VIP 101
Learn the basics of VIP:
Introduction
Visual Integration Processor (VIP) is a rapid application assembly framework inspired by FBP (Flow Based Programming). VIP comes up with various different components which can be chained together to https://www.curiositysoftware.ie/test-data-allocation in much less time. Just add imagination and logically add the components available in VIP (or extend it using add-ons) to achieve the solution in much less time as compared to developing a solution from scratch.
In today's world of plug and play, open interfaces and structured protocols, creating software should be a matter of assembling solutions. And now it is. VIP provides a canvas where you can call existing processes, chain them together and create new ones to plug into your world. Using drag and drop visual flow creation, you can quickly build great new applications and solve existing issues – even the really tough ones.
Drag and drop data components
Build your logic visually
Link to multiple data sources
Easily build add-ons to plug into your world
Run your logic directly, via a batch processor and via a REST Interface
Highly scalable – run processes on many machines
Restart failed processes
Comes with its own DevOps framework to supplement or replace your own
Callable from CI tools to help with complex system set up and test management
Quick Build Wizards to reduce the time spent building flows
And you don't need to be a deep techie to work with VIP
Read an Excel and Print to the Log
The VIP 101 series is designed to introduce new users to VIP, Curiosity's fully connected process automation engine. In this first lesson, you will use out-of-the-box actions to build visual workflows, learning how to parameterise and run the automated actions.
In this simple example, the workflow will read data from a Microsoft Excel Worksheet, iterating round the rows and columns to print the contents of each row to a log file. If you want to follow the steps shown in the video in your own environment, please download the Excel Worksheet and VIP flow used in the video here. You will require a licensed version of VIP.
Lesson contents:
00:08 Introduction to the example task
00:34 Review of the example Excel Worksheet
01:05 Create a basic flow to read the Excel Sheet
01:05 Use the ReadExcelData Action
01:24 Use the System.Data.DataTable object. Please refer to the Microsoft documentation for more information on this common .Net object.
01:46 Defining arguments/parameters to pull data from the Excel.
02:33 Define output parameters to specify an Output Table for the read data
03:23 Iterating around an array of rows in the Excel
05:30 Run the flow and check the Log
05:55 Use an Index to iterate over each column in each row
06:38 Nest the ForEach action
07:11 Use a Function to iterate a dynamic number of times
10:50 Run the flow and check the Log file for outputted data
Read an Excel Sheet and use it to Parameterise a VIP Flow
The VIP 101 series is designed to introduce new users to VIP, Curiosity's fully connected process automation engine. In this second video, you will learn how to read data from a Microsoft Excel Worksheet, inputting the data from each row into a separate XML file.
Following on from Lesson 1, this video will introduce you to the following general concepts:
Dynamic Parameters;
The process of using one VIP flow to invoke another;
Working with encrypted flows/
You will learn how information read by one flow can be fed dynamically into another, while also learning about more sophisticated forms of iteration.
If you want to follow the steps shown in the video in your own environment, please download the Excel Worksheet and VIP flow used in the video here. You will require a licensed version of VIP.
Lesson contents:
00:09 Introduction to the example task
01:12 Review of the example Excel Worksheet
01:58 Start building your VIP flow – read data from the Excel Sheet
02:10 Use and parameterise the "ReadExcel<DataTable>" action and System.DataTable .Net object. Please refer to the Microsoft documentation to learn more about this common .Net object
03:31 Loop to read data from the spreadsheet and create Dynamic Arguments
03:49 Nest the "ForEach" action within your VIP flow and use the DataTable.Select .Net object
04:30 Use Dynamic Arguments to create a dynamic list of parameters
05:31 Set an Enumerable Range to read iteratively over a counted number of rows and columns
07:21 Invoke an encrypted VIP flow from another flow
08:26 Review the arguments that will be passed into the flow
09:00 Review the XML template files
09:47 Set the flow to iterate and dynamically set parameters
12:34 Feed data read from the XML into the template files
13:57 Specify outputs to create one file per row
15:57 Run the flow and review the resultant XML files
VIP DEVOPS INTEGRATION VIP INTRODUCTION