Using "Process XML Request" function

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 09/26/2014 - 16:32

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TechDoc Document Manager Questions

Where can we get more details on this (from the v.7.5 System Admin Guide)?
"6.28.2. Process XML Request
Process XML Request is used by external systems to send requests to this server. The request is
transmitted as a standard HTTP or HTTPS request. The body of the request contains an XML
request to be processed by this server."

What does this processing of an XML request actually do?
Can it be used to do a bulk load of data/documents from an external system and have them created as TechDoc resident or non-resident documents?

Comments

Joey Prevo's picture

Joey Prevo

Sat, 09/27/2014 - 12:36

Process XML Request has been deprecated in TechDoc 8 and is only present for legacy support. Current users of Process XML Request need to start moving over to the SOAP or REST interface. I'll have to check, but I don't believe Process XML Request supports nonresident documents.

What bulk loading need do you have? If you are being tasked with a one time data migration you may want to consider the TechDoc Client. However, if the data set is too large for manual entry or will be ongoing, you'll definitely want to automate it. Let us know what solution sounds best and we'll get you going in the right direction.

Rlayel (not verified)

Mon, 09/29/2014 - 09:51

We are looking at a possible need to migrate an extensive set of records from a soon to be decomissioned BMC Remedy application. We are told that the records we need in TechDoc can only be exported as XML, CVS (without required metadata) or a propritary format called "ARX"). We were hoping that the XML could be directly imported into TechDoc, retaining the content data and much of the metadata. This database is definately too large for manual entry. Can XML be loaded using the Client?

We're still running v. 7.5 so if "Process XML" can help with this, it may still be an option; but not sure how it works or what it does. What do you mean when you say it "is only present for legacy support"? We would prefer that these Remedy records become Resident in TechDoc; but we may consider exporting them to some external storage media outside of Remedy (probably in XML) and then treating them as Non-Resident in TechDoc for RMA association/records management purposes.

Any other suggestions

Joe Prevo's picture

Joe Prevo

Mon, 09/29/2014 - 11:03

Part of the rub with Process XML Request is that it does not take "generic" XML. It will only process XML that is specifically in it's expected format. One XML tag or attribute different, and it won't process it. So even if you export to XML, the XML will still need to be transformed to the specific XML that Process XML Request requires.

As Joey mentioned earlier, Process XML Request is deprecated. It has actually been deprecated since TechDoc 7. TechDoc 8 is the last planned version that it will be included in. There are numerous features (no non-resident document support, no creation of missing folder support, etc.) that it does not support that the other protocols do and performance is slower too.

Remember that with the TechDoc Enterprise support you have, we will assist with migrations to TechDoc at no additional charge. Therefore, we can work with you off-line to assess which approach would be best for you to use and even help with developing the migration software to perform the import.

Rlayel (not verified)

Mon, 09/29/2014 - 11:22

Thanks for explanations and offer to help, Joe!
Can you contact me when convenient so we can set a time to fully discuss our needs?