F.A.Q
Idiom
Connecting to Content ?
To work on your content in WorldServer, you need to specify where it is and in what type of structure. You do so in Management>Asset Interface System>AIS Mounts.
The mount is your point of connection. WorldServer provides the ability to add the following content connections:
- "File System Connection"
- "SQL Database Connection"
- "Interwoven TeamSite Connection"
- "ClearCase Connection"
- "Eprise Participant Server Connection"
- "BroadVision Connection"
- "CVS Connection"
- "X-Hive Connection"
NOTE: Content must be on or visible from the server on which WorldServer is installed.
File System Connection
In a file system connection, where your content is in a file system directory, the mount is the top-level folder or directory in which all of your content is stored. Specify the name, type, and path of your mount.
After creating your mount, you add folders in Explorer. Within your mount, you may already have a directory structure for your source files. When globalizing this content, you should replicate the source directory structure and content for each target language. Although WorldServer will create target folders and files as you translate material, it does not copy folders and files that do not have translatable content (for example, a folder of image files). You can do this copying directly in Explorer. You should have a top-level folder for each locale.
You can achieve this structure by adding the folders in your file system, or by copying and adding folders in Explorer.
SQL Database Connection
The SQL connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain a SQL license key, navigate to Management > Administration > Licenses and add the SQL license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
In a SQL database connection, where your content is in a SQL database, the mount is the database.
Once you specify the database configuration, you need to specify and configure the tables that you can access through WorldServer.
You begin to configure a table by configuring its columns. Specify the following for each column:
- The column name and data type are read from the database; you cannot change them in WorldServer.
- From the "Treatment" drop-down menu, you choose how WorldServer will use the column:
- Identifier - this column, in conjunction with other identifier columns, uniquely identifies (or is the primary key for) the content in the table. For example, the "ID" and "Language" columns together could uniquely identify the data in a table. You must choose at least one column to be an identifier.
- Edit/Translate - specifies that content in this column is editable/translatable.
- Ignore - specifies that content in this column should be ignored by WorldServer. Non-null columns cannot be set to "ignore".
- Timestamp - (only available for date/time columns) specifies that this column should be used as the timestamp for the content in the row. Only one column can be designated as the timestamp column. Although WorldServer can detect changes in rows without a timestamp column, creating and designating a timestamp column improves performance. Make sure to create a trigger in your database that updates the timestamp in a row when its content changes. Note that the Microsoft SQL Server data type "timestamp" is not a valid date/time format - use the "date/time" data type instead.
- Copy - copies content in the column from the source to the target when the target is created or on project creation. You would use the copy treatment for columns that do not need to be translated, but should be copied identically to the target (for example, a product logo or graphic). Columns set to copy are included in determining whether or not a source asset has been modified. Columns marked copy must include the constraint "NOT NULL" or WorldServer will leave the target empty.
- You then choose the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) type and encoding used in the column. You do not need to change the MIME type and encoding for columns set to "ignore" as WorldServer will not deal with this content. These values do not affect the MIME type and encoding of the actual content in the table, but rather they inform WorldServer of the existing settings in the table.
- The column description is read from the database, and cannot be changed in WorldServer.
You then specify the hierarchy that will appear in Explorer.
In Identifier Hierarchy, at the top level is the table, then the column or columns you designated as identifier columns. If you have more than one identifier column, you can change the order of the columns as needed by clicking "Move up" (for example, if you have "ID" nd "language" as your identifier columns, you may want "language" to be higher in the Explorer hierarchy than “ID”). Clicking "Join" will join the columns as a hierarchy level (for example, if you join language and locale identifiers, "English+England", "English+US", and so on would be hierarchy levels).
You also choose one of the identifiers to be the asset level. The asset-level identifier is the identifier that will become an asset in Explorer; it is the lowest hierarchical level visible in Explorer. Content that is hierarchically lower than the asset-level is contained within the asset-level. For example, you may want to designate the language as the asset level, which means that all of the content for the table that is in a particular language will appear as one asset in Explorer. This saves you from having a very large number of assets generated by individual strings.
Interwoven TeamSite Connection
The TeamSite connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain a TeamSite license key, navigate to Management>Administration>Licenses and add the TeamSite license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
To configure a TeamSite connection, you need to first install and configure all necessary third-party software, and install the command-line tool server on the machine where TeamSite is installed.
To install the command-line tool server- Install the Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment on the TeamSite host machine. The installation package is available from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/download.html
- Select an installation directory with appropriate permissions and copy the TeamSiteServer.jar and TeamSiteServer.properties files to this directory.
