About the Surpass OAPI

The Surpass OAPI is a REST API built on the latest .NET Core technologies and adopts the OpenAPI specification (for more information, visit https://www.openapis.org/about), an API standard that is highly performant, scalable, and flexible.

In this section

Integrating with the Surpass OAPI

Integrating with the Surpass OAPI offers many benefits, including the ability to:

Send and retrieve data whenever you want, meaning you are not restricted to specific time periods.
Automate your internal processes so that only one master system has to be updated, removing administrative overhead.
Bulk migrate item and item metadata to avoid manual input into the Surpass Platform.
Diagnose any issues using common HTTP errors (401…), simplifying integrations.
Not be tied to a particular server, enabling a more scalable integration from which you can easily recover from failed requests.

Differences between the Surpass OAPI and API v2

The Surpass OAPI primarily supports integration with the Item Authoring module of the Surpass Platform with more performant and flexible endpoints in comparison to the standard Surpass API v2. For more information on the Surpass API v2, read About the Surpass API v2.

Some features exclusive to the OAPI include the ability to specifically POST Multiple Choice, Multiple Response, Either/Or, and Essay question types; create and manage tag collections; alter item positions in item sets; and POST tag groups against an item in bulk. The Item Search and Item Lists screens within Item Authoring are also supported by the Surpass OAPI.

Surpass Platform entities

Before using the Surpass OAPI, it is beneficial to have an understanding of the way Surpass works and how the entities all relate to one another, with the Surpass OAPI’s primary support for integration with the Item Authoring module of the Surpass Platform in mind. The core Surpass entities are centres, candidates, subjects, and users.

Pre-delivery

The following data model demonstrates the different entities required for the set up of tests prior to delivery and their relationship to one another in the Surpass Platform:

NOTE: The entity's dependencies are indicated by the italicised entities underneath, such as a tag group being required for a tag value.

Delivery and post-delivery

The following data model demonstrates the different entities required for test delivery and their relationship to one another in the Surpass Platform:

NOTE: The entity's dependencies are indicated by the italicised entities underneath, such as a test session being required for a result.