The OHDSI WebAPI is a Java-based application that is designed to provide a set of RESTful web services for interacting with one or more databases converted to the OHDSI Common Data Model (CDM) v5. WebAPI has its own dedicated database used to store the configuration that defines how to connect to the CDMs in the environment. The database is also used for the storage of assets (i.e. cohort definitions, concept sets, analysis specifications) used in the design and execution of observational studies. The principal web application that utilizes WebAPI is Atlas.
The following diagram depicts the logical architecture for the role WebAPI plays in the OHDSI tools ecosystem:
[[/images/WebAPI-Configuration.png|OHDSI WebAPI Logical Architecture Diagram]]
Starting from the top of the diagram:
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Your environment should contain one or more databases with patient level data converted to the CDM v5. If you do not have this available, you won't be able to fully utilize WebAPI.
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The WebAPI database is established to hold JDBC connection information regarding for each CDM you would like to use via WebAPI. It also stores the design assets that are developed through Atlas.
Note: WebAPI's database can only be installed using PostgreSQL. WebAPI dropped support for SQL Server/Oracle with the 2.8 release (2.8 release notes). The CDM database may exist on different database infrastructure (i.e. RedShift, SQL Server PDW, Google BigQuery, Impala, etc)
- The WebAPI Java application is configured to connect to the WebAPI database to obtain information regarding the CDMs in the environment.
Client web applications (such as ATLAS) are configured to use WebAPI to design observational study assets.