Automate DataLink Process Using APIs
Hello
I have Quantrix Modeler 2.002.4X. I want to automate the process of DataLink. I have following questions.
Q1> I Loaded My Access Data Base Table in Quantrix But how can I can I save my record back to database after updating in Quantrix.
Q2>Can I create new fields in database table from Quantrix.
Q3>Can I update my existing database from Quantrix to Database and vise versa.
Q4>How to use APIs, any Hello world toturial?
If any one please provide me the starting point I will be thankfull.
Thanks in Advance
Abrar
Here’s my contribution to Q4.
I have done some experiments with QAPI. The programming interface has a clever design and is powerful. However, it has a steep learning curve. actually there is not a QAPI user guide, but Quantrix support (Pete Murray in person) has provided excellent assistance compensating for that. QAPI is not sort of a macro language, it is an API for using Quantrix objects from a Java program and for integrating 3rd party Java libraries into Quantrix: a basic knowledge of Java, and of the Eclipse development environment, is a prerequisite.
How to start using QAPI? Here is what I learnt from my personal experience:
a) print and browse through the QAPI documentation, just to have an idea of the classes corresponding to the main Quantrix objects and their capabilities (e.g. Model, TableView, Range, Node)
b) start having a look at the example QAPI plugins downloadable from Quantrix site (not the marketdata plugin, that’s too complex!), the calculator plug-in downloadable at [url:3ds7gil5]http://www.quantrix.com/r-doc-3-33-68[/url:3ds7gil5] is a good starting point;
c) configure Eclipse for programming and debugging Quantrix plugins; when I did my first experiments the published “Configuring Eclipse to access the Quantrix API” was specific to 1.2 release. Quantrix support sent me a document describing how to configure Eclipse for use with 2.x. I enclose that note to this post.
d) create and test your first plugin; you can add your own user defined functions to Quantrix or automate tasks with actions; functions are simpler, because you do not have to manage user interface events. I enclose the project for my first one, add14(), which simply adds a constant value of 14 to its argument.
e) action are more difficult, especially if you want to add GUI behavior such as screen updating, dialogs, message boxes, etc. For your case (updating an external DB from Quantrix, not the easiest point to start from, actually) actions are what is needed. I have programmed “procedural” actions, reading a xml file, preprocessing its content, importing it into a matrix with datalink, adding formulas, performing recalculations, formatting ranges, etc. I don’t have a ready “Hello world” example for actions, but it could be done easily if you need one.
Please note that in order to have your functions and actions visible and running properly in Quantrix, you have to configure their properties in the plugin.xml file for your plugin. It is an intuitive procedure.
Hope this helps, maybe someone else has more specific clues.