Doors NG simple table of Requirements and Comments
Hi,
I am trying to construct a simple table of requirements and their corresponding comments in a csv file.
Is there a straightforward way to extract this from DOORS NG?
I have briefly trialled some Python code generated by Copilot but it failed in various different ways.
Also, I started looking at the ELM-Python-Client on Github, but did not actually run it.
Am I missing something obvious?
Thanks
Louis
Accepted answer
This is an interesting one, and it often comes up.
Comments are a a full blown threaded discussion in DNG, and so it's actually quite hard to do a 'simple' export. As you've discovered, exports out of the UI or Report Builder show the count of comments but not the thread.
To actually go into the comments, you need to be able to read the whole thread and separate out the replies etc., and this is possible using the DNG Reportable REST API, which has an end point for comments. You would use the end point for requirement artefacts first, and then get the link to any comments, and then use that in the comments end point to pull the details of the comment thread. See:
If you were going to do this programmatically, then this is where you would need to go, but you can also use ELO Publisher and build a document template based on the Reportable REST API, and create a Word document or Excel spreadsheet with what you need.
The DNG development team have actually done this and provided a simple PUB report out of the box, which will export requirements and comments as a Word document. Either use the "Create and Print PDF document", "Create and Print Microsoft Word document", or use the "Generate Report for View..." and select Print Module Book. Then select to include comments.
If you have access to the ELM server reporting endpoint, you can download the PUB templates that these reports use, and use them as the base for your own custom reports - these will show you exactly how to use the Reportable REST API to access comments for an artefact
Comments
Ah, now I see that I can comment on the post after I accept it. Sorry if this has caused any confusion.
OSLC is a more complex interface, but provides CRUD and more - if all you want is to read and report, then the Reportable REST API is you best bet. It lets you use XPath for queries and the schema is a lot more simple to navigate.
As mentioned above, if you have access to ELO Publishing then the out of the box example is a fantastic way to understand how to get artefacts and their comments. If not, then you'll need to play around with the API using the wiki documentation, which is really pretty comprehensive.
Your first step is to explore the resources, text, and comments endpoints - if you use ?metadata=schema at the end of the query it'll pull back the schema for you as an XSD, and then you can explore the layout. If your comments are inside modules then you'll need to also look at the modules endpoint. Once you pull the schema you'll see that resources and text endpoints have a parentComment element, which is how you then access the top level comments. You use the about element contents to form a Reportable REST API URL for the comments endpoint, and then go from there
2 other answers
Hi Davyd,
Thanks for that very helpful response.
I can get a list of requirements from this:
oslcquery -J <URL> -A rm -U <username>-P <Password> -p <Project>-r Requirement -s "*" -O outputfile.csv
But the comments are missing.
I am still looking at the DNGReporableRestAPI and trying to figure out how to use it. Are there some simple concrete examples somewhere?
Should oslcquery be able to do this?
Thanks
Louis
[I don't seem to be able to post a comment, so I am commenting by using Answer Your Own Question instead]
Louis,
This work is extremely easy when using Engineering Insights - Publishing. ("Easy" is a relative term -- it's easy for an expert).
For doing a python script it's possible but would require lots of hops.
If you have access to ENI PUB I would start there with the out of the box template and then export it to Excel. You could even set up a Document Builder Job to do this sort of thing.
This is the kind of big bang for the buck that the IBM ELM ecosystem offers, but requires some expertise and knowledge to get it set up so that users can benefit. If you're interested in professional services regarding reports, do let me know.
Good luck!
Kevin Murphy
IBM Champion