RabbitHole FAQ
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TDI
FAQ
This FAQ is under perpetual construction, and many of the question are
clipped out of newsgroup. Because the question might be a little out of
the context, you might have a better/more general wording for it.
Please let us know if that is the case or if you have other FAQ
questions!
Note that most of the items are dated, although old answers
may be better than none, please check both the offical TDI docs
and the newsgroup for updated information...
TDI: What is it?Q: What is TDI?2005.02.21 A: Depending on who you ask, you will get a lot different answers on this one. But everybody agrees on it being (at least) an edge integration tool that has proved extremely useful in Identity Integration scenarios. TDI is a very lightweight edge integration tool that installs quickly and scales well. It lets data flow in an AssemblyLine, pulling data from one or more sources and pushing them out to one or more target systems. 'Sources' and 'targets' include a multitude of systems and protocols. TDI consists of a server run-time environment and a graphical editor to build, test and maintain the rules that the server executes. It's all Java, and runs on most platforms. The GUI integrates seamlessly, but independently with the server. This enables the developer to continuously test connectivity, attribute mapping and transformation logic against live sources, and to do this incrementally and with immediate visual feedback.Q: What is the difference between TDI and other integration frameworks?2005.02.21 A: TDI makes very little assumptions about your data. This means that it is flexible, but that it will not solve your business problems out of the box: No assumptions about your business logic are made. However, it does amazingly much out of the box when it comes to edge integration: Grabbing data from one or more sources and merging them out to new data-sources. This means that you will usually use TDI together with something that has more business rules build in: Sometime even another integration framework such as DB2II or WBI. Since TDI gives you a rich scripting environment and easily lets you write your own Java-classes, it can be used to solve very complex scenarios: It is a matter of how much you want to build versus what to buy.Q: What systems can TDI Connect to?2005.02.21 A: The short answer is 'Look in the items available under in the official reference manual. (The links above might be outdated). Also, if you have TDI installed, do a Help | About Tivoli Directory Integrator Components. As of 2005.02.21, here is the current list: ---- Connectors
TDI How to/Can I ...InstallationQ: How much memory and how much CPU power do I need to run TDI?2005.05.02 A: It depends. The server itself will run on a 486 CPU, and if you have 128 MB free memory after the OS/JVM have gotten their toll, you are in business. However, certain AssemblyLines that build up data in memory (non-SAX based XML, highly recursive solutions etc) will need more memory.Q: Can I Install and run TDI as non-root under Unix?A: Running as non-root should/can/may work. Here are a couple of things you might need to be careful about (and there might be others. We will try to collect them for later use so let us know because this is not tested):
Q: Can I do silent/non-interactive installs of TDI 6.0?2005.08.26 A: Yes and this should work for earlier versions. Silent/batch installs are done by creating a response file and using it as a parameter to your install-program/script. To actually run a silent install using a previously created response file:
ConfigurationQ:Can I/How do I use DB2 as a system store?2005.04.11 A: Yes you can since TDI 6.0. If you look at the global.properties file, there are some CREATE_TABLE statements for using setting up the system store. If you use the right syntax, you can use non-cloudscape databases as system store. DB2 has been tested, but no other RDBMS has for the time being. Here is the DB2 syntax:
## Location of the DB2 database (networked mode)
com.ibm.di.store.database=jdbc:db2://168.199.48.4:3700/tdidb
com.ibm.di.store.jdbc.driver=com.ibm.db2.jcc.DB2Driver
com.ibm.di.store.jdbc.urlprefix=jdbc:db2:
com.ibm.di.store.jdbc.user=db2inst1
com.ibm.di.store.jdbc.password=******
com.ibm.di.store.start.mode=automatic
com.ibm.di.store.port=3700
com.ibm.di.store.sysibm=true
# the varchar(length) for the ID columns used in system store and PES
Connector tables
com.ibm.di.store.varchar.length=512
# create statements for DB2 system store tables
com.ibm.di.store.create.delta.systable=CREATE TABLE {0} (ID
VARCHAR(VARCHAR_LENGTH) NOT NULL, SEQUENCEID int, VERSION int)
com.ibm.di.store.create.delta.store=CREATE TABLE {0} (ID
VARCHAR(VARCHAR_LENGTH) NOT NULL, SEQUENCEID int, ENTRY LONG VARCHAR
FOR BIT DATA )
com.ibm.di.store.create.property.store=CREATE TABLE {0} (ID
