This document discusses scripting in i-views. It covers: 1. Use cases for scripting including triggers, reports, REST API, data mappings, object lists, and scripts as attributes. 2. The structure of the JavaScript API and how it represents semantic graph database components. 3. Editing and debugging scripts using the integrated editor. 4. Limitations of scripting and examples/caveats around choices, intervals, queries, and locators. 5. Homework assignments involving REST scripts, structured queries, and outputting composer data.

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i-views University
Part 13: Scripting

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Your speakers today
Patrick Closhen Ralph Herold
Software Engineer Knowledge Engineer
intelligent views gmbh intelligent views gmbh

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Agenda
Javascript-API
1. Use-cases
2. Structure
3. Editing and debugging scripts
4. Limitations
5. Examples and caveats
6. Homework

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1. Use-cases
Scripting is needed in the following technologies in i-views
• Triggers
• Reports
• REST-API
• Data mappings
• Object lists
• Scripts as attributes

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Use-case Triggers
• React to changes
• Implement work flows
Needed:
• Access composed of operation and object
that is to be changed (to allow filtering
and to gain access to modification values)
• Script that expresses how to react to the
detected change
Example:

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Use-case Reports
Typical scenario:
• Locate the objects that need manipulation
• Implement said manipulation
• Log changes or effects or errors of desired operations
Example:
Execute a query and iterate over all hits with the same function that sets a certain property, return
number of objects changed

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Use-case Reports
Registering Scripts:
Scripts can be registered in the semantic graph database to make them accessible. Registration keys are
structured into a hierarchy based on their values which are tokenized by the dot character
Example:

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REST-API
• Scripts express what resources available via REST are exposed to the outside
• High degree of freedom thanks to Javascript-framework
• Read and/or write operations
• Allows access to REST-service context (user, authentication, parameters, request and response, etc.)

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Use-cases data mapping and object lists
Scripts enable computation of special values for data mappings (exports) and object lists

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Use-case scripts as attributes
Originally implemented to store scripts in actions as part of view configurations
Objects can carry functionality specific to them in attributes designed to store scripts
This is done to allow for polymorphism in the design of the semantic database

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Use-case scripts as attributes

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2. Structure
The Javascript API has representation classes for the standard building blocks of our semantic graph
database:
• Types
• Objects
• Properties (Attributes and Relations)
• Extensions
These can be accessed and manipulated in all ways that are available in the UI, except for certain
administrative actions (e.g. creating and associating indexers to properties)

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Structure
Furthermore there are classes for other objects such as
• Queries
• Data mappings
• HttpRequest and HttpResponse
• Hits and hit causes

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Structure
• A special namespace was created to access specific objects: $k
• Registry $k.Registry
Serves as access point for all objects that are registered or are supplied with an internal name
• Locating objects:
$k.Registry.type(„<internalNameOfType>“);
$k.Registry.elementAtValue(internalNameOfAttrType,value,language);
$k.Registry.elementByLocator(locator);
$k.Registry.elementWithID(id);

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Structure
Modules
• Functions that are to be re-used can be accumulated in module-scripts
• These modules need to be registered
• Access via the „require“-function or „module“-function:

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Structure
Transactions
• As i-views system is collaborative, all accesses are governed within a transaction system
• This means that writing will need a write transaction to function properly
• Therefore you need to adjust the settings of the script/method to make sure that you can edit things,
i.e. modify them

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3. Editing and Debugging Scripts
Scripts can be handled with the integrated editor that also provides debugging and testing capabilities

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Editing and Debugging Scripts
• Execution pane:
• Variables can be set
• Transaction configuration
• Additional preparatory script can
be created

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Editing and Debugging Scripts
Debugger:
• Breakpoints can be set with mouse
clicks on left side of code
• Buttons control execution
• Current context is displayed on the
right

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4. Limitations
• No direct file operations on the system are allowed.
• The extent in which structured queries can be constructed through scripts is limited.

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5. Examples and caveats
Choice attributes:
The values for Choice attributes are of class $k.Choice, these have no set-method!
Available values for choices can be determined at the attribute type with valueRange(), this returns an
object of type $k.ChoiceRange

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Examples and caveats
Choices
var attrType = $k.Registry.type("gender");
var attrRange = attrType.valueRange();
var value = attrRange.choiceInternalNamed(person.gender);
if ( value ) {
var attr = associateTopic.attribute("gender");
if (!attr) { attr =
associateTopic.createAttribute("gender",value); }
else { attr.setValue(value);}
}

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Examples and caveats
Intervals for interval attributes:
You have to create an object of class $k.Interval and set its start and end values to get a proper value for
attributes of type interval

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Intervals
var interval = refData.attributeValue("validFromTo");
if (interval) { interval.setStop(new Date()); }
else { interval = new $k.Interval(undefined,new Date()); };

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Examples and caveats
Using a structured query with parameters
Var query = $k.Registry.query(„myQuery");
var result = query.findElements({ id: this.idString() });

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Examples and caveats
Locators
• ID locator: ID12_23456
• Internal name locator: IN~internalName
• Attribute value locator: AV~attrTypeInternalName~value

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Examples and caveats
JSON Support
• As it is embedded in Javascript the JSON object allows handling of objects
• E.g.: JSON.parse() and JSON.stringify()

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Examples and caveats
In the KnowledgeBuilder the context menu of each object contains the item „Script -> Evaluate
Javascript“
This can be useful to test code snippets or access certain things
The output of scripts can be directed into two destinations:
• $k.out is a text document where you can print stuff
• Function $k.log(object,level,channel) allows sending stuff to the configured log file
Messages from script especially debug-messages can be found here:

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Examples and caveats
Messages from script especially debug-messages can be found here:
Main menu: Analyse -> Script Messages

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6. Homework
1. Define a REST script resource which creates a new person whenever a specific REST request is
received and extracts the name of this person out of the REST request.
2. Create a structured query which finds all musicians who play a guitar and whose name contains a
string which is passed by a parameter. Then define a script which passes the string „Daniel“ to the
query and creates a relation of the type „has Member“ for each returned musician to a band of your
choice.
3. Define a script that iterates all composers and then outputs first the name of the composer and then
a list of their compositions.
Documentation
http://documentation.i-views.com/5.0/javascript-api/

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Send your questions to:
contact-webinar@i-views.com
Consultation hours: Every Wednesday
Thank you for visiting
i-views University

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