Table of Contents

Ad hoc data sources

About ad hoc data sources

Each ad hoc data source for GQI is defined in an Automation script library by a C# class that implements specific interfaces. Every time GQI requires information from the ad hoc data source, it will create a new instance of that class and call the relevant life cycle methods.

Important

To reduce complexity and maintainability, only create an ad hoc data source if it is not possible to use the built-in data sources and operators for the purpose you have in mind.

Defining an ad hoc data source

Tip

If you are using DIS with Visual Studio 2022, you can use a template in Visual Studio to create ad hoc data sources more easily. To do so:

  1. Create a new project in Visual Studio 2022.
  2. Search for the DataMiner Ad Hoc Data Source Solution template.
  3. Specify a name for the solution.
  4. Under Additional information, fill in the name and author for the data source, and select the life cycle interfaces you want to implement.
  5. Click Create.

To define a new ad hoc data source:

  1. In the Automation app, add a script containing a new class that implements the IGQIDataSource interface.

    Note

    All object types needed to create an ad hoc data source can be found within SLAnalyticsTypes.dll, which is located in the folder C:\Skyline DataMiner\Files.

  2. Above the class, add the GQIMetaData attribute in order to configure the name of the data source as displayed in the Dashboards app or Low-Code Apps.

    For example (see Example ad hoc data script for a full example):

    using Skyline.DataMiner.Analytics.GenericInterface;

[GQIMetaData(Name = "People")]
public class MyDataSource : IGQIDataSource
{
...
}
    Note

    This is the name that will be shown to the user when they select the data in the Dashboards app or Low-Code Apps. If you do not configure this name, the name of the class is displayed instead, which may not be very user-friendly.

  3. Compile the script as a library (see Compiling a C# code block as a library). You can use the same name as defined in the GQIMetaData attribute, or a different name. If there are different data sources for which the same name is defined in the GQIMetaData attribute, the library name is appended to the metadata name.

  4. Validate and save the script. It is important that you do this after you have compiled the script as a library, as otherwise the compiler will detect errors.

  5. In the Dashboards app or Low-Code Apps, configure a query and select the data source Get ad hoc data or Get custom data, depending on your DataMiner version.

  6. In the Data source dropdown box, select the name of your ad hoc data source.

Depending on how the script is configured, there can be additional configuration possibilities. You can for instance use the IGQIInputArguments interface in the script to define that a specific argument is required, for instance to filter the displayed data. For more information, refer to the sections below.

Important

Ad hoc data sources are identified by a combination of their script name, library name, and class name. Changing any of these values will cause existing queries to stop working, because they will no longer be able to find the script based on the identifier they are using.

Note

From DataMiner 10.2.5/10.3.0 onwards, you can link the arguments of an ad hoc data source to existing data in the dashboard or low-code app. Depending on the linked data, more information may need to be specified. For example, if you link to existing query data with a table listing elements, in the Type box, you will then need to select whether you want to use a specific data type (e.g. elements) or tables (prior to DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU21]/10.4.0 [CU9]/10.4.12: query rows). Then you will need to select the property you want to use. In most cases, you can select the property in a dropdown list, except if Type is set to Tables, Query rows, or Script output, in which case you will have to specify the value yourself. For tables/query rows, when you start typing the value, DataMiner will propose any matching values it can find.

Tip

See also: Best practices for developing GQI extensions.

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