Transcript RMI & Triggers - Sinclair Community College

Houdini Demo
Systems Development
& Maintenance
• What is Houdini?
Houdini is a toolset that will allow us to
directly retrieve information from and write
information to the R17 colleague system.
Houdini is also accessible using our web
tools and will allow real time web
interaction with R17.
• Houdini is made up of two major parts.
– RMI (Remote Method Invocation)
– Unidata Triggers (with custom software)
RMI (Remote Method Invocation)
• The RMI allows the web server to connect to
Son of Tut and execute commands, then return
an XML data file for the web server to parse and
then manipulate or display the data.
• This is achieved by using a custom java class on
both the web server and Unix server.
• RMI does obey R17 security using LDAP for
Authentication, and Opers for access control.
Unidata Triggers
• Unidata Triggers are logic that is executed each
time a specific file in Unidata is updated. The
update “triggers” the code to run and perform
what ever function it has been assigned.
• The current Houdini Trigger allows to write
information from the R17 System to a Windows
based SQL database.
• Web based applications using Houdini
Using Houdini we can now create web
based applications that can pull data from
R17, and write data back to R17 in real
time. We can also have R17 notify us of
changes to data proactively sending that
info to SQL or the Web.
• Advantages and Possibilities
– Friendly Web Based data entry screens
– Reports formatted and run on the Web
– Changes can trigger “early” alerts
– Many more to explore
• What projects will use Houdini?
The first planned use of Houdini is:
– SSP (Student Success Plan)
• Utilizes “early” alerts
• Demo application available
• Student Success Plan Web Site
– Located under Campus Organizations (SSP)
– Information on the U.S. Department of
Education funded Title III grant program
– Links to Student Success Services
– Additional resources and info about the SSP
Questions?