Has anyone had any success with DOORS DXL invoking a call to get information from another server?

I've seen discussions on controlling DOORS from a remote client. I'm interested in the opposite. I want to run something or get information from a remote client FROM DOORS.

As a crude example, how would I run a DXL program that would run or communicate with process outside of DOORS (possibly on another server).
 

• The interface must allow both inputs and outputs.
• The call must wait for results or time-out after N seconds.

The "system" command only has inputs and does not wait for results.

// On Windows platforms only, passes the string command to the operating 
// system for execution, and continues the current DXL program. 
void system(string command)

Something might be possible with OLE, if some Office app had a VBA back door
function that did the deed.

The following looks most appropriate at first glance.

Has anyone used it with success? Any examples?

Can an "IPC Server" be setup on Windows which, in turn, could act as a command dispatcher?

//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
// *** Interprocess communications (See DOORS help) ****************************
//------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
// Resolves the IP address ipAddress to its host name. 
string ipcHostname(string ipAddress) 
 
// The first form establishes a server connection to the UNIX socket socket. 
// The second form establishes a server connection to the port number port 
// on all platforms. In the case that supplied port number is 0, an ephemeral 
// port number is allocated by the operating system. To fetch this ephemeral 
// port number, use getPort() on the resulting IPC. 
IPC server(string socket) // UNIX only 
IPC server(int port) 
 
// Fetches the port associated with the specified IPC. 
// Useful when the IPC is allocated an ephemeral port by the 
// operating system (see IPC server(int)). 
int getPort(IPC channel) 
 
// The first form establishes a client connection to the UNIX socket socket. 
// The second form establishes a client connection to the IP address ip at 
// host on all platforms. 
IPC client(string socket) 
IPC client(int ip, string host) 
 
// Waits for a client connection at the server end of the connection. 
bool accept(IPC) 
 
// Sends the string message down IPC channel chan. 
bool send(IPC chan, string message) 
 
// Waits for a message to arrive in channel chan and assigns it to string or 
// buffer variable response. 
// The optional third argument defines a time-out, tmt seconds, 
// for a message to arrive in channel chan. If tmt is zero, 
// these functions wait forever. They only work if the caller is 
// connected to the channel as a client or a server. 
bool recv(IPC chan, {string|Buffer} &response [,int tmt]) 
 
// Disconnects channel chan. 
void disconnect(IPC chan) 
 
// Deletes channel chan (can be a server or a client). 
void delete(IPC chan)

Re: How to Communicate with an External Process from DOORS
Mathias Mamsch - Thu Sep 29 03:05:14 EDT 2011

Re: How to Communicate with an External Process from DOORS
SystemAdmin - Thu Sep 29 09:58:32 EDT 2011

• If supported, a transaction with a timeout is created (e.g., you get 10 seconds or we fail and do it manually).
• From DOORS, insert a row in a foreign database (e.g., Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, etc.)
• The foreign database executes a trigger that runs a program that reads the input from the inserted row.
• The trigger program that ran inserts a new row in another table with the results.
• The transaction ends.
• DOORS reads the results from the foreign database and populates object cells with reduced results.

Re: How to Communicate with an External Process from DOORS
Mathias Mamsch - Fri Sep 30 10:15:08 EDT 2011

Re: How to Communicate with an External Process from DOORS
SystemAdmin - Fri Sep 30 12:30:55 EDT 2011

Thanks Mathias.

I think the external database route you described in https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=14551111&#14551111 is the way to go. It also has the advantage that you can query database rows to see what is going on. Also there is no clipboard dependencies that could cause corruption :)

There is a fork in the road here and I want to take a path least likely to become obsolete.
 

OleAutoObj objDAOobjDAO = oleCreateAutoObject "DAO.DBEngine.36";

On some websites I saw recommendations not to use DAO for new development. Although it works, I'm wondering if I could use something else -- especially if I don't plan to use a Microsoft data source.

See http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms810810

Obsolete Data Access Technologies

Obsolete technologies are technologies that have not been enhanced or updated in several product releases and that will be excluded from future product releases. Do not use these technologies when you write new applications. When you modify existing applications that are written by using these technologies, consider migrating those applications to ADO.NET.

The following components are considered obsolete:

DB-Library:

This is a SQL Server-specific programming model that includes C APIs. There have been no feature enhancements to the DB-Library since SQL Server 6.5. Its final release was with SQL Server 2000, and it will not be ported to the 64-bit Windows operating system.

Embedded SQL (E-SQL):

This is a SQL Server-specific programming model that enables Transact-SQL statements to be embedded in Visual C code. No feature enhancements have been made to the E-SQL since SQL Server 6.5. Its final release was with SQL Server 2000, and it will not be ported to the 64-bit Windows operating system.

