es console process engine user manual (version 1
Contents
1. After any printf call or any others that write to standard output a flush is required in order to read the stream Otherwise the Console Process Engine may not be able to function properly If that is the case the Console Process Engine will not be able to provide a solution2. ES Console Process Engine logs Each log file will contain a unique number to ensure each execution s results are segregated Capturing Input Output from a Program Automatically The Console Process Engine has the ability to automatically capture the input being fed into a console program This makes it easy to record capture the process to be repeated with any future execution Of course this can also be accomplished manually by creating the parent child relationship for all the output input values Figure 1 However the automatic capture makes it much easier The automatic capturing is enabled by default Any information typed into the console display output window will be fed into the console program and saved upon terminate of the process This can be disabled via the XML or hiding of the display output window Some non displayable characters may appear strange in the output window such as backspace delete etc However be assured that the real characters are being input to the console program appropriately If at any point during the capture process a mistake is made simply modify the settings for the engine configuration Figure 1 and delete the entries that were captured in the Output Input Values tree or remove from the XML if so desired Configuring Multiple Engines Often times more than one console program will be setup to run Any number of engines can be configured by simply copying the XML file and renaming i
3. a command prompt on Windows 2000 without any problems In order to replicate this functionality through the engine the following settings would be required in the XML file lt programFileName gt cmd exe lt programFileName gt lt program WorkingDirectory gt c compress lt program W orkingDirectory gt lt parameters gt lt string gt C lt string gt lt string gt c compress pkzip exe lt string gt lt parameters gt A program that executes without problems would simply appear as follows as example lt programFileName gt backupprog exe lt programFileName gt lt parameters gt lt string gt c myfile txt lt string gt lt parameters gt If at any time error 267 is generated while cmd exe or command com is the programFileName make sure the programWorkingDirectory is set to the same directory where the REAL program to execute exists The example above utilizing pkzip exe demonstrates the working directory being set to the location where pkzip exe resides Error 2 is an indication that the program file could not be found at the given location for execution Error 3 is an indication that a specified directory in the program file path could not be found Deadlocks can appear to occur with certain console programs This is typically a problem because the console program is not flushing the standard streams properly The C C libraries for example have a function called _flushallQ
4. all output should be logged to a file or not It is highly recommended to leave this set to true unless of course there is a good reason not to have a log file 7 Display Output Window displayOutputWindow By default an output window is displayed on non headless environments as the console process runs when set to true Any standard output messages and fed input messages appear in this window For performance reasons if the console program can execute unmonitored so it only logs this flag should be set to false 8 Show Settings Dialog showGUD If true the console process engine settings dialog will be displayed at execution time 9 Capture Sequences If set to true default the engine will automatically capture any input typed into the display console window if visible and enabled and save the input output values for the next execution This makes it easy to simply execute the program one time type the appropriate characters and save the settings for any future execution The capture will only save once the console program terminates 10 Force Terminate Timeout forceTerminateTimeout This is the number of milliseconds to wait before trying to force terminate the executed program process If set to 0 force termination is disabled 11 Output Input Values values This is the entire block for all the standard input and output values for reading writing Any time an item in the output input tree is
5. something like 02 15 2005 10 03 1995 etc Mixing of hard coded Strings and tags is possible One could do the following in order to look for an output String followed by an endline newline character n Backup finished line separator If the user name of the logged in user is desired the following can be done ZYouser name The following is a list of all the practical tags that may be used guid Generates a random GUID Globally Unique Identifier year Four digit year month Two digit month day Two digit day hour Two digit hour minute Two digit minute second Two digit second millisecond Four digit millisecond longtime Single timestamp value to the millisecond user name User name of the current user host name The host name of the machine host address The IP address of the host machine user home The home directory for the current user user dir The current user s directory java io tmpdir The temp directory launch text The text value selected by the user in the launcher launch engine The engine name selected by the user in the launcher xml dir The directory where the engine XML files are being utilized log dir The directory where the main log XML files are being written line separator Endline newline character NOTE The tags only work for input output values if the values are not Base 64 encoded Base 64 Utility The Console