- Edit TeamSiteServer.properties so it contains the following entries, each on a separate line (with a blank line at the end of the file):
CltPort= < Port number >
TsBinDir= < TeamSite bin path >
Tracing= < TrueOrFalse >
Here < Port number > should be replaced by the port number on which to listen for remote command-line tool requests (e.g., 8300). Replace
< TeamSite bin path > with the absolute path to the TeamSite installation's bin directory (e.g., /home/iw-home/bin/). Replace < TrueOrFalse > with the word "true" (no quotes) if a record of server activity should be sent to standard out (recommended), and false otherwise. Everyone should have permission to read these files.
Save your changes to the TeamSiteServer.properties file. - At a command-line prompt, change to the selected installation directory and type:
java -jar TeamSiteServer.jar TeamSiteServer.properties
The server will start and a comment will be displayed indicating on what port the server is listening. If you need to terminate the Java server process, type Ctrl-C at the command-line prompt. - If the Java server process is terminated for any reason, you can restart it manually by repeating step (4) above.
NOTE: You can add an automatic step to any workflow using TeamSite content that will update TeamSite metadata. This action simply copies the metadata from the source to the target. This automatic step is best positioned at the beginning of a workflow, before a translate step. In addition, the TeamSite iwsubmit automatic step, placed at the end of a workflow, checks the final translation into the Interwoven staging area. Any comment entered in the Workflow Editor for the TeamSite iwsubmit automatic step will be appended to the default comment generated with each TeamSite check-in.
ClearCase Connection
The ClearCase connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain a ClearCase license key, navigate to Management > Administration > Licenses and add the ClearCase license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
The section below provides "Config Spec Template" examples that may be useful when configuring the ClearCase mount.
Config Spec Template Examples
Config Spec Templates need, at a minimum, a Name and a Config Spec. For the most part, the config spec you enter is a standard ClearCase config spec. For example, if you wanted to create a plain main-LATEST config spec template you could just enter:
element * CHECKEDOUT
element * /main/LATEST
If you want to get more advanced, you can use template parameters to allow the users (when they create a "branch") to specify parts of the config spec. Template parameters work like substitution arguments and are specified in the config spec itself. The parameter definitions are located in the config spec comments and affect the final generated contents of the config spec. The simplest of the parameters is the "VAR" parameter. This takes the form:
$VAR name Prompt
Where 'name' specifies a replacement token. The Prompt is the prompt provided to the user creating the branch from this template. For example, the following template could be defined:
# $VAR base Enter the branch type name
# $VAR label Enter the label to branch from
element * CHECKEDOUT
element * ...//LATEST
element *
Notice how the $VAR definitions are in the config spec comments - this is required. Also, note that the config-spec definition uses the "" syntax to specify the location of the parameters. In other words, in the actual config spec lines (the code not commented out), use angle brackets around the template parameter names to specify where the substitution should occur. Each template parameter must be specified on a single line (no multi-line definitions allowed).
In addition to the $VAR parameters, we support three additional types of parameters. Parameters can be of type $SELECT to restrict the substitution to a list of predefined choices. The syntax for this parameter type is:
$SELECT name [ choice1 | choice2 | ... ] Prompt
When creating a 'branch', the user will have to select the option from the choices specified here. Insert as many choices as desired, but remember that all parameter definitions have to be on one line.
Similar to $SELECT parameters we also offer $BRANCH and $LABEL parameters. These types simply prompt the user to select from the branch types or label types already defined in ClearCase. The syntax for these commands is:
$BRANCH name Prompt
$LABEL name Prompt
For example, using the three selection types in a template:
# $BRANCH active_branch Select branch to work on
# $LABEL base_label Select label to branch from
# $SELECT when [ now | yesterday ] What timestamp of 'main' do you want
element * CHECKEDOUT
element * ...//LATEST
element *-mkbranch
element * /main/LATEST -time-mkbranch
Aside from the template arguments, we also support one template command: the ability to create new branch types. The syntax for this is quite simply:
$MKBRTYPE branchTypeName
As opposed to template arguments, where the user supplied string is substituted for the occurrences of the parametersinstances, the $MKBRTYPE command does not result in a prompt to the user during branch creation. The 'branchTypeName' specified in the $MKBRTYPE command is the name of the branch type to create. This value can contain insertion templates of its own. The easiest way to use this is to combine it with a $VAR parameter to prompt the user for the name of a new branch to create. For example:
# $VAR base Enter the branch name
# $VAR label Enter the label to branch from
#
# $MKBRTYPE
element * CHECKEDOUT
element * ...//LATEST
element *
This will cause WorldServer to create the branch type automatically once the user creates an instance of a branch using this template. Note that the $MKBRTYPE command needs the angle brackets around the variable it is using (otherwise WorldServer would create a branch type called simply "base"). Arguments can be combined to enforce naming conventions or almost anything. For example:
# $VAR base Enter the branch name
# $VAR user Enter your username
# $VAR label Enter the label to branch from
#
# $MKBRTYPE auto__
element * CHECKEDOUT
element * .../auto__ /LATEST
element *
Eprise Participant Server Connection
The Eprise connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain an Eprise license key, navigate to Management > Administration > Licenses and add the Eprise license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
Before configuring the Eprise mount, you need to install and configure all necessary third-party software and install the Participant Server (PS) Deputy.