VARCHAR(VARCHAR_LENGTH) NOT NULL, ENTRY LONG VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA )
com.ibm.di.store.create.checkpoint.store=CREATE TABLE {0} (ID
VARCHAR(VARCHAR_LENGTH) NOT NULL, ALSTATE LONG VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA,
ENTRY LONG VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA, TCB LONG VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA )
com.ibm.di.store.create.sandbox.store=CREATE TABLE {0} (ID
VARCHAR(VARCHAR_LENGTH) NOT NULL, ENTRY LONG VARCHAR FOR BIT DATA )
#mozTocId159908 Q: I want to use my additional java-classes supplied in my own jar-files. Where should I put them and how does the loader work?2005.05.31 A: Generally speaking, you can simply drop the jars you want to access under the jar-directory where you have installed TDI as they will be loaded by the loader. If you want to use existing directories, read on. There are two loader-mechanisms in action in TDI:
Q: Is it possible to synchronize the Connector library between several TDI servers to provide the same set of Connectors on them?2005.10.17 Here are some suggestions:
Q: I have edited global.properties, and I want those changes to survive upgrades/fixpacks. Is there a way?2005.10.19 A: For 6.0, you can not directly achieve this. However, note that:
Q: Can I start AMC2 as a Windows Service?A: Apparently it can be done :-) Here is an article from the external newsgroup on that topic. We have not even tried this, so use at your own risk. But some of the relevant parameters might be documented below.I use a free Java Service Wrapper from:
http://wrapper.tanukisoftware.org. Below is my wrapper.conf for AMC2 as a service. It took a few hours to get this working so enjoy it! I really want to do this for Webshere Express, but that looks complex enough to take a week. My wrapper.conf for AMC2 is as follows: (Edit it for your directories. #******************************************************************** # Wrapper Properties #******************************************************************** # Java Application wrapper.java.command=D:\Program Files\IBM\ITDI/_jvm/jre/bin/java # Java Main class. This class must implement the WrapperListener interface # or guarantee that the WrapperManager class is initialized. Helper # classes are provided to do this for you. See the Integration section # of the documentation for details. wrapper.java.mainclass=org.tanukisoftware.wrapper.WrapperSimpleApp # Java Classpath (include wrapper.jar) Add class path elements as # needed starting from 1 wrapper.java.classpath.1=./wrapper.jar wrapper.java.classpath.2=D:\Progra~1\IBM\ITDI\jars\webserver.jar # Java Library Path (location of DLL or libwrapper.so) wrapper.java.library.path.1=D:\Progra~1\IBM\ITDI # Java Additional Parameters #wrapper.java.additional.1= # Initial Java Heap Size (in MB) #wrapper.java.initmemory=3 # Maximum Java Heap Size (in MB) #wrapper.java.maxmemory=64 # Application parameters. Add parameters as needed starting from 1 wrapper.app.parameter.1=com.ibm.di.amc.tomcat.EmbeddedTomcat wrapper.app.parameter.2="D:\Program Files\IBM\ITDI/ibm_help/eclipse/plugins/org.eclipse.tomcat_4.0.6.2" amc2 wrapper.app.parameter.3="D:\Program Files\IBM\ITDI/ibm_help/eclipse/plugins/org.eclipse.tomcat_4.0.6.2/webapps/amc2" "9091" #******************************************************************** # Wrapper Logging Properties #******************************************************************** # Format of output for the console. (See docs for formats) wrapper.console.format=PM # Log Level for console output. (See docs for log levels) wrapper.console.loglevel=INFO # Log file to use for wrapper output logging. wrapper.logfile=/ITDI Logs/wrapper.log # Format of output for the log file. (See docs for formats) wrapper.logfile.format=LPTM # Log Level for log file output. (See docs for log levels) wrapper.logfile.loglevel=INFO # Maximum size that the log file will be allowed to grow to before # the log is rolled. Size is specified in bytes. The default value # of 0, disables log rolling. May abbreviate with the 'k' (kb) or # 'm' (mb) suffix. For example: 10m = 10 megabytes. wrapper.logfile.maxsize=0 # Maximum number of rolled log files which will be allowed before old # files are deleted. The default value of 0 implies no limit. wrapper.logfile.maxfiles=0 # Log Level for sys/event log output. (See docs for log levels) wrapper.syslog.loglevel=NONE #******************************************************************** # Wrapper Windows Properties #******************************************************************** # Title to use when running as a console wrapper.console.title=AMC2 #******************************************************************** # Wrapper Windows NT/2000/XP Service Properties #******************************************************************** # WARNING - Do not modify any of