You can include dynamic data source elements defined in
the template at runtime. The Data Source Configuration element
allows you to re-configure a data source. This is useful when you
do not know the connection information while starting to design your
document. For example, you if you linked artifacts from two products
A and B, the data source information can be picked up from the B at
runtime. By re-configuring a data source, you change the properties
such as URI, user name, password, and any other data source-specific
properties used by Rational® Publishing Engine when
extracting data.
Before you begin
The Data Source Configuration element must be placed in the
document template before the element containing queries for the configured
data source.
About this task
Use the
Data Source Configuration element
to re-configure the data source. A data source configuration element
must be connected to a data source schema that is used in the template.
Depending on the data source configuration, the dynamic data source
element includes properties similar to the properties in document
specification. At the time of document generation, this element initializes
or reinitialize the data source. It is recommended that you use the
Data Source Configuration element to define only the properties that
are not known at runtime. Using this element for all properties such
as the user name, password, location of
exe files
makes the templates less portable.
Although the Data
Source Configuration element properties are similar to
the one defined for data source element in document specification,
the properties from the document specification have static values
while the properties from the Data Source Configuration element
use values from another data source available in their context.
Procedure
To re-configure the datasource:
- In Document Studio, from the Palette view, drag the Data
Source Configuration element onto the template.
- In the Properties view, expand Formatting
> data.
- In the target data source property's Value column,
enter the name of the data source schema. After a data source configuration
is connected to a data source schema, its formatting properties are
updated to reflect the runtime properties of the data source schema
type.
- In the inherited data configuration,
property's Value column, enter the name of
a data source schema used in the template. Besides the target data
source, a configuration element also contains inherited
data source property. By default this property does not
contain a value. You can change this value with the data source schema
name that is used in the template. If this property is used, the target
data source is configured using the settings taken from the inherited
data source, along with the properties defined in the data source
configuration.
The properties from the inherited data
source are used as long as a value is not specified for the target
data source. For example, the URL of the inherited data source will
be used for the target data source as long as the URL property is
not filled for the target data source. The common use of the inherited
data source property is to provide credentials only once for data
sources.
- Expand dynamic configuration. In
the URI property Value column,
specify the data source URI. Remove any encoding from
the URI if there is any. Rational Publishing Engine creates encoding
and if the encoding is duplicated, the URI cannot resolve.
Other
properties can also be specified or they are taken from either the
values provided in the Document Specification or the data source defined
under the
inherited data source property
Note: The target
data source and inherited data source can be the same data source.
If inherited data source is left empty the target
data source is used.
Unless the data source configuration
property is empty it takes precedence over the document specification
property. Rational Publishing Engine combines
the properties defined in the Data Source Configuration element with
those defined in the Document Specification.
Example
The following example shows the inherited data configuration
used in the template. The
Data Source Configuration element
defines the URI, baseline, and view while the document specification
entry defines the
Rational DOORS® database
to use, user name, password and so on.
Note: Inherited data configuration:
When a Dynamic Data Source Configuration element is reached, Rational Publishing Engine will
use the properties of the “Inherited Data Source” as the basis and
will override them with the values set in the Dynamic Data Source
element. This allows a Dynamic Data Source element to specify only
the dynamic properties ( usually the URI) and allow reuse of properties
set by the user. (which is usually the user name and password).

