Interact with table data in a ServiceNow instance

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Interact with table data in a ServiceNow instance

    The Mobile SDK allows ServiceNow customers to interact with table data through the ServiceNow REST Table API. Customers can use either the NowTableService() API for direct REST interactions or the NowGraphQLService() API for executing GraphQL queries, especially when needing data from multiple tables in one call.

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    Key Features

    • NowGraphQLService: Enables CRUD operations on specified tables if the user has the necessary authorization. It allows constructing and executing GraphQL queries efficiently.
    • NowTableService: Facilitates CRUD operations on records within ServiceNow tables, supporting dot-walking for reference fields. It applies Access Control Lists (ACLs) ensuring data security and compliance.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing these services, customers can effectively manage and retrieve data from their ServiceNow instance, enhancing the capability to build responsive applications. Proper implementation ensures that users receive only the data they are authorized to access, optimizing performance and security.

    The Mobile SDK enables you to interact with data in tables that reside on your ServiceNow instance. You can interact with this data through the ServiceNow REST Table API using the NowTableService() API that directly calls the REST interface, or through the NowGraphQLService() API that executes a specified GraphQL query against the REST GraphQL API.

    If you want to return data from multiple tables within a single call, you will need to use the NowGraphQLService() API. If you need to interact with ServiceNow REST APIs other than the Table API, see Interact with the public REST API on a ServiceNow instance.

    Using NowGraphQLService to interact with ServiceNow tables

    The NowGraphQLService class provides methods that enable you to construct and execute GraphQL queries on a specified table within your ServiceNow instance if the logged in user has the proper authorization. You can define all CRUD operations within your GraphQL query.

    The following example shows how to import the NowData framework and then initialize a NowGraphQLService object that you can then use to interact with tables in your ServiceNow instance.
    /**
     * Helper class used to handle different Now service instances.
     */
    @Singleton
    class SdkManager @Inject constructor() {
    
        private var nowGraphQLService: NowGraphQLService? = null
    
        /**
         * Create the NowGraphQLService once in the lifetime of the application inside the Application class or another manager class
         * that will be injected into other classes via dagger/hilt.
         * NowGraphQLService should be created after initializing the NowSDK
         */
        suspend fun getNowGraphQLService(): NowGraphQLService? {
            if (nowGraphQLService != null) return nowGraphQLService
    
            return NowDataSDK.makeGraphQLService(URL("https://instance-name.service-now.com")).getOrThrow()
                .also { this.nowGraphQLService = it }
        }
    }
    This example shows how to obtains published KB articles using a GraphQL query.
    suspend fun loadList() = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
        val kbArticlesQuery = """
        { 
            GlideRecord_Query {
                kb_knowledge(queryConditions: "active=true^ORDERBYpublishedDESC"
                pagination:{ limit: 10, offset: 0 }) {
                    _results {
                        sys_id { value },
                        number { displayValue },
                        short_description { displayValue },
                        author { displayValue }
                        published { displayValue }
                    }
                }
            }
         }
     """
        val graphQLService = sdkManager.getNowGraphQLService()
    
        //graphQLService?.graphQLRequest(kbArticlesQuery)?.execute() can also be used
        graphQLService?.graphQLRequest(kbArticlesQuery)?.enqueue(
            { response ->
                response.body?.let {
                    val resultString = String(it)
                }
    
            }, { nowDataError ->
                //handle error
            })
    }

    Using NowTableService to interact with ServiceNow tables

    The NowTableService class provides methods to perform CRUD operations on the records in tables that reside on your ServiceNow instance. Through this interface you can directly access any of the records within any ServiceNow table for which the logged in user is authorized. NowTableService supports dot-walking for reference fields. For example, if a table contains a reference to the User table, the dot-walked value user.name returns the name of the user.

    When returning the requested data, all applicable Access Control Lists (ACLs) are applied to the data, which may result in fewer results than expected, or authorization errors if the authenticated user does not have access rights to the specified table.

    The following example shows how to import the NowData framework and then initialize a NowTableServce object that you can then use to interact with ServiceNow instance tables.
    /**
     * Helper class used to handle different Now service instances. It has an application scope or is Singleton
     */
    @Singleton
    class SdkManager @Inject constructor() {
    
        private var nowTableService: NowTableService? = null
    
        /**
         * Create the NowTableService once in the lifetime of the application inside the Application class or another manager class
         * that will be injected into other classes via dagger/hilt.
         * NowTableService should be created after initializing the NowSDK
         */
        suspend fun getNowTableService(): NowTableService? {
            if (nowTableService != null) return nowTableService
    
            return NowDataSDK.makeTableService(URL("https://instance-name.service-now.com")).getOrThrow()
                .also { this.nowTableService = it }
        }
     }    
    
    
    suspend fun loadCases() = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) {
        val tableService = sdkManager.getNowTableService()
    
        //configure what data to pass back
        val fetchConfiguration =  FetchConfiguration(Filter("active=true"), 10)
    
        val response = runCatching {
            tableService?.records(
                "sn_customerservice_case",
                fetchConfiguration
            )?.execute()
        }
    
        if (response.isSuccess) {
            val resultString = response.getOrNull()?.body?.let { String(it) }
        } else {
            //handle unsuccessful result
        }
    }

    For additional code examples using the available NowTableService methods, refer to the NowTableService API documentation.