these properties when an application # using this configuration file has been installed as a service. # Please uninstall the service before modifying this section. The # service can then be reinstalled. # Name of the service wrapper.ntservice.name=AMC2START # Display name of the service wrapper.ntservice.displayname=Start AMC2 Service # Description of the service wrapper.ntservice.description=Start AMC2 Service # Service dependencies. Add dependencies as needed starting from 1 wrapper.ntservice.dependency.1= # Mode in which the service is installed. AUTO_START or DEMAND_START wrapper.ntservice.starttype=AUTO_START # Allow the service to interact with the desktop. wrapper.ntservice.interactive=false -------------: Starting/Invoking TDI/ALsQ: How do I pass command line parameters from the ibmdisrv command to AssemblyLines?The customer doesn't want to use customized a external property file to achieve this because they will have a number of TDI depolyment and they want to use single TDI definition and change TDI behavior by command line option. A: The following code will get you command line options: // Only for 6.0 task.logmsg( "Param r : " + main.commandLineParam( "r" ) ); // For both 6.0 and 5.x task.logmsg( "Param r : " + main.params.get( "r" ) ); So for 5.2, you use the main.params.get() method. Now, to ensure that you don't activate a parameter that TDI uses, try parameters 0 to 9: ibmdisrv -c myConfig.xml -0 param1 -1 param2 Then you can grab them from within your Config (replace r by the paramter number...)Q: How do I start an AssemblyLine from another AssemblyLine/EventHandler?2005.02.28 A: Check out the section on AssemblyLine parameter passing in the User Guide, it will show you how to use startAL().Q: How do I start an EventHandler from another AL/EH?2005.02.28 A: eh = main.startEventTrigger("EHName", <0 or 1>); // eh is then a Thread, which you can wait for completion by // doing eh.join() for exampleQ: Do I need join() in order to call an AssemblyLine from another AssemblyLine?(This answer is related to scripting TDI and from TDI starting other AssemblyLines) The customer found that calling an AssemblyLine from another AssemblyLine aborts when caller AssemblyLine ends or dies if customer doesn't use join() when calling Assemblylines. Does this behavior follow product design? Should we use join() to call Assemblylines from other Assemblylines not to produce this kind of result? A: How is the main AL being started? If you start the Server with the -w command param, then the Server stops when the specified ALs are complete -- even if they start other ALs. If you do not use -w then the Server will not terminate before all threads (ALs and EHs) are completed. Please note that when the CE (Config Editor) runs an AL, it calls the Server with the -w option. It will not do this anymore in the 6.0 release. So it could fail from the CE, but work if you start from the Command line yourself. Normally, you do not need to use join(), so you can have multiple ALs running in parallel.Stopping/Terminating TDI/ALsQ: How can an AssemblyLine terminate itself?2005.02.24 A: The clean (graceful) way to abort an AL is by running the shutdown() method of the AssemblyLine class. From the AL in question,task.shutdown();
would do the trick. 'On shutdown request' hooks would be invoked,
making it possible for user-created Java objects to be
closed/terminated. Connections are properly closed, and the epilogs are
executed.
A more brutal way to shutdown an AL is through the system.abortAssemblyLine("reason");
The 'on shutdown request' hooks won't get called, though. The epilog
will be called, unless it is already executed.
And also, you are probably wondering how to shutdown one AL from
another AL. You can grab the running AL objects through MOBJ in TDI
5.x, and through the serverAPI in TDI 6. If you need to shutdown an AL
from an external process, then you would use JMX or AMC in TDI 5.x. In
TDI 6, you could add the RMI-based server API to your choices.
This only works for an AL trying to kill itself, if you want to have
other processes within the same JVM kill it, see How can I terminate ALs and/or EHs
from other
AL/EHs?
Q: How can an EventHandler terminate itself?2005.02.28 First, a word from a sponsor: You really want to get away from EventHandlers and start using AssemblyLines and Connectors. Of course, not all Connectors support Server mode, so that's not always an options. However, we want you all to check out the Server mode availability ... But back to the answer: A: The EH can kill itself by using the EH action "Terminate Handler!" This is equivalent to the scriptsystem.abortAL();
You can also call
task.setExitRequested(true);
All of the above will terminate the current instance of the EH, e.g.
for a HTTP EH, it will terminate the current session, but the main EH
will still listen for incoming HTTP requests.