Data Access Objects (DAO):

DAO provides access to JET (Access) databases. This API can be used from Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, and scripting languages. It was included with Microsoft Office 2000 and Office XP. DAO 3.6 is the final version of this technology. It will not be available on the 64-bit Windows operating system.

Remote Data Objects (RDO):

RDO was designed specifically to access remote ODBC relational data sources, and made it easier to use ODBC without complex application code. It was included with Microsoft Visual Basic versions 4, 5, and 6. RDO version 2.0 was the final version of this technology.

Do you know if I can make an engine substitution and instead communicate with MySQL or SQLite?

// Given this works for Excel
OleAutoObj objDAO = oleCreateAutoObject "DAO.DBEngine.36";

// Is this all I need to do to substitute for SQLite?
OleAutoObj objADODB = oleCreateAutoObject "OleSQLite.SQLiteSource.1";

Given this VB example, could I change a few lines in your DXL Excel example so it can communicate with SQLite?
One SQLite engine is available here: http://cherrycitysoftware.com/ccs/Download/SQLitePV.zip

There could be others providers as well.

'define connection used through out in the form
Private mConn As ADODB.Connection 
 
'//Synposis:
'//1. Create an ADO connection
'//2. Enable Read Data button if the table exists
Private Sub Form_Load()
    On Error GoTo Trap
        Set mConn = New ADODB.Connection
        mConn.Open "Provider=OleSQLite.SQLiteSource.1; " _
            & "Data Source=C:\public\customer.dat"
        If HasCustTable Then
                Me.Read.Enabled = True
        End If
        Exit Sub
Trap:                   
        MsgBox Err.Description
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//1. Create a table named cust if it does not exist. If the table exits,
'//delete all records from the table.
'//2. Insert some records into cust table
'//3. Update the records using parameters which makes it easy for
'//binary data manipulation
Private Sub Create_Click()
        On Error GoTo Trap
        Dim cmd As New ADODB.Command
        cmd.ActiveConnection = mConn
        If HasCustTable Then    'delete all data from the table if table exists
                cmd.CommandText = "DELETE FROM cust;"
        Else  'create cust table if it does not exists
                cmd.CommandText = "CREATE TABLE cust(ID " _
                    & "INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, Name VARCHAR(60), "
                        & "Address VARCHAR(120), Picture BLOB);"
        End If 
        cmd.Execute 
        cmd.CommandText = ""
        
        'insert data
        Dim I As Integer
        For I = 100 To 110 
                cmd.CommandText = cmd.CommandText _
                     & "INSERT INTO cust (ID, Name) VALUES (" _
                     & I & ", 'Sean " & I & "');"
        Next I 
        cmd.Execute 
        
        
        'update records with Parameters
        Dim BA(999) As Byte 
        For I = 0 To 999
          BA(I) = (I + 1) Mod 256 
        Next I 
        
        Dim params(2) As Parameter
        Set params(0) = New ADODB.Parameter 
        params(0).Type = adInteger 'integer
        params(0).Value = 100
        Set params(1) = New ADODB.Parameter
        params(1).Type = adBSTR     'string
        params(1).Value = "1010 Main St, Salem, OR"
        Set params(2) = New ADODB.Parameter
        params(2).Type = adBinary
        params(2).Value = BA
        params(2).Size = 1000
        cmd.CommandText = "UPDATE cust SET Address=?, Picture=? WHERE ID=?;"
        
        'add parameters according to commend text 
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(1)
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(2)
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(0)
        cmd.Execute
        
        'using transaction
        params(0).Value = 101
        mConn.BeginTrans
        cmd.Execute
        mConn.RollbackTrans 'You will see the address is NOT updated
        params(0).Value = 102
        mConn.BeginTrans
        cmd.Execute
        mConn.CommitTrans 'Address is updated when read back
        
        Set cmd = Nothing
        MsgBox "Done"
        Exit Sub
Trap:
        MsgBox Err.Description
End Sub
 
