API Demo Installation

ZChat API Demo is a simple Web API application. It demonstrates the powerful capabilities of ZChat API.

The examples below use chat.example.com for the main ZChat deployment and api-demo.example.com for the companion API demo site. Replace those placeholders with your own domains.

1. Copy API Demo to your application directory

Unzip the install zip to a new folder where you want the site to be hosted from (eg C:\inetpub\APITestWeb).

2. Configure the Web Site in IIS

Open up IIS Manager, select the Default Web Site (under Sites) and click the Stop button. Now, right click on Sites and select Add Website...

Provide a site name and the folder you want the site to be hosted from.

3. Modify ZChat Web site web.config to register ChatApiNotificationUrl and ChatApiKey

ChatApiKey is used to create a trusted connection between the main ZChat deployment (chat.example.com) and the API demo site (api-demo.example.com).

Please open the main ZChat site's web.config and register the notification URL used by the API demo listener, for example https://api-demo.example.com/handle_chatapi_notification.ashx. The main ZChat deployment sends event notifications to that listener.

4. Modify API Demo web.config to register ChatApiServiceUrl and ChatApiKey

ChatApiKey in the API demo web.config must match the ChatApiKey configured in the main ZChat deployment.

Please open the API demo site's web.config and register the service URL exposed by your ZChat deployment, for example https://chat.example.com/ChatApi.asmx.

5. You are all set!

If you installed the API Demo correctly, you will see the following screen that lets you know you're good to go.

6. Check the API Demo site's App_Data folder

Event notifications received from the main ZChat deployment are stored in the demo site's log files. Reviewing those files is a practical way to understand how the API sample handles notifications.