Questions using JavaScript?

BLOMASKY

If I have a Javascript function that returns a result, where could it be used / called?

I assume there would be NO problem whereever HTML is used, to call the function, but in addition:

1) Can I use it in a rule?
2) Can I use it in a process?

Bruce

customaware

I thought js was a browser scripting language Bruce rather than a server side language.

Can you give an example of where or why you might want to use it in a Rule or a Process?

But, I to would love to know how to get a value ( i.e. A colour code returned from a colour picker widget)
back into an Aware attribute.

BenHayat

eagles9999 wrote
But, I to would love to know how to get a value ( i.e. A colour code returned from a colour picker widget)
back into an Aware attribute.

I had asked Support about that feature and they said, they would put it on the "List". I hope it's not a Virtual list... 🙁

aware_support

If you want to use a function in rules you need a Java function, not Javascript. This should be described in the Programmers Reference Guilde and it should be pretty easy.

BLOMASKY

Darn, its only easy to do it in Java, if you know and want to code Java.

Mark, JS, just like CSS is browser based. It will get loaded when the client opens the app.

I could list about 99999 reasons why the ability to call a JS function in a rule / procedure would be cleaner, easier to write, than using Aware's limited logic, functions. Loops, conditional formatting, the need for a lot of temporary variables.

I know you have shown me that you can do (most) anything (ok, everthing) using Awares rules, and when you have a hammer, everything DOES look like a nail, but sometimes there IS a better tool

Bruce

But, when I hear that I would have to become proficient in Java to write logic that can be called from a rule, and that JS does not give me that flexibility, it does limit the uses (guess in a heading??) that JS offers.

oh well

Bruce

aware_support

There's very little difference between JS and Java. If you can write in JS you can write in Java

aware_support

And you don't need to be proficient in Java at all - just know how to use the IDE.

customaware

Bruce, maybe it's just me (most likely I am the only one) but I cannot imagine any situation whereby you would want to execute javascript from a Rule or a Process.

Certainly java (I use a number of plugins and they are called from Rules and/or Processes.... but not js.
And certainly js from the initialisation or render Advanced scripts.... but not Rules and Processes.

I would love to understand a single specific example of your 99,999 reasons where you might want to do this.

baskosi

There is a way to call JavaScript from Java. If you don't want to write it in Java (which would be faster and easier), you could learn one line of Java code that calls the JavaScript and code your function in JavaScript. I don't recommend it but technically you could do it.

There is a place for JavaScript on the server. NodeJS (and Meteor) are servers that execute JavaScript. As more of the code moves to the browser it is much easier to reuse the same JavaScript code in the browser and the server at the same time.

There was no NodeJS when Aware IM was born. Java was then what JavaScript is today. Existing Java libraries made it possible to build Aware IM then. If you look at Meteor the younger generation is using NodeJS to build tooling for SW development (they are not there yet).

Aware IM support for JavaScript in the browser is great. It would not be easy to add the same level of JavaScript support on server.

BenHayat

eagles9999 wrote
Bruce, maybe it's just me (most likely I am the only one) but I cannot imagine any situation whereby you would want to execute javascript from a Rule or a Process.

Certainly java (I use a number of plugins and they are called from Rules and/or Processes.... but not js.
And certainly js from the initialisation or render Advanced scripts.... but not Rules and Processes.

I would love to understand a single specific example of your 99,999 reasons where you might want to do this.

Mark, I think Bruce may have some misunderstanding how Aware, as "Server Side" system works. And at the same time there are products in the market who allow a Client side make "JS" calls to backend functions on the server side at runtime that could confuse this whole issue.

I like to make a comment to see if I can shed some light.

1) [FACT] Rules/processes in Aware run on the server side and not in the browser.

2) [FACT] Aware backend server side uses Java engine to execute codes and not JS engine.

2.1) There are other products, which use JS code for server side for developers, but those products use JS engine, i.e. Google V8. So, essentially these products have selected to go with JS language using a JS engine to run the server side code instead of Java language. In this case, developers can write server side JS codes (i.e. Rules/Process) which in effect can be called from Browser/client side JS. (I had worked with such products before, everything (front and back) written in JS).
In case of Aware, the backend is written in Java, which has nothing to do with JS. So, as Vlad had said it a few times, if you want server side functions, you write them in Java and package them as Plugins to be consumed.

3) Then the last question that comes up, "Why can't Aware support JS on the backend?". It could, but requires a major change into the entire back end system to also run another JS engine to support JS to begin with and then the engine needs to communicate with Java runtime to pass the info from JS engine. It's a lot of work, slows down the system, and certainly not worth it.

Bottom line, Aware uses Java backend and NOT JS backend engine. Therefore, to make any calls to backend server at runtime, you have to call Java function and not JS function. End of story! 🙂

Hope this helps!

customaware

Precisely Ben.
Hence the reason for my question. 😉

hpl123

Sorry, can´t write all my thoughts here (out and about) but I have also suggested this before and in another post and here is a bit around how I think about it.

To have a plugin in Aware we need a Java plugin yes and that Java plugin can run a Javascript script in the frontend of the applications. If the rule engine is "backend" and the actual client side UI is "frontend", with a funktion like this we could manipulate basically anyting in the "frontend" from logic in the "backend". There are MANY applications for a function like this, here are a few:

Show notification (non Aware)
Manipulate DOM
All the things we can do with advanced scripts, we can basically do with a function like this BUT we can do it via a rule or process i.e. whenever something changes or whenever we wan´t basically.
Many of the more advanced topics discussed recently like remove tab, change CSS, hide panels etc. etc. would be possible to manipulate/do via a function like this.
etc. etc. I am a newbie in this area so there are probably a lot of additional stuff I don´t see/know related to this.