I have a requirement to add fields onto a form based on data from another set of entities. Is this possible using an event script or does it require a plugin?
Given that I understand your assignment correctly, it can be done using JavaScript as well as a plugin. There is a significant difference that you need to take into consideration.
Is the change to the other entities to be made only when an actual user loads a form? If so, JS is the right way.
Or perhaps you need to ensure that those values are written even if a console client or system process retrieves the value of the primary entity? In that case, C# is your only option.
EDIT:
Simply accessing the values from any entity in the onload event can be done using a call to oData. I believe someone else asked a similar question recently. The basic format will look like this.
http://Server:Port/Organization
/XrmServices/2011/OrganizationData.svc
/TheEntityLogicalNameOfYoursSet()?$filter=FieldName eq 'ValueOfIt'
Some extra remarks.
If you're targeting on-line installation, the syntax will differ, of course, because the Schema-Server-Port-Organization are provided in a different pattern (https, orgName.crm4.something.something.com etc.). You can look it up on Settings.
Perhaps it should go without saying and I'm sure you realize it but for completeness' sake, TheEntityLogicalNameOfYours needs to be substituted for the actual name (unless that is your actual name, in which case I'll be worried, haha).
If you're new to this whole oData thingy, keep asking. I got the impression that the info I'm giving you is appreciated but not really producing "aha!" experience for you. You might want to ask separate questions, though. Some examples right off the top of my head.
a. "How do I perform oData call in JavaScript?"
b. "How do I access the fetched data?"
c. "How do I add/remove/hide a field programmatically on a form?"
d. "How do I combine data from...?"
Related
Our plugin maintains some instance parameter values across many elements, including those in groups.
Occasionally the end users will introduce data that activates an unused Category,
so we have to update the document parameter bindings, to include those categories. However, when we call
doc.ParameterBindings.ReInsert()
our existing parameter values inside groups are lost, because our VariesAcrossGroups flag is toggled back to false?
How did Revit intend this to work - are we supposed to use this in a different way, to not trigger this problem?
ReInsert() expects a base Definition argument, and would usualy get an ExternalDefinition supplied.
To learn, I instead tried to scan through the definition-keys of existing bindings and match those.
This way, I got the document's InternalDefinition, and tried calling Reinsert with that instead
(my hope was, that since its existing InternalDefinition DID include VariesAcrossGroups=true, this would help). Alas, Reinsert doesn't seem to care.
The problem, as you might guess, is that after VariesAcrossGroups=False, a lot of my instance parameters have collapsed into each other, so they all hold identical values. Given that they are IDs, this is less than ideal.
My current (intended) solution is to instead grab a backup of all existing parameter values BEFORE I update the bindings, then after the binding-update and variesAcrossGroups back to true, then inspect all values and re-assign all parameter-values that have been broken. But as you may surmise, this is less than ideal - it will be horribly slow for the users to use our plugin, and frankly it seems like something the revitAPI should take care of, not the plugin developer.
Are we using this the wrong way?
One approach I have considered, is to bind every possibly category I can think of, up front and once only. But I'm not sure that is possible. Categories in themselves are also difficult to work with, as you can only create them indirectly, by using your Project-Document as a factory (i.e. you cannot create a category yourself, you can only indirectly ask the Document to - maybe! - create a category for you, that you request). Because of this, I don't think you can bind for all categories up front - some categories only become available in the document, AFTER you have included a given family/type in your project.
To sum it up: First, I
doc.ParameterBindings.ReInsert()
my binding, with the updated categories. Then, I call
InternalDefinition.SetAllowVaryBetweenGroups()
(after having determined IDEF.VariesAcrossGroups has reverted back to false.)
I am interested to hear the best way to do this, without destroying the client's existing data.
Thank you very much in advance.
(I'm not sure I will accept my own answer).
My answer is just, that you can survive-circumvent this problem,
by scanning the entire revit database for your existing parmater values, before you update the document bindings.
Afterwards, you reset VariesAcrossGroups back to its lost value.
Then, you iterate through your collected parameters, and verify which ones have lost their original value, and reset them back to their intended value.
One trick that speeds this up a bit, is that you can check Element.GroupId <> -1. That is, those elements that are group members.
You only need to track elements which are group members, as it's precisely those that are affected by this Revit bug.
A further tip is, that you should not only watch out for parameter-values that have lost their original value. You must also watch out for parameter-values that have accidentally GOTTEN a value, but which should be left un-set.
