Invoking eBay Trading Web Services

To perform a particular task with the Trading API (e.g., list an item), you need to use a class, module, or function that creates your request, sends it to the Trading API, and handles the response. Regardless of how the class is implemented on the client side, it needs to make the call using a particular name that is defined in the Trading API. The call names are fairly self-explanatory, like AddItem—which lists an item.

If you are using the eBay SDK for Java or the eBay SDK for .NET, you can use classes that wrap Trading API calls. Each wrapper class is named for the SOAP API call it represents. In the case of each wrapper class, "Call" is appended to the end of a SOAP API call name. For example, the SOAP API call AddItem (in the Trading API) is represented in the eBay SDK for Java and eBay SDK for .NET as AddItemCall.

The schema defines the messages that you can use to access the eBay database. The API uses request-response style operations. That is, you create a request that contains business data and other instructions and you send it to eBay. eBay replies with a response that contains the data resulting from the instructions you sent in.

Note: In contrast, eBay Platform Notifications use the notification style of operation. This is a one-way push from eBay. See Working with Platform Notifications.

It is helpful to understand the basic design of the schema so that you know how components are defined and how to interpret those definitions. For example, in many cases we provide you with lists of valid values for fields. It is a good idea to understand how those values are represented and how to work with them.

Regardless of whether you are listing an item, browsing listings, or performing some other business task, some data is handled in a standard way for all requests. Some of this data is required with all requests. Other data is only applicable for some calls, but the way you use it is standardized. This chapter gives you an overview of this standardized data.

When a problem occurs and a request (or a portion of a request) cannot be executed for some reason, the response includes a list of errors instead of the normal business data. If the request is executed successfully but a minor problem was found or a change was made that you might not expect, the response includes the normal business data accompanied by a list of warnings. It is a good idea to understand the types of errors and warnings that eBay may return so that you can design your application to handle them gracefully. This chapter provides an overview of how to handle errors.

Overview of the API Schema

Routing the Request (Gateway URLs)

Standard Data for All Calls

Error Handling

The Object Model of the eBay SDK for Java

User-Contributed Notes