BIRT - using multiple webservices to get the data - web-services

I am trying to generate a report using Eclipse BIRT report designer.
The scenario is this:
There are 2 web service data sources. There are 2 datasets for webservices 'WS1' and 'WS2' respectively.
The output element 'COUNTRYID' of one webservice 'WS1' would go as input for another webservice 'WS2'.
What I did:
Created a parameter COUNTRYID.
Created a dummy Computed Column in the dataset of the web service 'WS1' with the expression:
params["COUNTRYID"].value=row["COUNTRYID"]
Now the input parameters for the 'WS2' dataset is related to the global paramter 'COUNTRYID'.
When I run the report, I see that the global parameter contains the value from the 'WS1' output.
But the report does not display the values from the response of the web service 'WS2'
My questions:
How can I see, if the webservice got fired or not?
How can I see, if the webservice got fired with correct values ?

WS1 is not fired unless it is explicitely bound to a report element. Typically, to achieve this we apply following steps:
insert a data element at the beginning of the report body
turn the property visibility of this new element to false (or let it visible during testing)
bind it to the first dataset WS1
It will force a silent execution of WS1, and therefore this will populate your parameter COUNTRYID before WS2 runs.
However this approach would not work if:
WS2 dataset has to be used to populate selection items of a report parameter (which does not seem to be the case here)
If COUNTRYID parameter is used at render time. This point is much more annoying, if you need this parameter in chart expressions for example. If so, i would recommend to store WS1 in a report variable instead of (or why not in addition to) a report parameter. See this topic to see how to create a report variable.
You can initialize it at the same place you did for the report parameter with:
vars["COUNTRYID"]=row["COUNTRYID"];
and use it anywhere with
vars["COUNTRYID"];
Report variables are available from the palette of expressions editor :

Related

How does Web Source operation's URL Pattern get it's argument when it's assigned a parameter?

when you AutoREST-Enable a table through object browser> click table> REST tab, you will get a RESTful URI. If you then build a web source using that RESTful URI, you will get five operations - GET with a dot as URL pattern and GET, PUT, POST and DELETE operations with URL pattern has the value of :deptno. When you build a report with form on that web source you will find that all database operations work well, you can insert, update and delete through the form, and you can run the report to get all rows in the table. I need to know how the process work in the background? How the automatic row processing process knows which operation and handler to use? I know that Interactive Reports for example looks for the operation that have "Fetch Rows" it's database operation. So, I assumed that the Form's automatic row processing looks up for the Web source's operation with the database operation that relates to the process to be executed. For example, (correct me if I'm wrong) when clicking CREATE button, it denotes that an Insert process will happen, so, it will search for the web source's operation with the database operation "insert row", then it will find the handler that relates to the HTTP method attribute's value "POST". And the same goes for UPDATE and DELETE. I want to know if I am getting it right and I need to know how the URL Pattern gets it's argument for :deptno?
your understanding of the form region picking the Web Source Operation is correct. Within the Form Region, the name of the clicked button (:REQUEST) actually determines the DML operation (CREATE = Insert, SAVE = Update, DELETE = delete).
A :deptno URL parameter must also be created within the Parameters section of the REST data source. Once that is in place, you'll see the form region node in the Page Designer Tree having a Parameters node - there you can map the Web Source Module parameter to a page item, an application item or something else.
As already mentioned, the primary key values are special in a Web Source Module. In your case, the :deptno placeholder (as part of the URL) corresponds to the DEPTNO data profile column.
For the DML handlers (PUT, POST, DELETE) you don't need to define these as Web Source Module parameters, but the URL placeholders must match the column names in the data profile. This is by design - Web Source Modules are implemented to work this way.

Is there a way to pass data source connection string as a parameter to power bi embedded?

I have a pbix file that takes an Azure Storage account as a parameter and reads data from there accordingly. The next step is to be able to embed this powerbi dashboard on a webpage and let the end user specify the storage account. I see a lot of questions and answers surrounding passing in filter query parameters--this is different, we're trying to read from a completely different data source and not filtering on a static data source.
Another way to ask this question is: is there a way to embed powerbi template files, if not, is there a feature request somewhere we can upvote?
The short answer is no.
There is a reason to use filters in this case instead of parameters. Parameters are something that is part of the report itself. Each users that looks at your reports will get the same parameter values as the others. If one of them changes some parameter, this will affect all other users. Filters on the other hand, is something local for your session. You can filter the report the way you like, and this will not affect other users experience in any way.
You can't embed templates, because template is simply a state of the report on the disk. When you open it, it's not a template anymore, but becomes a report.
You can either combine the data from all of your data sources in a single report, adding one more column to indicate from where this data comes from, and then filter on this new column. Or create/modify ETL process (for example dataflows can be used for this) to combine these data sources into a single one.

How to send values selected in ListBox to java webservice parameter in BIRT?