I just use FilteredElementCollector with WhereElementIsNotElementType().
Performance-wise, it is of course horrible to do all this,
but given how Revit behaves, I see no other solution if you have to ship to your clients.
I'm preparing the sequence diagram for a project. I made the following sequence diagram for a retailer updating his inventory
It's confusing to me because this is the first time I use this technique with a real project.i have used database as an object here and i don't know whether its right or wrong. And another thing i need to clarify is by using Updating i meant for both editing/add new item To the inventory. Is it wrong to do like that way? or else can we draw it separately?
The following image is part of the updating process, would any one take a look and correct me if I did any mistake.(UpdateUI- User interface).Thanks in Advance.
It does not look right. There are a couple of issues:
Your database will likely never issue any messages
Actions inside a DB are usually not exposed. You normally only call CRUD from outside for a DB.
You mix synch/asynch (likely unwillingly). Filled arrows are synch, unfilled ones as asynch.
Main Page is likely the V in MVC and UpdateUI the C. So the controller will act on a click from the user and interact with the DB.
So just from my guts here is a more reasonable sketch:
I have a couple of questions regarding if the following process can be considered use-cases.
Website where establishments can post events.
User can "follow" establishment, "attend" event.
etc...
On my index page, i have the following sections:
Recommended Events, Events recently created, Events from establishments that the user "follows", Top 10 establishments, Recent comments, Popular events and so on.. (all which i am pulling from a database)
Would the index page be considered a use case? And would all the sections i named be individual use-cases? Considering i already have a Consult establishment, and consult event use-case, would all the section fall into this category?
I have on the establishment page a button where the user can click and the user will follow the establishment and receive notifications. All the button does once clicked, is adds the user to a table (User_Preferences), pretty much like a "like" button or a follow button.
Would this be considered a use-case(Add to Preferences use case)?
When i visit an establishment page, i am pulling data from many tables, such as: beverages, music, artists_attended, food, etc.
On the use-case Consult establishment, would i need to include every individual information? consult_beverage, consults_music,consult_artist, consult food all included to consult establishment? or are they considered already in consult establishment?
Finally, would every page i create, Index,Establishment,Events,UserProfile, etc... would they all be considered a use-case? Consult Establishment, Consult Events, Manage Profile
thank you, any tips or help would be appreciated, i understand the concept of use cases, but i sometimes tend to overthink some uses cases. thanks for the help.
The index page itself is not a use case. A use case represents some interaction between an actor and the system, but the page and its sections are part of the system design. If you were to replace the web browser with a custom-written GUI application, the use cases should be essentially the same.
In this case, you seem to be creating the use cases after you've designed the system, which is probably what's tripping you up -- use cases are usually determined before the system is designed.
"Add to Preferences" seems like a good use case. How much work goes into realizing the use case is normally of little importance; what matters is whether the interaction provides some value to the actor. The complete set of use cases describes what the user can do with the system, not how many engineering hours were spent constructing it.
You should not incorporate details on the stored data in your use cases. If you find yourself doing that you need to take a step back and try to think a little more abstractly. What does the use case do for the actor, what does the actor want? To get information about an establishment? Then that's enough, you don't need to specify the exact information stored in the system. The important thing is that the actor wants the information and that the system provides it.
Use cases are part of system analysis, not system design. As such, there is no problem with having the same design component (page) realize several use cases. So you could for instance have use cases for "see recommended events", "see coming events for 'followed' establishments", "see coming 'attended' events", all being realized in different sections on the same page.
A page is never any use case. A use case is what brings value to an actor. Simple as that. If you can name the value then you got the name of the use case. If you can't name the value then you don't have a use case.
E.g. your 1st events page: I would assume that the use case behind it will be Find Event. Similarly you have to think of the other cases. On the opposite Login to Site is not a use case because it does not bring any value to the actor.
I'm trying to write a MQL query to format a search result in freebase (the "output" parameter in the search API). I essentially want to find the (simple) values of all the properties of a given search result (without knowing anything about the types of the result a priori). By "simple", I mean only the default properties if the values are complex objects.
E.g., if I search for "Yo La Tengo" and this takes me to the result for "/en/yo_la_tengo", I want to be able to get the group's members (I just need names, not instruments or dates started), albums (again, just names), films contributed to (again, just names), etc.
