Scan a directory of DCRs

Hello,

I am looking for a solution to "scan" a directory of individual DCR files and include them all in a single component's content xml. I know i can make a component with a repeating datum of type dcr, but then i have to do a two-step process:
- create a new dcr
- update the component and add the new dcr

I would like the component to automagically use all the dcrs in a given folder, cutting this down to one step.

I am *very* new to this product, so if there's a better place to look for / ask about this kind of information, please don't hesitate to tell me off!

Regards,
/t

ps: TS 6.7.1 / LS 3.0 (latest patches) on Solaris 10

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tec_iwov

You can use the FileDal to access the file system.

tanguyr

You can use the FileDal to access the file system.

Hello tec_iwost,

If by FileDal you mean a File Datum Type, then i'm not sure how i would go about it: as i understand it, each instance of a Datum Type=File points to *one* file, and i am trying to import a whole directory of similar files in one go. Basically, i want to add a new file to the directory and have the component pick up the file automatically - without having to change the component's properties.

Is there a way to do this with File Datum Types?

Regards,
/t

tec_iwov

not the datum type but through an external call using the FileDal java class.
another alternative is to use wild carding in the DCR property. you can pull in all dcr's of a certain category and type.

tanguyr

not the datum type but through an external call using the FileDal java class.
another alternative is to use wild carding in the DCR property. you can pull in all dcr's of a certain category and type.

Hello again tec_iwov,

I have tried the second approach - wild carding in the DCR property - but i can't get it to work:

i have two DCRs in the folder templatedata/SEGMembers/memberinfo/data&colon;
bruce.xml
tom.xml

i create a component with the following content xml:


<Data>
<Datum ID="D01" Name="My DCR" Type="DCR">
  <DCR Category="SEGMembers" Type="memberinfo">templatedata/SEGMembers/memberinfo/data/*.xml</DCR>
</Datum>
</Data>

when i try to preview the component, i get the following error in the "XML Viewer: Content XML" pane:


java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to get data //becmtp01/default/main/iso20022.org/WORKAREA/group_iso20022/templatedata/SEGMembers/memberinfo/data/*.xml
 at com.interwoven.livesite.file.impl.CsFileDAL.read(CsFileDAL.java:158)
 at com.interwoven.livesite.model.property.DCRProperty.fetchDCRXML(DCRProperty.java:366)
 at com.interwoven.livesite.model.page.PageComponent.getTransformXML(PageComponent.java:689)
 at com.interwoven.livesite.web.site.action.ComponentPreviewAction.xml(ComponentPreviewAction.java:314)
(...etc...)

Am i doing something wrong?

Regarding the first option - external call using the FileDal java class - could you point me to any extra info on this? A search of this site for FileDal yields two results, one of which is this thread, the other is:

http://devnet.interwoven.com/forums_vb/showthread.php?t=16289&forumid=11

Is there any other documentation on this approach?

Warm regards,
/t

tec_iwov

you don't wild card the path but the category and type. take a look at the online help available from the component editor, there a link in the Appearances and Content XML text areas

tanguyr

you don't wild card the path but the category and type. take a look at the online help available from the component editor, there a link in the Appearances and Content XML text areas

OK, so after reading the help i came up with various combinations on the theme:

[HTML]

[/HTML]

And i have tried putting wild cards (*) in the various Category, Type, and Name attributes - all to no avail.

This still doesn't give me what i want: i get a blank content tab or a constrained "DCR picker" that can only select records of iso20022/memberinfo, but i *still* have to manually add a new record to the component in two steps:

1. create the DCR
2. update the component.

I am looking to do this in *one* step:

1. create the DCR, and the component is automatically updated without my having to edit it.

Am i misunderstanding you as to how to do this, or are you misunderstanding me as to what i am trying to acheive? In any case, thanks for your patience - i am still learning!

(btw, i have moved my DCRs since my last post, hence SEGMembers has become iso20022)

Regs,
/t

rexstaples

Instead of just * for the value of the Name attribute in the the DCR-Category or DCR-Type elements, try .* (dot asterisk). The asterisk by itself isn't a regular expression and the help document indicates that it takes a string or regex.

tanguyr

Instead of just * for the value of the Name attribute in the the DCR-Category or DCR-Type elements, try .* (dot asterisk). The asterisk by itself isn't a regular expression and the help document indicates that it takes a string or regex.