Idiom recommends that WorldServer, the PS Deputy, and PS reside on separate servers.
Although the deputy can run on the same server as WorldServer or PS, performance is usually better using the recommended architecture. The deputy is a CPU intensive application that can degrade the performance of other applications running on the same server.
Installing the Participant Server Deputy
The PS deputy manages communication between WorldServer and Participant Server. If you are planning to use an architecture other than the one recommended by Idiom, please consult with Idiom Professional Services as to the correct installation procedure to use.
The PS deputy server requirements are as follows:- Windows 2000 or NT 4.0
- 256 MB RAM
- 50 MB hard disk space
To install the PS deputy, do the following:
- Double-click on setup.exe.
- The setup wizard will ask you several questions. Idiom recommends that you accept the defaults, but feel free to specify different settings as needed.
- Specify the path where the deputy should be installed.
- Specify the path where the log file for the deputy should reside.
- Specify the character encoding used by Participant Server. This is typically UTF-8 in a multilingual environment.
- Specify the port that the deputy should accept connections from WorldServer on.
NOTE: The deputy is an RMI server, and the port specified is the port that the RMI registry will use. If you are running other applications that leverage RMI, be sure to consult with Idiom Professional Services to determine how to handle any conflicts.
Configuring the Participant Server Deputy
If for any reason you want to change the deputy configuration, you must locate and modify the deputy.properties file located in the deputy installation directory.
The following summarizes the settings you can modify:- ws.deputy.serviceName- The name of the deputy service. Do not modify this setting.
- ws.deputy.portNumbe- The port number that the deputy accepts connections from WorldServer on.
- ws.deputy.maxSessions- The number of pooled PS sessions. Leave the default setting unless instructed by Idiom Professional Services to modify for performance tuning.
- ws.deputy.reconnectInterval- Wait period for reconnect attempts when the PS connection is lost (in milliseconds). Leave the default setting unless instructed by Idiom Professional Services to modify for performance tuning.
- log4j.appender.logfile.File- The deputy log file location.
- log4j.rootCategory- The logging level. Leave the default setting unless instructed by Idiom Professional Services to modify for troubleshooting.
After making any changes, you need to stop and start the Idiom Process Monitor service.
After installing and configuring the PS deputy, you need to enter the Eprise license key provided by Idiom Professional Services in Management > Administration > Licenses. Then you can configure your Eprise mount at Management > Asset Interface System > AIS Mounts.
BroadVision Connection
The BroadVision connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain an BroadVision license key, navigate to Management > Administration > Licenses and add the BroadVision license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
Before configuring the BroadVision mount, you need to install and configure all necessary third-party software.
CVS Connection
The CVS connector requires that you have a special license from Idiom. Once you obtain an CVS license key, navigate to Management > Administration > Licenses and add the CVS license key provided by Idiom Professional Services.
Before configuring the CVS mount, you need to install and configure all necessary third-party software.
X-Hive Connection
The X-Hive connector allows an X-Hive database to be mounted in WorldServer and for core X-Hive objects (libraries, documents, and blobs) to be manipulated through the WorldServer Asset Interface System. The connector exposes AIS nodes for X-Hive libraries and documents. Newly created documents contain the starting XML specified in the mount configuration. While writing XML documents, the connector automatically assigns unique identifiers as the attributes of certain elements defined within the mount configuration. The X-Hive connector also allows the user to predefine XQuery templates, enabling the non-technical user to easily utilize the power of XQuery for finding data contained within the X-Hive database.Please contact us if you would like more information.