 
'//Synposis:
'//Create a recordset to get all data from cust table and present the
'//data in a data grid.
'//To view the binary data read back from the database, you may open
'//open a watch window in the debug mode
Private Sub Read_Click()
        Dim BA() As Byte
        On Error GoTo Trap
        Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Clear
        Dim Rs As New ADODB.Recordset
        Rs.Open "SELECT * FROM cust;", mConn
        If Not Rs.EOF Then
                BA = Rs("Picture").Value 'add to watch window to view byte array
        End If
        Set Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Recordset = Rs
        Exit Sub
Trap:
        MsgBox Err.Description 
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//Clear all data from the data grid   
Private Sub Clear_Click()
        Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Clear
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//Check if the cust table exists. Return true if it does. Return false
'//otherwise.  
Private Function HasCustTable() As Boolean
        Dim Rs As ADODB.Recordset
        Set Rs = mConn.OpenSchema(adSchemaTables)
        While Not Rs.EOF
                If Rs("table_name").Value = "cust" Then
                        HasCustTable = True
                        GoTo funExit
                End If
                Rs.MoveNext
        Wend
funExit:
        Rs.Close
        Set Rs = Nothing
End Function

How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
xdweissx - Tue Dec 03 15:45:13 EST 2013

OleAutoObj objDAOobjDAO = oleCreateAutoObject "DAO.DBEngine.36";

// Given this works for Excel
OleAutoObj objDAO = oleCreateAutoObject "DAO.DBEngine.36";

// Is this all I need to do to substitute for SQLite?
OleAutoObj objADODB = oleCreateAutoObject "OleSQLite.SQLiteSource.1";

'define connection used through out in the form
Private mConn As ADODB.Connection 
 
'//Synposis:
'//1. Create an ADO connection
'//2. Enable Read Data button if the table exists
Private Sub Form_Load()
    On Error GoTo Trap
        Set mConn = New ADODB.Connection
        mConn.Open "Provider=OleSQLite.SQLiteSource.1; " _
            & "Data Source=C:\public\customer.dat"
        If HasCustTable Then
                Me.Read.Enabled = True
        End If
        Exit Sub
Trap:                   
        MsgBox Err.Description
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//1. Create a table named cust if it does not exist. If the table exits,
'//delete all records from the table.
'//2. Insert some records into cust table
'//3. Update the records using parameters which makes it easy for
'//binary data manipulation
Private Sub Create_Click()
        On Error GoTo Trap
        Dim cmd As New ADODB.Command
        cmd.ActiveConnection = mConn
        If HasCustTable Then    'delete all data from the table if table exists
                cmd.CommandText = "DELETE FROM cust;"
        Else  'create cust table if it does not exists
                cmd.CommandText = "CREATE TABLE cust(ID " _
                    & "INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, Name VARCHAR(60), "
                        & "Address VARCHAR(120), Picture BLOB);"
        End If 
        cmd.Execute 
        cmd.CommandText = ""
        
        'insert data
        Dim I As Integer
        For I = 100 To 110 
                cmd.CommandText = cmd.CommandText _
                     & "INSERT INTO cust (ID, Name) VALUES (" _
                     & I & ", 'Sean " & I & "');"
        Next I 
        cmd.Execute 
        
        
        'update records with Parameters
        Dim BA(999) As Byte 
        For I = 0 To 999
          BA(I) = (I + 1) Mod 256 
        Next I 
        
        Dim params(2) As Parameter
        Set params(0) = New ADODB.Parameter 
        params(0).Type = adInteger 'integer
        params(0).Value = 100
        Set params(1) = New ADODB.Parameter
        params(1).Type = adBSTR     'string
        params(1).Value = "1010 Main St, Salem, OR"
        Set params(2) = New ADODB.Parameter
        params(2).Type = adBinary
        params(2).Value = BA
        params(2).Size = 1000
        cmd.CommandText = "UPDATE cust SET Address=?, Picture=? WHERE ID=?;"
        
        'add parameters according to commend text 
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(1)
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(2)
        cmd.Parameters.Append params(0)
        cmd.Execute
        
        'using transaction
        params(0).Value = 101
        mConn.BeginTrans
        cmd.Execute
        mConn.RollbackTrans 'You will see the address is NOT updated
        params(0).Value = 102
        mConn.BeginTrans
        cmd.Execute
        mConn.CommitTrans 'Address is updated when read back
        
        Set cmd = Nothing
        MsgBox "Done"
        Exit Sub
Trap:
        MsgBox Err.Description
End Sub
 
 
'//Synposis:
'//Create a recordset to get all data from cust table and present the
'//data in a data grid.
'//To view the binary data read back from the database, you may open
'//open a watch window in the debug mode
Private Sub Read_Click()
        Dim BA() As Byte
        On Error GoTo Trap
        Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Clear
        Dim Rs As New ADODB.Recordset
        Rs.Open "SELECT * FROM cust;", mConn
        If Not Rs.EOF Then
                BA = Rs("Picture").Value 'add to watch window to view byte array
        End If
        Set Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Recordset = Rs
        Exit Sub
Trap:
        MsgBox Err.Description 
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//Clear all data from the data grid   
Private Sub Clear_Click()
        Me.MSHFlexGrid1.Clear
End Sub
 
