eSignature SDK documentation now live

We’re pleased to announce that the DocuSign Developer Center now features documentation for our eSignature SDKs in six supported languages: C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, and Ruby. You can find them all on our SDKs and Tools page.

The eSignature SDKs are libraries of functions and objects that you can easily use to enable your application to call the DocuSign eSignature REST API.

What’s available in the eSignature SDK documentation?

The eSignature SDK documentation for a single coding language is divided into six sections:

  • Introduction to the SDK
  • Setup and configuration
  • Authentication
  • Accessing the object model
  • Calling methods and handling errors
  • Reference

Introduction to the SDK

The introduction links to the SDK on its language-specific package manager page and the GitHub repo. It also details prerequisite software and the versioning scheme.

Setup and configuration

The Setup and configuration page shows two different ways of adding the SDK to your project. 

Then it discusses the three main SDK namespaces: Api, Model, and Client. The classes in the Api namespace correspond to the categories in the eSignature REST API Reference. Within each category are all the API endpoints that can be called. Some examples from the API Reference Envelopes category are described to explain the mapping between the API Reference and SDK methods and parameters in the GitHub repo.

An overview of the Model and Client namespaces is also provided. A model, PaymentGatewayAccount, is highlighted to show how a model maps to the API Reference.

Authentication

The Authentication page is divided into four sections:

  • Authorization Code Grant authentication
  • JWT authentication
  • Obtaining user information
  • Instantiating and configuring the ApiClient for making API calls

This page sets up the user to make API calls to DocuSign. It describes the two main authentication flows, Authorization Code Grant and JWT, used to obtain an access token, which is required for making API calls. 

Then in Obtaining user information, it details how to form the base path, which is also a prerequisite for making API calls. The last section, Instantiating and configuring the ApiClient, walks through code for calling the EnvelopesApi.

Accessing the object model

This page walks through code for instantiating a model, Brand, from the Model namespace, then making an API call to the updateBrand method from the Api namespace. It further explains mapping between the Api namespace and the API Reference.

Calling methods and handling errors

The Calling methods and handling errors page is divided into three sections:

  • Calling methods
  • Handling errors
  • Obtaining the trace token

The Calling methods section highlights two SDK methods that call the same brand endpoint and describes the main differences between them. Handling errors gives a list of common exceptions thrown by the SDK, and Obtaining the trace token discusses the use of the trace token by DocuSign Support.

Reference

The Reference links to a set of auto-generated pages created from the Swagger file. Thus the Reference is structured like the eSignature SDK by Api, Model, and Client namespaces. Users can search the Reference for information about each namespace, class, model, method, and parameter.

Additional resources

Mei Hsieh
Author
Mei Hsieh
Developer Content QA
Published