Notes on XTeXT

General

• Footprint The footprint of XTeXT code is about half a MG.
• Installation This is three commands and is fairly simple. There is a demo version that will run for 99 days

How it works

• One way is to log in using ssh. From there you can use the xtci command line. Or you can create xtci scripts.
• From the command line you can do administrative operations. To make a working web application you need
• Typically each project will have an Application Server, an Application with Methods for each of the tasks, and a Repository with the text to be processed.
• To create a working web application I will need:
  • A web page to start
  • A Repository
  • An Application Server
  • An Application run by the AppServer^?
  • Methods in the Application that do the work
• There is a development environment through the web (for the Demo Application Server) that lets you add, edit, delete and run methods.

Using the XTeXT Web Development Environment (Clone or Demo in the basic install)

• The Web Development Environment (WDE) is where you can dynamically add, edit, and run methods. The methods are bits of Perl that are part of the Application. Dynamic methods are different from the usual stable methods used in an Application. They are a way of learning to access XTeXT.
• You need to restart the AppSvr^? after you add each method. From the xtci command line type: "startAppSvr Demo"
• Commands in xtci you need are
  • createRepos X 20 10 to create a Repository. (destroyRepos X will remove it)
  • startRepos X to start the Repository.
  • startAppSvr X to start the Application Server.
  • info to see the status of the Repositories.
  • append X "filename" to append a file to a Repository X
  • appendURLs X "URL" to appen a URL to a Repository X
  • xtci monitor logs X will let you monitor what is happening with a Repository. Command C to stop the monitor process.

Building a Repository

• In xtci use the createRepos X 20 10 command to create a repository called X with 20 MG of diskspace.
• Use startRepos X to start the Repository.
• Use append X "filename" to append a file or appendURLs X "URL" to append a URL
• Use xfind X -1 "xpath" to search for all the elements that match the xpath. Eg. xfind Hyperliste -1 //title returns all the title elements. The "-1" sets the limit of instances to all.
• Use xfind Hyperliste -1 //title[.="vins"] to find all the title elements with the word "vins"
• The xfind can be used to write a shell script or perl script to search the Repository.
• Use listElements X to list the elements and their frequencies in Repository X.

Thoughts

• The water and treats are nice.
• Start simple - have us make something work or try something that works.
• Give an image of real application (appserver, app, and repository). Give us a sense of the end result. Show then tell.
• Don't walk us through documentation until we need it.
• The Development Environment is neat. It needs an AppSvr^? restart method. It also needs a way to close the panels that open. I'm not sure about the reordering of methods every time I run something.
• There should be a way of moving the dynamic methods over to an Application.
• The workshop should start with a tour of a working system. Then we should:
  • Create a repository
  • Append documents
  • Use a command line to search (is this possible?)
  • Edit a perl script to search the repository
  • Adapt the HTML form to search
  • Adapt an XSL to get the results back

-- GeoffreyRockwell - 08 May 2006