The 10 biggest advantages of webPDF for developers!

PDF tools and software for companies are like sand on the sea, but what concrete advantages does webPDF offer for software developers? What is the strength of this software and how can webPDF be used profitably for software developers?

webPDF is not a pure PDF reader or PDF editor, it is rather a PDF solution that is directly integrated into the work processes of companies and can make them more effective. With webPDF as the central PDF server, for example, all documents can be converted to PDF and then further processed and exported.

10 convincing arguments for programmers:

1. Webservices: webPDF as a PDF server is platform-independent and Java-based. Webservices can be used for the creation and further processing of PDF documents. As a developer, you are not bound to a specific programming language. With the help of webservices, software developers can easily and conveniently integrate all desired functions into existing company workflows, in a wide variety of applications, using their preferred programming language. Webservices are conceivable for a wide variety of application scenarios. They are independent of platforms, programming languages or based on technically standardized protocols. Using webservices, you can also break down complex operations into smaller sub-steps, which you can combine as you like.
2. This is a big plus of webPDF: The flexible API interface! You have the choice between integration via SOAP or REST webservices. More details here. Both SOAP and REST have advantages and disadvantages. Thus webPDF offers both. Server-side services can be ideally integrated through SOAP and REST webservices. More here: By the way: The parameters for the webservices are transferred as XML for SOAP and as XML or JSON parameters for REST. The definition and checking of the transferred parameters takes place on the basis of an XSD schema. Depending on the programming language, appropriate wrapper classes can be generated from the schema, which simplifies the parameter transfer. For example, under Java, JAXB stubs can be generated very easily from the XML schema automatically with XJC. The parameterization of the webservice call can be mapped easily and object-oriented.
3. Flexibility: webPDF can be inserted into any company structure like a customizable puzzle piece. The great strength is that software developers can integrate the webPDF functionalities into third-party software as well as their own developments. It is easy to integrate webPDF into enterprise applications such as SAP, IBM Domino, Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, etc. Specialist software and in-house developments can also use the services of webPDF. Flexible and versatile: The multi-threading capability of the server and the free scaling of the webservices on the available system resources enable the connection to highly available systems. Content management systems can also be extended with the functionality of the webPDF engine.
4. Also very useful: You can download a free trial version at any time and convince yourself of the advantages! On the one hand you have the webPDF portal and on the other hand the demo server to convince yourself of all the advantages. The portal offers the possibility to demonstrate the webservices, whereas the DEMO version of the server allows you to address the SOAP and REST endpoints.
5. Another advantage for programmers: webPDF can be used as a virtual machine (VM). (More details here) – Also useful if a test environment is needed for development! In addition, the VM can be deployed in the virtualized environment of your company in just a few minutes and the system or resources can be adapted. Integration with other systems such as IBM Domino, Microsoft Exchange/SharePoint or SAP is no problem. Worth mentioning at this point: It is possible to quickly deploy the webPDF server as a virtual machine through the Open Virtualization Format. The VM of webPDF is available in the OVF and is then ready in a flash in virtualized environments such as VMware, Virtualbox or XenServer. More advantages of the VM for developers can be found here: https://www.webpdf.de/en/webpdf-in-ovf.html
6. Our alternative to the VM: Docker Image! webPDF can also be used with Docker’s container technology as an alternative to the VM. Especially in data centers and cluster environments this can be a real competitive advantage! The Docker Container is a very good and user-friendly alternative. In addition, the Docker Image comes with its own runtime environment, saving you the hassle of tedious installation and configuration.
7. Software developers also benefit: webPDF can reduce administration costs! It is a central and simple administration. Only a single software package has to be maintained and updated on the server, the clients access the PDF functionality via the standard browser and do not need a local installation. Developers and administrators can set the webPDF features centrally on the server or via the administration area. In addition, there are two further quality features that clearly speak for cost savings. Firstly multiplatform: You can use webPDF on a platform that is already available in your company. webPDF is quickly installed as a fully configured VMware machine via the automatic installation routine for Windows or Linux. And secondly: The system load can be adapted to the requirements of the users by scalable server application, so that the resources can be added according to performance requirements and the number of instances for each webservice can be set centrally on the server. In addition, costs are often incurred for training, which is not the case with webPDF.
8. Another plus point is the webPDF portal: this has the advantage that PDF documents can be easily created in the browser (i.e. accessed via the Internet from anywhere) and further processed. The portal can be used as a fully-fledged replacement for PDF solutions on the client. In addition to attaching barcodes, signatures and watermarks, it is also possible to annotate PDF documents, link or separate individual pages, print, export and manage attachments. Furthermore, it is possible to make graphics, scans and fax documents available via optical text recognition / optical character recognition (OCR) in such a way that they are searchable and available for further processing (e.g. PDF conversion). The advantage lies here in the usability and in the end-user GUI – a bonus that appeals to users and administrators, but should not go unmentioned here.
9. Security: With the webPDF portal even sensitive data can be processed and secured. Since the server only processes all data locally, it does not leave the company. The software architecture enables the user portal to be adapted to all security standards.
10. And last but not least: We provide our public repositories on Github for you: These repositories are provided to support developers who want to deploy webPDF webservices quickly and easily. An example is the Java library ws-client library for programming with Java. But we also provide repositories with examples in other programming languages. In addition to the detailed documentation SoftVision Development also offers extensive support. Here you can choose between chat support, e-mail inquiry or telephone support.