I have a java webservice which takes values of Locations and performs action.
In my BIRT report, I have a ListBox which contains names of all the locations.
When tried to link values from ListBox to webservice parameter, BIRT developer give warning message as :
If a user selects multiple values from report parameter, the data set
parameter uses only the first value
.
I tried creating a hidden report parameter [RP_Hidden_Locations] in BIRT which is of string type and copied values from ListBox report parameter [RP_All_Locations] as [RP_Hidden_Locations].value = params["RP_All_Locations"].value.join("','");
This didn't work and null values were received in webservice method.
Please help!
PS:
Data source for Data Set in BIRT is Webserivce Data Source
and sending report parameter values as shown below
<locations>?&RP_Hidden_Locations&?</locations>
First Create the hidden variable.
In the script tab of the dataset, select before open.Here join all the values sent by the listbox report parameter. Use this:
params[RP_Hidden_Locations]= "'"+params["RP_All_Locations"].value.join("','")+"'";
Now set the SOAP Request to send this hidden parameter.

Copy Records in Oracle Apex

I need to copy selected row values and store as a new record.
I am using Oracle Apex 4.2 and Tabular Form.
I need to use checkbox to select the rows and button copy. When i select multiple rows followed by click copy button to copy all the selected row values as new rows and save.
Can anyone Help
Copying Records Through an APEX Tabular Form Input
The idea of cloning existing records from a single table through an Oracle APEX Tabular Form works without much interference with the default design that you can set up through the APEX wizard for page region content.
Build a table with an independent primary key.
Suggested to include two auxiliary columns: COPY_REQUEST and COPIED_FROM for running copy operations. Specific form elements will map to these columns on the tabular form that will be set up.
Build an Oracle stored procedure that can read which records need to be copied. This procedure will be invoked each time the SUBMIT button is pressed.
(optional) Consider including a suppression of step (3) in the event that there is nothing to process (i.e., no records marked for copying).
The Working Table for Receiving Input: COPY_ME
TIP: You will have an easier time if you use the standard TABLE creation wizard. Designate CUSTOMER_ID as the PRIMARY_KEY and have APEX create its standard auto-incrementing functionality on top. (sequence plus trigger set up.)
Here's the sample data I used... though it doesn't matter. You can put in your own values and be able to verify what happened easily.
The Heavy Lifting: The Stored Procedure for Cloning Records in COPY_ME
This procedure works with 1 or more records at a time with a special identifier in the COPY_REQUEST table. After the task is done, the procedure cleans up and resets the request value again.
create or replace procedure proc_copy_me_request is
c_request_code CONSTANT char(1):= 'Y';
cursor copy_cursor is
SELECT cme.CUSTOMER_ID, cme.CUSTOMER_NAME, cme.CITY, cme.COUNTRY,
cme.COPY_REQUEST
FROM copy_me cme
WHERE cme.COPY_REQUEST = c_request_code
FOR UPDATE OF cme.COPY_REQUEST;
BEGIN
FOR i in copy_cursor LOOP
INSERT INTO copy_me (customer_name, city, country, copied_from)
VALUES (i.customer_name, i.city, i.country, i.customer_id);
UPDATE copy_me
SET copy_request = null
WHERE CURRENT OF copy_cursor;
END LOOP;
COMMIT;
END proc_copy_me_request;
There is also a column that can be hidden. It tracks where the record was originally copied from.
Note that the cursor is using the FOR UPDATE OF and WHERE CURRENT OF notation. This is important because the procedure is changing the records that are referenced by it.
APEX Page Setup Instructions
Set up a standard FORM type page and choose the TABULAR FORM style. Follow the set up instructions, taking care to map the correct primary key, and also to the PK sequence object created with the table in the previous steps above.
This is what your page set up will look like after these steps are completed:
EDIT The COPY_REQUEST Form Value:
Under the column attributes section, change the Display As option to "simple checkbox"
Under the list of values section, put a single value under the LOV Definition: Y (case sensitive in either way... just be consistent)
EDIT The COPIED_FROM Form Value:
Under the column attributes section, change the Display As option to "Display as Text(Saves State)". This is just to prevent users from stepping on this read-only field. You could also suppress it if it isn't important to know.
CREATE a New Process: Execute Copy Procedure
This is the bottom of the same configuration page, there are very few things to change or add:
Demonstration: Screenshot of COPY_ME Tabular Form Page in Action
The first screenshot below is before the page is tidied up and the checkbox control is put into place.
Plug in some test data and give it at try. The Page Process created in the step above conditionally invokes the stored procedure that processes all copy requests made at the same time when the SUBMIT form button is selected.
COMMENTS: If you spend enough time tinkering around with the built-in wizards in Oracle APEX, there are opportunities to learn new design patterns and process flows compatible within the tool. Adapting your approach can reduce the amount of additional work and frustration.

Is there a table which holds all possible states of a determined work Item type in TFS?

I'm developing a Time Tracking system in TFS so we can control how much time is spent in each task. I'm doing it by checking changes in work items states, and recording the time between states.
I'm using WCF and TFS2010 alert subscription.
Then I noticed the State column in the WorkItem table holds a string, instead of an ID pointing to a State.
With that in mind, I noticed I would have to parse each state and check if it corresponds to some string. And then, some day, someone might want to change the State name. Then we're doomed.
But before I hardcore (or put in some random config.xml)... let me ask, is there a table which holds all possible states of a determined work Item type in TFS?
The states of work item types are stored in the process template files. You can export the work item type to an xml file using witadmin.exe and see the allowed values of the "State" in there.
Programmatically, you can use the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client namespace to get the WorkItemType object of your work item type, look for the FieldDefinition object of the "State" in the FieldDefinitions property, then get the possible states from the AllowedValues property of FieldDefinition class.