Is there a simple way to do this with a search output query, given that I know nothing about the types? I imagine there's some sort of reflection magic I can use, and I've tried mucking about with "/type/reflect", but I'm not getting anywhere. I'm brand-new to MQL (though I have extensive SQL experience), so this is a little daunting. Any ideas?
Edit: So to clarify, I think the problem I'm seeing is due to mediator types like "performance" (an actor in a film) or "marriage". E.g., with a query about Yo La Tengo, I can see most (all?) information that I'm interested in, but a similar query about [The Muppet Movie]( freebase.com/api/service/search?limit=1&mql_output=%5B%7B%22%2Ftype%2Freflect%2Fany_reverse%22%3A%5B%7B%7D%5D%2C%22%2Ftype%2Freflect%2Fany_master%22%3A%5B%7B%7D%5D%2C%22%2Ftype%2Freflect%2Fany_value%22%3A%5B%7B%7D%5D%7D%5D&query=The%20Muppet%20Movie -- sorry, SO thinks I'm a spammer so I can't make this a link), I don't see Frank Oz reference at all (probably because his performance is referenced instead). Is there a generic way for me to "follow" mediator types to get all their properties? E.g., is there a single output MQL that would allow me to get the actor in a performance (when linked form a film search result) and give the the spouse in a marriage (when linked from a person)?
Querying not only every property, but then following those properties another ply deep in the graph for all search results is going to be an incredibly expensive operation. What is the use case for this? Do you really have a UI where the user can see and effectively absorb all this information? To answer the question directly though, it's not possible to unpack mediator types automatically using mql_output on the search API.
I'd suggest combining a basic set of information on the search query with a deeper set of information on a topic that the user has expressed interest (e.g. by hovering over). This UI experience would be similar to that of Freebase Suggest.
In the years since the question was originally asked there have been some additional useful things added such as the "notable" pseudo-property which lets you see what the topic is notable for.
Of course everyone also needs to be moving to the new API, so the queries would be:
https://www.googleapis.com/freebase/v1/search?query=%22the%20muppet%20movie%22&limit=1&indent=true
https://www.googleapis.com/freebase/v1/topic/en/the_muppet_movie
AFAIK there is no way to do this in outright MQL, but you can:
Get all the properties of an object or type of object, then
Programmatically construct another MQL query to get those objects you want to know more about.
Look at this example:
[{
"type|=": [
"/film/actor",
"/tv/tv_actor",
"/celebrities/celebrity"
],
"*": [{}]
}]
It grabs all the properties of all objects that have the type actor, tv_actor, or celebrity. When you run it, you'll see all the possible "follow" points you can explore.
This is not exactly what you want, but it should get you closer.
I think my question would be better explained with a couple of examples...
GET http://myservice/myresource/?name=xxx&country=xxxx&_page=3&_page_len=10&_order=name asc
that is, on the one hand I have conditions ( name=xxx&country=xxxx ) and on the other hand I have parameters affecting the query ( _page=3&_page_len=10&_order=name asc )
now, I though about using some special prefix ( "_" in thes case ) to avoid collisions between conditions and parameters ( what if my resourse has an "order" property? )
is there some standard way to handle these situations?
--
I found this example (just to pick one)
http://www.peej.co.uk/articles/restfully-delicious.html
GET http://del.icio.us/api/peej/bookmarks/?tag=mytag&dt=2009-05-30&start=1&end=2
but in this case condition fields are already defined (there is no start nor end property)
I'm looking for some general solution...
--
edit, a more detailed example to clarify
Each item is completely indepent from one another... let's say that my resources are customers, and that (luckily) I have a couple millions of them in my db.
so the url could be something like
http://myservice/customers/?country=argentina,last_operation=2009-01-01..2010-01-01
It should give me all the customers from argentina that bought anything in the last year
Now I'd like to use this service to build a browse page, or to fill a combo with ajax, for example, so the idea was to add some metada to control what info should I get
to build the browse page I would add
http://...,_page=1,_page_len=10,_order=state,name
and to fill an autosuggest combo with ajax
http://...,_page=1,_page_len=100,_order=state,name,name=what_ever_type_the_user*
to fill the combo with the first 100 customers matching what the user typed...
my question was if there was some standard (written or not) way of encoding this kind of stuff in a restfull url manner...
While there is no standard, Web API Design (by Apigee) is a great book of advice when creating Web APIs. I treat it as a sort of standard, and follow its recommendations whenever I can.
Under "Pagination and partial response" they suggest (page 17):
Use limit and offset
We recommend limit and offset. It is more common, well understood in leading databases, and easy for developers.