6. ES CONSOLE PROCESS ENGINE USER MANUAL Overview ES Console Process Engine is a pure Java component that allows controlled execution of a console process non GUI program By precisely automating the control of legacy or new for that matter console applications user intervention is no longer required All output from the program is logged to a file for monitoring purposes Console processes have 3 standard streams They are called input output and error The engine monitors the output stream by parsing the data and looking for certain values Once these values are found the engine has the option to write values to the input stream simulating user intervention Once a value is fed to the input stream it is possible to look for totally new output values to continue the input feeding Of course the supplying of values to standard input is only optional The engine can simply be used to run a console process that writes to standard output but provide logging to a file for those processes not requiring user intervention Console Process Engine Settings All configuration settings for the engine come from an XML file The default file is called Console Process Engine xml and can be found in the installation directory The settings can either be configured through the XML file or the graphical user interface preferred way Figure is a sample screenshot of the graphical use
7. Process Engine comes with an optional Base 64 encoding utility in order to generate the necessary strings for the XML files where applicable Once executed the utility simply pops up a dialog asking for a file to read for encoding Once the entire file contents are read and encoded another dialog pops up with the encoded string This string can be copied to the clipboard via Ctrl C and pasted into the appropriate XML file On headless systems the utility can be pointed directly to files using parameters as follows 2 file example java cp es_console_process_engine jar activation jar es_lookandfeel jar com everlast email Base64Utility myfile dat anotherfile sql The output when executed in this manner will be displayed through the standard output stream Advanced Tips and Troubleshooting Console applications can behave strangely at times The Console Process Engine does it s best to control these wild processes but sometimes they can loose control Often times it is because of how the program is being run Some can be run directly such as scp exe a secure copy program while others must be run through a command shell like cmd exe on Windows for a program such as pkzip a compression program If a program appears to not behaving properly when executing it directly on Windows try utilizing Windows command com or cmd exe program For example cmd exe C pkzip exe would execute from
8. ackup Run xml file javaw exe cp es_console_process_engine jar activation jar es_lookandfeel jar com everlast io ConsoleProcessEngine Nightly Backup Run UNIX java cp es_console_process_engine jar activation jar es_lookandfeel jar com everlast io ConsoleProcessEngine Console Process Engine If the console program is executed successfully it will run as a separate process independent of the Console Process Engine itself Therefore situations may arise where the program crashes or becomes unstable and the Console Process Engine is an inconsistent state or vice versa If this occurs it may be required to use a process destroyer of some kind Windows Task Manager for example to kill the hanging process On Windows systems a convenience EXE file called es_console_process_engine exe exists in order to execute the engine without having to execute Java directly The EXE file reads the INI file supplied as the first parameter ES CONSOLE PROCESS ENGINE INI ifno parameter is supplied Not only is it easier to execute the process shows up as the EXE name instead of java in the task manager As mentioned earlier the data read written to the streams are logged ina file This is so someone can validate and view the results of an execution The files are located in a subdirectory called logs under the location where the XML file is This typically is c Program Files EverlastSoftware
9. encoded if the base64Encoded flag is enabled Executing the Console Process Engine There are two basic ways to execute the Console Process Engine One way uses a launcher that allows selection and or the creation of a new configuration for a console program to execute friendly and easy way to execute on demand The other way is to execute a specific console program configuration directly used more for scheduled executions or batching executions Executing the Console Process Engine with Launcher The launcher for the Console Process Engine is a friendly way to select and execute a specified console program Often times a user will want to have more than one console program configured for execution through the engine The launcher allows the user to create setup and execute a configuration using a friendly dialog Figure 2 below demonstrates the dialog Console Process Engine E x Choose an engine configuration C Program Files EverlastSoftware ES Console Process Engine Console Process Engine s Execute Settings Cancel FIGURE 2 On Windows systems a convenience EXE file called es console process engine launcher exe exists in order to execute the engine launcher without having to execute Java directly The launcher can also be invoked by simply executing the es_console_process engine jar file The manifest inside the jar causes the launcher to execute by default In order to choose an already existi