If you want to terminate the HTTP server thread (the one that listens
to incoming requests), you can use the code
task.getServer().setExitRequested(true);
Q: How can I terminate ALs and/or EHs from other AL/EHs?A: See the answer of the question below that deals with killing them all, killing one is just a special case.Q: How can I terminate my Server2005.02.28 A: If you are running 6.0:var session =
new
Packages.com.ibm.di.api.APIEngine.getLocalSession();
session.shutDownServer()
You can always terminate the Server by killing the JVM, but that is
probably what you asked about....
f you are running 5.2 and you don't want to kill the process through
the OS, you will need to kill all the EHs and ALs running on te server.
Answer
to 'Everything you wanted to know about killing it all':
2005.02.24
A: version
6.0:
Version 6.0 lets you use the server api (com.ibm.di.api.local or
com.ibm.di.api.remote) and it has a set of powerful methods. Here is a
short script example:
The below script kills all EHs one by one, and then the server itself.
var session =
new
Packages.com.ibm.di.api.APIEngine.getLocalSession();
// Stop EventHandlers
ehs = session.getEventHandlers();
task.logmsg("RUNNING EHs: " + ehs.length);
for(i = 0; i < ehs.length; i++) {
var eh = ehs[i];
task.logmsg("STOPPING " + eh.getName());
eh.stop();
}
// Kill the server
session.shutDownServer()
// Stop
EventHandlers
x = task.runningEHs();
task.logmsg("RUNNING EHs: " + x.size());
for(i = 0; i < x.size(); i++) {
var eh = x.get(i);
// If I am an EH dont commit suicide
if ( eh == task )
continue;
task.logmsg("Stopping " + eh.getName());
eh.setExitRequested(true);
}
// Stop AssemblyLines
x = task.runningALs();
task.logmsg("RUNNING ALs: " + x.size());
for(i = 0; i < x.size(); i++) {
var al = x.get(i);
// If I am an AL dont commit suicide
if ( al == task )
continue;
task.logmsg("STOPPING " + al.getName());
al.shutdown();
}
Q:How do I get the error status of the AssemblyLine from an EventHandler that started the AL?A: I know the getResult() method to get the result of AssemblyLine execution from the EventHandler. However, for example, when an AssemblyLine calls the filesystem Connector with a CSV parser, and the CSV parser produces exeption by illegal format of data, we can't get error status of the AssemblyLine from the caller EventHandler. Is there any way to get error status of Assemblylines in the EventHandler in cases like this? A: Calling al.getStats().getError() gets you the java.lang.Exception object if one exists. This is the exception (error code and message) that caused the AL failure.LoggingQ: How can I see my TDI 6.0 AssemblyLine logs using AMC2?A: The logs generated by the SystemLog appender will be visible for AMC2, so you need to add a SystemLog appender to your server or AssemblyLine.Q: I want to be able to log *just* my messages, to create an audit log. How can I do that?(I don't want all the TDI messages) 2005.04.19 2005.04.20 Here are a couple of suggestions:
First define
(in the
prologe for example):
myLog =
Packages.org.apache.log4j.Logger.getLogger("myLog");
and then, instead of task.logmsg() use
myLog.info(msg);
myLog.error() etc ...
In addition you will need (as spelled out by Jason Williams) to define
the myLog appender itself in the log4j.properties file
to something like: (NOTE! The Threshold must be defined for this to
work.
