOnError, when false the result property will contain the error messages.

Authentication Tokens

AuthenticationTokenCollection tokens = new AuthenticationTokenCollection()
{
    new AuthenticationToken("OAuth 2.0 Client Credential Client ID", "OAuth 2.0 Client Credential Client Secret"),
    new AuthenticationToken("A personal access token")
};

Sdk4meClient client = new(tokens, "account-name", EnvironmentType.Demo, EnvironmentRegion.EU);
client.AccountID = "new-account-name";

Multiple Accounts

To ensure effective management of multiple accounts, it's recommended to employ a dictionary structure. This structure facilitates mapping each account to its corresponding Sdk4meClient instance.

Dictionary<string, Sdk4meClient> clients = new()
{
    { "account-1", new Sdk4meClient(new AuthenticationTokenCollection() { ... }, "account-1", EnvironmentType.Production, EnvironmentRegion.EU) },
    { "account-2", new Sdk4meClient(new AuthenticationTokenCollection() { ... }, "account-2", EnvironmentType.Production, EnvironmentRegion.EU) },
    { "account-3", new Sdk4meClient(new AuthenticationTokenCollection() { ... }, "account-3", EnvironmentType.Production, EnvironmentRegion.EU) }
};

clients["account-1"].Get(new AccountQuery().Select(AccountField.ID)).Result;

Multiple Tokens

In the context of multiple 4me authentication tokens, request and cost scores are essential metrics used to determine the priority of tokens when making API requests. These scores help prioritize tokens efficiently by considering two critical factors.

Request Score: This weight, with a default value of 0.6, controls the significance of remaining API requests in the score calculation. Adjusting this weight influences the sorting of tokens to favor those with more available requests. A higher RequestWeight places more emphasis on tokens with a larger number of remaining API requests.

Cost Score: With a default value of 0.4, the cost weight determines the influence of remaining cost associated with using an authentication token. Modifying this weight allows you to give preference to tokens with more remaining cost. A higher CostWeight makes tokens with more remaining cost significant during the selection process.

These weights are user-configurable and allow for fine-tuning the token sorting process according to specific requirements.

client.ConfigureAuthenticationTokenWeight(requestWeight: 0.5, costWeight: 0.5);

To learn more about GraphQL Service Quotas, refer to the Service Quota section, and for information on Rate Limiting, explore the Rate Limiting section in the 4me developer documentation.

Trace Output

A trace output providing details of a GraphQL query request and response time.

{"id":"b1685ff0-6356-49eb-ab58-6ef32b9b4a61","method":"POST","uri":"https://graphql.4me.qa/","content":"{\"query\":\"query{node(id: \\\"KG1jIx\\\") {... on Person {id}}}\"}","account_id":"account-name"}
{"id":"b1685ff0-6356-49eb-ab58-6ef32b9b4a61","response_time_in_ms":44}

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.NET SDK for 4me GraphQL

Table of Contents

Licensing

NuGet

Introduction

Client

Authentication

Querying

Filtering

Views

Pagination

Date and Time Exceptions

Interface-Based Properties

Mutations

Attachments

Events API

Bulk API

Multiple Tokens

Multiple Accounts

Response Timing

Trace Capabilities

Examples

Minimum Example

Queries

Get People

Specific Fields

All Fields

Get All People in the Directory and Support Domain Accounts

Nested Queries and Items per Request

Filtering

Filter

Filter by ID

Custom Filter

Free Format Filter

Sorting

Nested Query with Filtering and Sorting

Interface-Based Properties

Mutations

Create a New Person and Return the ID

Updating an Existing Person and Return the ID, Name and Site

Updating the Custom Fields of an Existing Person

Attachments

Upload an Attachment

Upload an Attachment from URL

Upload an Inline Attachment

Create a New Event via the Events API

Bulk Import and Export

Excel Export

CSV Export

Import

Exception Handling

Authentication Tokens

Multiple Accounts

Multiple Tokens

Trace Output

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