10. ildren gt lt com everlast 1o OutputInputArray gt lt output gt finished lt output gt lt input gt quit lt input gt lt base64Encoded gt false lt base64Encoded gt lt com everlast io OutputInputArray gt lt children gt lt com everlast io OutputInputArray gt lt com everlast i0 OutputInputArray gt lt output gt error lt output gt lt input gt abort lt input gt lt base64Encoded gt false lt base64Encoded gt lt com everlast io OutputInputArray gt lt values gt When the engine finds quit help written to standard output it will feed a 2 into standard input From there it will look for a different phrase finished If found the engine will supply quit to standard input If the engine finds error instead of quit help it will write abort to standard input An example values clause utilizing base 64 encoding is as follows lt values gt lt com everlast 1o OutputInputArray gt lt output gt dGItZQ lt output gt lt input gt bg0K lt input gt lt base64Encoded gt true lt base64Encoded gt lt com everlast io OutputInputArray gt lt values gt When the output is decoded it actually contains the value time The decoded input value contains n followed by carriage return and line feed characters non visible in a text file This is the reason encoding was required It s important to note that BOTH the output AND input must be
11. information ConfigFilePath c Program Files EverlastSoftware ES Console Process Engine Console Process Engine This should be the name of the class to run JavaClass com everlast io ConsoleProcessEngine JVMParameter Xmx5 12M The JarFilePath should be altered if the jar files are being moved somewhere else or copies exist somewhere else besides the installation directory ConfigFilePath is the XML file to use minus xml for the real filename For example if the real file was Nightly Backup Run xml the ConfigFilePath would read Nightly Backup Run JavaClass is the ConsoleProcessEngine and should never change JVMParameter can be any number of parameters to pass to the Java Virtual Machine on startup Ifa particular parameter is wanted simply insert modify it here Special String Tags The ES Console Process Engine has the ability to specify special tags in the file prefixes file extensions output directories and output input values see Figure 1 This allows one to have great control over where files should go and what they should be named as well as utilizing environment variables and other special tags for feeding input or parsing output These special tags are indicated by a value inside two characters For example in order to have the file be named the current date the following would be set in the file prefix field month day year Those tags would expand to
12. n t worry the values will still be utilized correctly even if they don t display properly The Input and Output fields will still show the encoded values however 15 Add Creates a child stub output input value underneath the item currently selected in the tree 16 Delete Deletes the currently selected output input value in the tree including any children underneath that item 17 Set Updates the currently selected item in the tree with the values in Output Input and Base 64 Encoded This does NOT immediately save the settings to the XML file clicking the Ok button does this Set is required in order to make changes to an existing output input value or to replace the stub values created for the new item when the Add button is used The following are only included in the XML file for advanced usage 18 com everlast io OutputInputArray This is simply another block required for each set of input and output values Each time the engine must process one level deeper in the hierarchy of values another one of these blocks must be set 19 children This is required for each level of the value hierarchy past the 1 20 onCompletionProgramFileName This is the same as programFileName except this is the optional program to run when the real program completes execution 21 onCompletionProgramWorkingDirectory The working directory for the completio
13. n program 22 onCompletionParameters The parameters for the completion program 23 onErrorProgramFileName Similar to programFileName except this is the optional program to run when an error occurs while the real program is executing 24 onErrorProgramWorkingDirectory The working directory for the error program 25 onErrorParameters The parameters for the error program 26 captureSequences If set to true default the engine will automatically capture any input typed into the display console window if visible and enabled and save the input output values for the next execution This makes it easy to simply execute the program one time type the appropriate characters and save the settings for any future execution The capture will only save once the console program terminates 27 capturePartial If set to true and captureSequences is set to true the engine will attempt to capture any input fed in and save this to the XML dynamically This is only useful for only feeding partial data to input of a program Sometimes this simply speeds up the process of a certain console program that still requires user intervention at a later point in the process This is false by default An XML example values clause utilizing children lt values gt lt com everlast 10 OutputInputArray gt lt output gt quit help lt output gt lt input gt 2 lt input gt lt base64Encoded gt false lt base64Encoded gt lt ch
