Array Data Type

Array parameter type in the Data Services Server enables data services to dynamically provide a set of values without knowing the size of the data set beforehand. Generally, more than single data types, arrays enable building queries for more complex inputs.

Array data type is available as a parameter type when creating Input mappings for your queries, which are defined while creating data services. For example,

For more information on creating data services, refer to the relevant Data Source on page: Create a Data Service Using Various Data Sources.

Array Representation in SOAP Messages

This is how array types are handled internally in the message-level. When the parameters are serialized (in scalar types) there is only one element per parameter in the SOAP message. In arrays, the element representing the parameter is repeated. For example, refer to the sample SOAP message below, which contains the array type "employeeNumbers".

...
<s:Body>
   <p:setSalaryForEmployees xmlns:p="http://ws.wso2.org/dataservice/samples/rdbms_sample">
      <salary xmlns="http://ws.wso2.org/dataservice/samples/rdbms_sample">15000</salary>
      <employeeNumbers xmlns="http://ws.wso2.org/dataservice/samples/rdbms_sample">1002</employeeNumbers>
      <employeeNumbers xmlns="http://ws.wso2.org/dataservice/samples/rdbms_sample">2014</employeeNumbers>
      <employeeNumbers xmlns="http://ws.wso2.org/dataservice/samples/rdbms_sample">4411</employeeNumbers>
   </p:setSalaryForEmployees>
</s:Body>
</s:Envelope>

Array types are properly mentioned in the WSDL generation. As a result, the array type is suitably presented in a service which is code-generated.