)
log4j.debug=true
log4j.rootCategory=INFO, Default, myLog log4j.appender.Default=org.apache.log4j.FileAppender log4j.appender.Default.file=ibmdi.log log4j.appender.Default.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout log4j.appender.Default.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{ISO8601} %-5p [%c] - %m%n log4j.appender.Default.append=false log4j.logger.com.ibm.di.config=WARN log4j.logger.com.ibm.di.loader=WARN log4j.appender.myLog=org.apache.log4j.FileAppender log4j.appender.myLog.File=myInfo.log log4j.appender.myLog.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout log4j.appender.myLog.layout.ConversionPattern=%c %d{ISO8601} -- %p -- %m%n log4j.appender.myLog.append=false log4j.appender.myLog.Threshold=WARN Q: What's the correct approach in TDI 5.2 for writing output from many components to one destination? Can I configure multiple ALs and EHs to use the same logging specification through the TDI GUI.2003 That is, is it allowable to fill out the logging tabs for several ALs and EHs with exactly the same details. So if I specifiy the same output file for each AL, and the same Appender type and format, and the ALs execute in parallel, will they cooperate and share writing to the file, or will each AL think it owns the file and overwrite each others output? ALso if each is an Appender of type IDIFileRoller or DailyRollingFile, when and who decides to roll the file? My goal is to ensure that I capture all the output from an EventHandler and the ALs it calls. I would also like to be able to get the log file to roll periodically (Daily or on a size basis). A: When starting an AL from an EH using the Start AL Action, you have the Internal Logfile checkbox to indicate that you want to them to share log appenders (including, sharing the same files for output if appenders have been set up for file output).You can also do this by hand, however, there are limitations in the current version. For more information on how to get around the limit in parameters in the main.startAL() function, check out my posting in this forum with the subject: "Re: IDI 5.2 logging: relative vs absolute file names AND consolidating "main-"ALs and "sub-"ALs" There I describe how to use a java.util. Vector to pass any number of params to an AL you want to start, including the logging context of the calling process. ScriptingVariables and PropertiesQ: How do I get/set Java properties?2005.04.13 A: You use java.lang.System methods:// Get all
properties:
java.lang.System.getProperties()
//
get a property
task.logmsg("com.ibm.di.store.database
= " + java.lang.System.getProperty("com.ibm.di.store.database"));
// set a
property
java.lang.System.setProperty("com.ibm.di.store.jdbc.driver","com.ibm.db2j.jdbc.DB2jDriver");
Q: How do I get a variable to persist across iterator iterations when several spawned ALs are involved?I'm running an AL, which spawns off an AL, which spawns off an AL which needs to access a variable from the second AL across every iteration. I can pass the variable okay via the IWE (Intital Work Entry), but I can't figure out how to take the value from the IWE and persist it across every iteration. Is there some sort of global variable concept or something like work with a broader scope? A: Check out the system.setPersistentObject and getPersistentObject (and deletePersistentObject) if you want this info really persisted -- these methods use the System Store. Or you can try setting Java Properties, which means you can pass stuff around in the same JVM. For example,java.lang.System.getProperties().put("myKey",
someJavaObject)
will save someJavaObject to Java properties using "myKey" to
access it later with:
java.lang.System.getProperties().get("myKey");
This means the object is only kept in memory and your solution
will perform better than persisting it to the System Store (cloudscape)
database.
Of course, you can always set an attribute equal to task in the
calling al and then pass it to the child AL. The task variable is a
pointer to the current AL. Then you can call the task.getWork()
function. As long as you keep passing in a reference to the same
AL, the getWork() method should return the same Entry object.
Q: I have my configuration parameters (such as filenames) in an external property file. How can I get access to those values through scripting?2005.02.10 A: Here is one way of doing it. I have this function in a script library which I can then either copy into, or include in my Config.// Return an
External
Property value
//
function getExtProp( propName, defaultValue ) // Returns Java String {
try {
retVal = main.getMetamergeConfig().getExternalProperties().getParameter(propName );
if ( retVal == null )
retVal = defaultValue
} catch (errMsg) {
retVal = defaultValue;
}
return retVal;
}