14. ng configuration click the combo box and select the desired engine name A new configuration can be created by selecting lt NEW gt from the combo box The Execute button executes the console program with its saved configuration The Settings button allows the viewing and modifying of the configuration for the console program The Cancel button simply causes the launcher to terminate Note All configurations shown in the dialog are from the working directory of the execution of the launcher Executing the Console Process Engine Directly To execute the engine simply execute Java typically java exe or javaw exe and the classname of com everlast 1o ConsoleProcessEngine supplying Console Process Engine with the classpath set to all jar files in the installation directory Examples Windows command prompt java exe cp es_console_process_engine jar activation jar es_lookandfeel jar com everlast io ConsoleProcessEngine Console Process Engine Windows no command prompt full path to jar files javaw exe cp d program files everlastsoftware ES Console Process Engine es_console_process_engine jar d program files everlastsoftware ES Console Process Engine activation jar d program files everlastsoftware ES Console Process Engine es_lookandfeel jar com everlast io ConsoleProcessEngine Console Process Engine Windows no command prompt Nightly B
15. r interface settings dialog Console Process Settings Parameters Program Working Directory P iProgam Files EverlastSoftwarelES Consol VW output Begin and End Tags V tine Execution V Use Log File V Display Output window M Show Settings Dislog Program File Name P Progrom Files EverlastSoftwarelES Cc Output input Values V capture Sequences Force Terminate Timeout p ar Output favulHResQuicBbaGis2cBpbr ldDo Input azyt20g4GhIIGNoaws WIGIsb2NTIQOK ss T Base 64 Encoded Ads Delete Set FIGURE 1 The following is a list of the various settings and what they mean GUI name with XML tag name in parenthesis 1 Program File Name programFileName This is the name of the console program to execute 2 Parameters parameters This is an array of the parameters to pass to the program when it begins execution 3 Program Working Directory programWorkingDirectory This is the working directory current directory the program will execute in 4 Output Begin and End outputBeginAndEnd If set to true the fact that the process started execution is logged as well as when it completes Upon completion the process s exit code is also written to the log file 5 Time Execution timeExecution This flag indicates whether or not the total execution time of the process is timed If so the total time is logged upon completion 6 Use Log File useLogFile This flag indicates whether
16. selected the Output Input and Base 64 Encoded fields will dynamically update The Output Input node at the top of the tree should be ignored It s required to use the Add button to create new root output input values It will not be used in any way by the Console Process Engine 12 Output output A value to look for in order to feed input The button next to this field with the brings up a file dialog in order to browse for a file that contains the exact output data desired When this button is used the data will automatically be base 64 encoded for convenience 13 Input input The input to feed in based on finding the processed output value This field also has a button to browse for a file This applies to the input that will be fed however 14 Base 64 Encoded base64Encoded This should only be used if non displayable characters must be passed to standard input The newline or endline is a good example So isa null which is ASCII character 0 The output value would then be a string that was base 64 encoded In the sample demonstrated in Figure 1 base 64 encoding was used because the endline character was expected by the program and this character cannot be represented in a GUI component accurately If selected the tree will attempt to automatically base 64 decode the output and input values to give it s best visual display it can do
17. t if the launcher is not used For example take the standard Console Process Engine xml file and copy it to Nightly Backup Run xml Open the new file and change the configuration information and the new task can be run whenever desired If utilizing the Windows es_console_process_engine exe program an associated INI file must be copied and renamed as well This new INI filename must be supplied as the first parameter when executing es_console_process_engine exe Examples A nightly backup legacy application gt 66 es_console_process_engine exe c program files everlastsoftware ES Console Process Engine Nightly Backup Run xml A Zip compression program 2 66 es_console_process_engine exe c program files everlastsoftware ES Console Process Engine Zip Compression xml INI File Settings The INI files are currently used by the Windows exe files and should only be modified by advanced users The following is an example of the contents of the ES CONSOLE PROCESS _ENGINE INI file Options This should be the full path and filename of the jar file JarFilePath c Program Files EverlastSoftware ES Console Process Engine es_console_process_engine jar c Program Files EverlastS oftware ES Console Process Engine activation jar c Program Files EverlastSoftware ES Console Process Engine es_lookandfeel jar This should be the full path and file prefix of configuration
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