'//Synposis:
'//Check if the cust table exists. Return true if it does. Return false
'//otherwise.  
Private Function HasCustTable() As Boolean
        Dim Rs As ADODB.Recordset
        Set Rs = mConn.OpenSchema(adSchemaTables)
        While Not Rs.EOF
                If Rs("table_name").Value = "cust" Then
                        HasCustTable = True
                        GoTo funExit
                End If
                Rs.MoveNext
        Wend
funExit:
        Rs.Close
        Set Rs = Nothing
End Function

Oddly enough, I have the same question as above. I have a SQLite database and i would like to query and modify this from a DXL within DOORS.

Did anyone happen to find a solution for this? If so please shed some light.

Re: How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
Mathias Mamsch - Wed Dec 04 05:20:23 EST 2013

I am doing that at the moment as an example for my "Parallels" library, which you can find here:

https://github.com/domoran/DXLParallels

My goal is to check the performance gain of DXL parallelization by a typical application, so I decided to make an SQLite Exporter, that will dump module contents to an SQLite database. Hopefully parallalization, i.e. extracting data from modules in different batch processes, brings a reasonable speedup on multicore machines.

I will checkin some example code this evening - The SQLite interface is pretty much implemented, I have a working example that will put and read some data to/from a database. You can see if it suits your needs.

Feel free to contribute to the project by the way ;-)

Regards, Mathias

Re: How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
Mathias Mamsch - Wed Dec 04 17:35:28 EST 2013

Okay, I uploaded the code to gitgub. At the moment I am experimenting on how to store/query link and object hierarchies in the fastest way. In the example I built a trigger to update the closure table for the hierarchy using a trigger, but that might slow down inserts a lot, so I think about creating the closure table on demand or even use a recursive query on the original data.

Anyway, what do you want to do with sqlite and doors? It seems to me you might want to export data there to run statistics / queries so the parallels library might come in the right direction for you. Would be glad if you gave some feedback.

Regards, Mathias

Re: How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
xdweissx - Thu Dec 05 14:28:32 EST 2013

Thank You in advance Mathias. I havent gotten a chance to look at your project but I will over the next few days. It sounds very relevant to my application. My concept is as follows:

I need to read in parameters (strings) from a SQLite database to DOORS (not sure how this is done), use some logic to manipulate them (also not sure how this is done.) and then enter the processed strings (essentially concatenated  SQLite database entries) into a DOORS module. I then need to read the generated Object ID from DOORS and flow back to the SQLite database. I should mention that I am new to dxl scripting.

I would like to automate this somehow so that when a user adds a row to the SQLite table, a command can be run in DOORS which will update the DOORS module based on the modification to the SQLite database.

***

Alternatively, I have considered performing an export to csv from SQLite, and then importing the tables directly into intermediate DOORS modules. These intermediate modules must then be queried and passed into some function (dxl) which will use the data from these modules to generate object text for the main or "readable" module. This is a much less elegant alternative. 

The logic to generate the final object text is the same in either approach, but the second approach retrieves its data from DOORS (intermediate modules) where as the option above is assuming some connectivity to a SQLite database (read, write).

Regards,

Daniel

Re: How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
xdweissx - Thu Dec 05 21:15:36 EST 2013

I have downloaded all of your files and ran the sqlite.dxl code which compiled properly.

I did however receive a "SQLite invocation failed" message. I was hoping you could provide some clarification/guidance on this?

Thanks again, Daniel

Re: How to Communicate with SQLite database from DOORS?
Mathias Mamsch - Tue Dec 10 02:39:05 EST 2013

Hi Daniel,

the code tries to locate the SQLite executable automatically from the configured include path. Packaged with the parallels library is a runDOORS.bat file, which is configured to start DOORS with the include path set to the Parallels install directory.

I can think of a couple of reasons, why this fails:

a) The sqlite.exe is not determined correctly (please verify by commenting in the print statement that will print the command that is run. It should contain the absolute path of the sqlite.exe executable) Maybe there is a quotation problem with spaces on the path, etc.

b) The example is configured to create an SQL database on c:\\temp\\mydb.sql .... If that path does not exist, of course the invocation will fail.

If that does not resolve the problems, please take the command, that is printed by the example and run it manually on the DOS prompt, but without the pipe operator "> output file". I did not yet redirect stderr output of the command to the result, so at the moment any SQLite error messages are swallowed by the library. I will take care of this issue on the next push.

Please contact me by e-mail for further discussions: mmamsch (at) google (remove this space) mail.com

Regards, Mathias