It wraps the call in a try-catch block because if the Ext Props are notdefined (i.e. assigned to a file) then the call throws and exception.This way I always get a value back. Q: Why can't I do setParam() on my Connector? Why are only some of the documented methods available to my Connector?05.03.15 A: There are two Connector objects, and you might be using the wrong one. When you see a Connector in an AssemblyLine in your ConfigEditor, you 'see' the common wrapper class, com.ibm.di.server.AssemblyLineComponent. However, it has an interface part (for example for LDAP com.ibm.di.connector.LDAPConnector) that is specific for the type of Connector that you use. Some of the methods you are interested in belong to the wrapping class (com.ibm.di.server.AssemblyLineComponent) and some belong to the specific target class (com.ibm.di.connector). If you look up the javadocs, you will find the methods belonging to one and the other: Some methods have the same name in both. The wrapper class com.ibm.di.server.AssemblyLineComponent has a field called connector that is the link between the high level common AssemblyLineComponent and the specific instance of (in the case of LDAP) com.ibm.di.connector.LDAPConnector tied to it. So if you had trouble with this, chances are that you will have to write things like thisConnector.connector.setParam("filePath", "examples/scripting/sample.csv" )Inheritance and object sharingQ: After overriding an inherited Connector, I want revert to the parent behaviour. Can I do that without recreating the Connector?A: Primary AL component inheritance can be set (and broken) via the Inherit From box/button at the top of the component Details window. For those components that offer multiple configuration tabs (like Connectors and Functions), specific inheritance for each aspect is controlled by the Inherit From box/button at the lower right-hand part of the tab. Any component tab can be set to:
Q: Can we share object (i.e. work object) between multiple AssemblyLines? In the other words, what is the scope of object in TDI? I expect scope of object is defined in thread boundary. Is this my understanding correct?2005.02.21 A: Since each AL (and EH) runs in its own Script Engine instance, all variables are local to the AL (EH). If you want to share them, you can use various techniques:
Q: Is there a way to share Connectors between process ?A: Here's an example of passing a Connector into an AL (retrofitting the deprecated run-time provided Connector feature). It does this by setting a Java Property in the EventHandler: // Save as a Java property, making it global for all // threads in this VM. java.lang.System.getProperties().put("RTConn", useConn); Then in the AL I have a scripted Connector that looks for this property and grabs the Raw Connector. Here is the selectEntries() method: function selectEntries() { // Get globally saved Connector (must be pre-initialized) RTConn = java.lang.System.getProperties().get("RTConn"); if (RTConn == null) task.logmsg("** Could not get System property called \"RTConn\"") else { RTConn.selectEntries(); } }Runtime ConfiguratiomQ: Can I change Connector mode at runtime (for example, from Update to Add-only mode)? Are there better alternatives?2005.05.02 A: You cannot change the mode of a Connector after the AssemblyLine has started. But if you start the AL with startAL(), then you can modify the config object before you start the AL. Usually, there are better and easier ways to obtain what you are looking for, so read on. Assume the Connector is called MyConnector.in AssemblyLine MyAL, and you want to change the mode to ADDONLY_MODE for all AssemblyLines started in this server (from now on). Here is the syntax (but read on before you do this).connectorconfig
=
main.getMetamergeConfig().lookup("AssemblyLines/MyAL").getConnectorByName("MyConnector");
connectorconfig.setMode( connectorconfig.ADDONLY_MODE );
Note that you will need to be careful with your attribute maps:
Probably the best is to set up (in advance and with the CE) the
attribute maps for the Connector for all modes you want to set.
Now, in the spirit of 'There are many ways to do it in TDI', let me
suggest a couple of alternative paths:
High Availability/Defensive programmingQ: I can not Connect to my data-source, but the On Connection Failure hook is not called. This must be a bug, no?2005.05.27 The On Connection Failure hook in TDI 6.0 should really have been called On Connection Loss. It is part of the AL flow and will not be called before initialization has been successfully completed and the AL flow invoked. To catch initial Connection errors, you should place code in your On Error hook in the Prolog section of the Connector. Do not try to reinitialize the Connector here as you will create a recursive loop and because there are non-initialized javaobjects at this stage that can cause problems. The easiest way to handle initial Connection errors is simply to restart the AL in the prolog On Error hook:
main.startAL("myName");
system.abortAssemblyLine("message ....");
Make sure that you pass the TCB on if this AL has one.
Another alternative is to have kicker AssemblyLine that starts your
business AssemblyLine: If one of the Connector fail, you can
catch the error and take whatever action you want to.
Finally, for the adventurous, you can try to sniff out whether a
Connection will fail or not in the Prolog Before
Initialization hook.
(Note, the below does not guarantee you that you will
ultimately
get a connection)
Something like will do the job:
maxtry = 10; // 10 * 60 secs = 10 minutes
before
we give up
while (--maxtry > 0) {
try {
thisConnector.initialize();
thisConnector.terminate();
// remember the Connector will be initialized later since this is
before initialize.