/dogs?limit=25&offset=50
There's no standard or convention which defines a way to do this, but using underscores (one or two) to denote meta-info isn't a bad idea. This is what's used to specify member variables by convention in some languages.
Note:
I started writing this as a comment to my previous answer. Then I was going to add it as an edit, but I think that it belongs as a separate answer instead. This is a completely different approach and a separate answer in its own right since it is a different approach.
The more that I have been thinking about this, I think that you really have two different resources that you have to deal with:
A page of resources
Each resource that is collected into the page
I may have missed something (could be... I've been guilty of misinterpretation). Since a page is a resource in its own right, the paging meta-information is really an attribute of the resource so placing it in the URL isn't necessarily the wrong approach. If you consider what can be cached downstream for a page and/or referred to as a resource in the future, the resource is defined by the paging attributes and the query parameters so they should both be in the URL. To continue with my entirely too lengthy response, the page resource would be something like:
http://.../myresource/page-10/3?name=xxx&country=yyy&order=name&orderby=asc
I think that this gets to the core of your original question. If the page itself is a resource, then the URI should describe the page so something like page-10 is my way of saying "a page of 10 items" and the next portion of the page is the page number. The query portion contains the filter.
The other resource names each item that the page contains. How the items are identified should be controlled by what the resources are. I think that a key question is whether the result resources stand on their own or not. How you represent the item resources differs based on this concept.
If the item representations are only appropriate when in the context of the page, then it might be appropriate to include the representation inline. If you do this, then identify them individually and make sure that you can retrieve them using either URI fragment syntax or an additional path element. It seems that the following URLs should result in the fifth item on the third page of ten items:
http://.../myresource/page-10/3?...#5
http://.../myresource/page-10/3/5?...
The largest factor in deciding between these two is how strongly coupled the individual item is with the page. The fragment syntax is considerably more binding than the path element IMHO.
Now, if the item resources are free-standing and the page is simply the result of a query (which I think is likely the case here), then the page resource should be an ordered list of URLs for each item resource. The item resource should be independent of the page resource in this case. You might want to use a URI that is based on the identifying attribute of the item itself. So you might end up with something like:
http://.../myresource/item/42
http://.../myresource/item/307E8599-AD9B-4B32-8612-F8EAF754DFDB
The key deciding factor is whether the items are freestanding resources or not. If they are not, then they are derived from the page URI. If they are freestanding, then they should have their are defined by their own resources and should be included in the page resource as links instead.
I know that the RESTful folk tend to dislike the usage of HTTP headers, but has anyone actually looked into using the HTTP ranges to solve pagination. I wrote a ISAPI extension a few years back that included pagination information along with other non-property information in the URI and I never really like the feel of it. I was thinking about doing something like:
GET http://...?name=xxx&country=xxxx&_orderby=name&_order=asc HTTP/1.1
Range: pageditems=20-29
...
This puts the result set parameters (e.g., _orderby and _order) in the URI and the selection as a Range header. I have a feeling that most HTTP implementations would screw this up though especially since support for non-byte ranges is a MAY in RFC2616. I started thinking more seriously about this after doing a bunch of work with RTSP. The Range header in RTSP is a nice example of extending ranges to handle time as well as bytes.
I guess another way of handling this is to make a separate request for each item on the page as an individual resource in its own right. If your representation allows for this, then you might want to consider it. It is more likely that intermediate caching would work very well with this approach. So your resources would be defined as:
myresource/name=xxx;country=xxx/orderby=name;order=asc/20/
myresource/name=xxx;country=xxx/orderby=name;order=asc/21/
myresource/name=xxx;country=xxx/orderby=name;order=asc/22/
myresource/name=xxx;country=xxx/orderby=name;order=asc/23/
myresource/name=xxx;country=xxx/orderby=name;order=asc/24/
I'm not sure if anyone has tried something like this or not. This would make URIs constructible which is always a useful property IMHO. The bonus to this approach is that the individual responses could be cached and the server is free to optimize handling of collecting pages of items and what not in the most efficient way. The basic idea is to have the client specify the query in the URI and the index of them item that it wants to retrieve. No need to push the idea of a "page" into the resource or even to make it visible. The client can iteratively retrieve objects until it's page is full or it receives a 404.
There is a downside of course... the HTTP server and infrastructure has to support pipelining or the cost of creation/destruction of connections might kill the idea outright.