Reporting Info*Engine Task Data Source Customization
Objective
You want to create a new Windchill programmatic data retrieval task to use in a report.
Background
The Windchill Business Reporting (WBR) solution uses Data Source objects to retrieve data from Windchill. One type of Data Source is an Info*Engine task. An Info*Engine task is a text-based document that uses programmatic constructs to retrieve and manipulate Windchill data. The task must return its data in a tabular format (i.e. each element must have the same number of attributes) and task must be commented with special tags and syntax to define it as a WBR Data Source.
Scope/Applicability/Assumptions
Report task authored mechanism is valid only for Jasper report integration.
This document does not contain details on how to construct
Info*Engine tasks. See the section
Info*Engine User’s Guide for this information.
Intended Outcome
The end result of this solution is the creation of your Data Source that can be used to author Jasper reports.
Solution
Construct an Info*Engine Task Data Source.
Procedure – Creating an Info*Engine Task Data Source
1. Create an Info*Engine task XML file in <WindchillHome>/tasks/<MyTaskPackage>.
2. Write report task to return results in tabular format. This is an otherwise normal Info*Engine task that follows certain additional conventions. First, it returns a tabular Group where each column has objects of the same type. The following are the allowed column types:
◦ java.lang.Boolean
◦ java.lang.Long
◦ java.lang.String
◦ java.sql.Timestamp
◦ java.util.Date
◦ java.lang.Double
◦ com.ptc.core.meta.common.FloatingPoint
◦ com.ptc.core.meta.common.Hyperlink
◦ java.math.BigDecimal
3. Add WBR Data Source parameter information to the task comments. There can be zero or more parameter comments. Each specified parameter must exist on a single line. The syntax for the parameter comment is as follows:
@param <type> <name> <description>
where <type> is the parameter Java type, <name> is the parameter name, and <description> describes the parameter. The following are the allowed parameter types:
◦ java.lang.Boolean
◦ java.lang.Long
◦ java.lang.String
◦ java.sql.Timestamp
◦ java.util.Date
◦ java.lang.Double
◦ java.math.BigDecimal
4. Add WBR Data Source column information to the “return” task comment. The column information must be specified in the correct format for this task to be considered a Data Source. The syntax for the column comment is as follows:
@return <type> ${<variableName>} {columns: <columnList>}
where <type> is the Info*Engine task output type, <variableName> is a reference to the task variable that will be returned, and <columnList> describes the tabular format of the output. For more information on <type> and {<variableName>} consult section
Info*Engine Task Invocation with SOAP in the
Windchill Help Center. The column is a comma separate list of one or more type and name pairs for each column in the tabular output. The type and name are separated by whitespace. The following are the allowed column types:
◦ java.lang.Boolean
◦ java.lang.Long
◦ java.lang.String
◦ java.sql.Timestamp
◦ java.util.Date
◦ java.lang.Double
◦ com.ptc.core.meta.common.FloatingPoint
◦ com.ptc.core.meta.common.Hyperlink
◦ java.math.BigDecimal
5. Add task as a method to a ReportTask type. Create a file named “.delegateInfo” in the same directory as the task file. The file should contain the following two lines:
repositoryType=com.ptc.windchill
typeId=com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.ReportTask
Customization Points
Procedure – Creating an Info*Engine Task Data Source under another Type
In the primary procedure above, the Info*Engine Task was created using the default reporting type, com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.ReportTask. The type correlates to the “Windchill > Report Tasks > com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.ReportTask” level of the Source tab. The Report task type can be used to group Data Sources logically. A variation of the primary procedure is to create the Info*Engine Task under another type, “myPackage.MyReportTask”.
1. This type will need to be added to the comma separated list of reporting types specified in the property com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.reportTaskClassNames
2. In step 5 of the Creating an Info*Engine Task Data Source procedure above, the .delegateInfo entry for typeId should specify “myPackage.MyReportTask”.
Procedure – Deleting an Info*Engine Task Data Source
An Info*Engine Task Data Source that is no longer needed can be removed from the system by deleting it from Windchill. Alternatively, the task comments can be removed so that it is not recognized as a Data Source.
To remove a task, uninstall the package and remove the XML file from the tasks directory.
Limitations
The typeId in the .delegateInfo file maps to the SOAP class and the task file name maps to the SOAP method within that class. Both of these names should only contain characters valid for Java identifiers. In addition, the methods must all be unique for a given class. For a given typeId, each task name must be unique.
Sample Code
Examples of Usage in Windchill Code
There are several out-of-the-box reports that use Info*Engine Task Data Sources. These Data Sources are listed in the “Windchill > Report Tasks > com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.ReportTask” level of the Source tab. These Data Sources can be used for creating Cognos reports. However, directly modifying the associated Info*Engine Tasks is not supported.
Packaged Samples
A demo Info*Engine task Data Source, ContextItems, is available in the “Windchill > Report Tasks > com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report.ReportTask” level of the Source tab. The task source is located in <WindchillHome>/tasks/com/ptc/windchill/enterprise/reports/ContextItems.xml. It retrieves the union of all Parts and Documents in a specified context.
Additional Resources
Related Best Practices
• Reporting — ReportTemplate Data Source Customization
Related Package/Class Javadoc
• Reporting module
◦ com.ptc.windchill.enterprise.report
Related Customization Documentation
• None
Other Related Windchill Documentation