break; //
success - exit while loop
} catch
(error) {
task.logmsg("Initialized failed ... trying " + maxtry + " more times");
thisConnector.terminate(); // removing this will might cause
you
to bleed memory
system.sleep(60);
}
}
//
if (maxtry < 1)
system.abortAssemblyLine("Unable to reinitialize Connector " +
thisConnector.getName());
Q: When I reuse Connectors, where is the best practice for placing of the reconnection logic: In the initializing Connector (IC), or in the Connector that reuses the initialized Connection (RC)?2005.05.30 A: The Connection itself is what is reused through the @-syntax, not the Connection parameters and hooks. Initialization Connection errors must be handled during Initialization, there is no easy alternative here. When it comes to the Reconnect Tab and the On Connection Failure, you will usually get two sets of them: One for the initializing Connector (IC) and one for the reusing Connector (RC). There is no inheritance of the hooks/tabs, so all reconnect configuration need to exist in the RC (and possibly in IC as well if IC uses the Connection as well). However, what you might want to do, is to place your Connector in the Connector Library (LC), and have your IC and RC both inherit from LC. This way, you only have one place to update your reconnect logic should you want to.VariousQ: Is it possible send an email (SMTP) from ITDI?A: Yes, check out the SendMail Function (FC) and the the UserFunctions class in the Javadocs, available as the system bean in ITDI AssemblyLines. In other words,system.sendMail("from@mail.com",
"to@mail.com",
"subject, "body" , "c:\\file.txt")
sends an email message. Make sure the mail.smtp.host Java property is
configured with the hostname of a valid SMTP server.
Parameters:
Q: I have a simple AL with an iterator Connector feeding into an update Connector. In the output map of the update Connector I have left the Mod checkboxes unchecked but when I run the AL the Connector complains if a record with the same data already exists.Shouldn't the connector simply compare and skip the existant record? I get the same behaviour when I use AddOnly mode. Do I need to add a trigger or should the default be to skip to the next record in the iteration loop? A: If you don't want to do anything when you find an existing record, you can just add code to the "Override Modify" hook. any of the following code would work.
Q: How can I obtain the actual connector object, or at least the actual Connector name?Inside the AL,all Connectors are wrapped with the AssemblyLineComponent class. You can always query its name with the getName() function. You can get the classname of any Java object by using the .getClass() method. To get at the Connector Interface itself (the CI is the actual protocol/API specific part of the Connector -- LDAP, JDBC, JMS, etc.) use the .connector member. As an example, let's say I have an AL with a Connector called SQL_People in it. The Prolog - After Init Hook of the Connector contains this code:
task.logmsg("
Conn Name: " + thisConnector.getName()
);
task.logmsg("
Conn Class: " + thisConnector.getClass()
);
task.logmsg(" Conn
Interface: " + thisConnector.connector.getName()
);
task.logmsg("
CI Class: " + thisConnector.connector.getClass()
);
This will result in the following output.
15:27:34
Conn
Name: SQL_People
15:27:34
Conn
Class: class com.ibm.di.server.AssemblyLineComponent
15:27:34
Conn Interface: SQL_People
15:27:34
CI Class: class com.ibm.di.connector.JDBCConnector
Note how both the ALComp and the CI return the AL Comp's name
with the getName() method. Btw. thisConnector
is a special variable that references the Connector where this script is run.
Q: How can I transform/hash a (password) string in cleartext with MD5?2005.06.22 From Rudy Sutjiatofunction
md5Hash(inputString)
{
var msgDigest = java.security.MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5");
var javaStr = new java.lang.String(inputString);
var digestStr = msgDigest.digest(javaStr.getBytes());
return system.base64Encode(digestStr);
}
var hashStr =
md5Hash("String to hash");
ConnectorsGeneral ConnectorQ: The Connection to my source (JDBC, LDAP, JNDI etc) fails, but the On Connection Failure hook is never called. 2005.03.08 A: The On Connection Failure hook is part of the AssemblyLine flow and will only be called after you have started to process your data after all the Connectors have been initialized. The hook should really be called On Connection Loss as it is not called if you never have managed to initialize your Connector. What you should do is to call the On Error hook in the Connector prolog to catch initial connection errors.Domino Change Detection ConnectorQ: Is it possible to clear the state store that the Domino Change Detection Connector uses?I need to script the equivalent of pressing the 'delete' button on the config page, in order to have the connector iterate through all the entries in the Domino database again. 2005.06.22 A: The following code in your AL Prolog - Before Init will do the trick:system.deletePersistentObject(YOUR_SYSTEM_STORE_KEY);
Domino User ConnectorQ: Is it possible to specify the user's mail template when creating the user?2004.04.12 A: Yes, this is possible from TDI 6.1 and later versions. See the TDI Reference Guide for more information.Q: Is it possible to change only the last name of a user already registered in Domino (keeping existing mailbox etc.)?2004.04.12 A:
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