Hello rexstaples,

Thank you for the suggestion. I tried the following in the content xml of my component:

[HTML]

[/HTML]

I then save the component, click on the "Preview" button in the top right hand corner, and:

- i *don't* see the data from my DCRs in the "XML Viewer: Content XML" pane at the bottom left of the preview window.

- if i click on the "Set Default Content" button, i pop open a DCR picker that allows me to pick any existinng dcr from any type under the iso20022 Category.

This is not what i want: i know the Category (iso20022), i know the Type (memberinfo). I want to *load* all existing DCRs without having to specify them individually.

Basically, if this was a database scenario, i'd be doing a "SELECT * FROM [whatever] WHERE Category='iso20022' and Type='memberinfo'"

I don't mean to sound peeved, i assure you that i appreciate the help that you and tec_iwov have given me, it's just that i'm starting to feel like an idiot because i can't see how to accomplish what i feel should be a simple task. Whilst i wait for the "aha" second to arrive, i'm becoming cranky in my old age Smiley Wink

Regs,
/t

shanon

Hi --

The DCR datum only reads a single DCR at a time - the wildcards are for filtering the dropdowns in the component properties window.

In order to read all DCRs from a directory, I would have a single datum pointing to the base directory e.g. templatedata/category/type/data, and then you use java code to read all the dcrs dynamically and add them into the content xml at runtime.


&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;   &amp;amp;amp;lt;Data&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;       &amp;amp;amp;lt;External&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;           &amp;amp;amp;lt;Parameters&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;               &amp;amp;amp;lt;Datum ID="BaseDirectory" Name="BaseDirectory" Type="DCR"&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;                   ...&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;               &amp;amp;amp;lt;/Datum&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;            &amp;amp;amp;lt;/Parameters&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;             &amp;amp;amp;lt;Object Scope="local"&amp;amp;amp;gt;your.custom.object.here&amp;amp;amp;lt;/Object&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;             &amp;amp;amp;lt;Method&amp;amp;amp;gt;externalMethod&amp;amp;amp;lt;/Method&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;       &amp;amp;amp;lt;/External&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;   &amp;amp;amp;lt;/Data&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;

If you look at the FileDalIfc interface, you'll see methods that can accomplish this:



  /**
   * Gets names of all child files in a given directory, unrecursive.
   * @param directoryPath path to a directory.
   * @return the list of file names in the directory.
   */
  String[] getChildFiles(String directoryPath);

  /**
   * Read a file using the default encoding.
   * @param path path to the file.
   * @see com.interwoven.livesite.system.Constants#DEFAULT_ENCODING
   * @return file data.
   */
  String read(String path);

The FileDalIfc paths are absolute, so you can use FileDalIfc.getRoot() to get the area path.

So, assuming my base directory is templatedata/category/type/data, your external implementation should look something like this:



  public Document externalMethod(RequestContext context)
  {
      Document doc = Dom4jUtils.newDocument();
      Element root = doc.addElement("Records");

      FileDalIfc dal = context.getFileDal();

      String areaRelativeBasePath = context.getParameterString("BaseDirectory");

      String absoluteBasePath = dal.getRoot() + dal.getSeparator() + areaRelativeBasePath;

      String[] files = dal.getChildFiles(absoluteBasePath);
      int count = files.length;

      for(int i=0;i<count;i++)
      {
         String absoluteFilePath = absoluteBasePath + dal.getSeparator() + files;
         Document dcr = Dom4jUtils.newDocument(dal.read(absoluteFilePath));

         // add the dcr to the result doc;
         root.addElement(dcr.getRootElement().createCopy());
      }

      return doc;
  }

Hope this helps.

Shanon

tanguyr

Hello shanon,

Thank you very much for this information and sample. I will look into writing a custom java object to handle my needs. I was hpoing this was possible "out of the box", but at least i can stop barking up the wrong tree.

Regards,
/t