topic Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes in SAS Procedures

PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

JFinkeldey — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 19:30:03 GMT

Hello:

I'm trying to use PROC HTTP to access an API URL that contains double quotes, as shown:

https://example.com/api.pro?method=login&data={ "username":"testuser","password": "testpassword" }

This syntax works correctly when pasted directly into a browser. When run in SAS code as below, the call fails.

We're running SAS 9.4 (ts1m3).

Example:

proc http
url="https://example.com/api.pro?method=login&data={ "username":"testuser","password": "testpassword" }"
method = "POST"
out=resp
headerout=hdrs;
run;

The response data from the call is:

{"success":false,"error":"Web services not available at this address","errno":10000}

I'm assuming it has to do with the quotes in the URL...

Thanks in advance

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

Shmuel — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 19:44:34 GMT

Try next assignment:

url="https://example.com/api.pro?method=login&data={ ""username"":""testuser"",""password"": ""testpassword"" }"

As the url literal is written between double quotes, each inside pair "" will be treated as one ".

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

ChrisHemedinger — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 20:20:54 GMT

Your browser is probably swapping in the encoded characters for the double quotes -- but PROC HTTP won't do that for you. You should probably use the URLENCODE function. See an example here. I mocked up something here that might do it.

%let values=%sysfunc(urlencode(%str({ "username":"testuser","password": "testpassword" })));
proc http
url="https://example.com/api.pro?method=login%str(&)data=&values."
method = "POST"
out=resp
headerout=hdrs;
run;

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

JFinkeldey — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 13:31:52 GMT

Double quoting causes SAS to interpret the & as a macro variable...

WARNING: Apparent symbolic reference DATA not resolved.

With response of:

{"success":false,"error":"Web services not available at this address","errno":10000}

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

JFinkeldey — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 13:40:46 GMT

That gives me the same response:

{"success":false,"error":"Web services not available at this address","errno":10000}

The API documentation says that the info needs to be passed in a variable named DATA.

Is it possible to code that as part of an IN= clause?

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

ChrisHemedinger — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 19:51:19 GMT

Yes - you should try that.

filename resp temp;
filename hdout temp;
proc http
 url="https://example.com/api.pro?method=login"
 method = "POST"
 in='{ "username":"testuser","password": "testpassword" }'
 out=resp
 headerout=hdrs;
run;

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

JFinkeldey — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:26:52 GMT

Chris:

With the in= code the API returns the following:

{"success":false,"error":"Unable to locate \"data\" field in REQUEST","errno":0}

That seems like the call can't find the data field, which is expressly identified when putting the entire call on the URL line....

Re: PROC HTTP - URL containing quotes

ChrisHemedinger — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 20:13:45 GMT

Can you tell me what service you're trying to use? Sometimes it helps me to reference the doc for the API in answering these.

The "data=" is something we see on the cURL examples that are often provided in API doc, but in that case "data" is a keyword for cURL and not part of the API syntax. The body of the request -- passed in that data field -- would belong on the IN= param for PROC HTTP.

Or...do you have a cURL example that works/should work? If so, we can transcribe to PROC HTTP.