Professional workflow scripting
This section covers a lot of ground, but there's a lot more to workflow scripts that can be covered in a single tutorial - read the workflow scripting reference for the full monty.
Upgrade your workflow script again: don't update reference data that did not change
In your new and upgraded workflow script, the basic unit of change is no longer the complete reference table: it will selectively update only the rows that the user has modified.
You are taking things one step at a time: This workflow script cannot handle the cases when different users of the form make conflicting changes to the same row. You'll make one that is ready for conflicting changes in the next section.
-
Inside the first foreach loop, introduce the
markedDeletedvariable to mark the rows that the user wants to delete. You'll find the script much easier to manage if you do.Introduce the
isEditedvariable to mark the rows that the user has modified in any way. Do this by comparing the values in the text boxes in the form with the hidden labels right below the text boxes.In the top
foreachloop, make the script delete the current row if it is checked, like before, but only update the current row if the user has edited it:server program contactUpdater for form contacts using reftab contact; { foreach(var row in form.root.contactsTable) {var markedDeleted = row.deleteContact.value == "true"; var isEdited = row.columnName.value != row.hiddenName.value || row.columnPhone.value != row.hiddenPhone.value || row.columnCategory.value != row.hiddenCategory.value || row.columnAddress.value != row.hiddenAddress.value || row.columnMail.value != row.hiddenMail.value;if(markedDeleted) db.contact.Delete({id:row.idLabel.value}); else if(isEdited)db.contact.Update({id:row.idLabel.value},{ name:row.columnName.value, phone:row.columnPhone.value, category:row.columnCategory.value, address:row.columnAddress.value, mail:row.columnMail.value}); } foreach (var row in form.root.addContact) db.contact.Insert({id:row.newContactIdLabel.value, name:row.newContactName.value, phone:row.newContactPhone.value, category:row.newContactCategory.value, address:row.newContactAddress.value, mail:row.newContactMail.value}); } -
Overwrite the workflow script when saving the new one, and publish the solution artifacts as usual.
-
To test whether your new workflow script is working as you want it, you need to simulate a second, remote user who modifies the same reference table that you are working on, while your device is not syncing.
Ideally, you need two Android devices to pull this off, but you could use desktop emulators in a pinch (see note at the top of the page). What you definitely need to have is two separate Rocky Jupiter user accounts registered at the Backoffice:
-
Go to the Users tab, and click the New user link.
-
On the screen that pops up, enter the details for the new user account, and click the Create link. Activate the new user account just as you did your original developer account. Assign the Vehicle Inspection form to the new user.
-
Open the form on both of the devices, and make a change to the contacts list on one of them. Submit the form while it is open on both devices.
Figure 115. Edit the contacts list on of of the mobile devices: this is Daniele Alessandrini's new address
-
On the second device, make a different change to the reference table, and submit the form on this one too.
-
-
Synchronize both devices to download the newest version of the reference table. Check that neither of your changes was lost.
Now that you're quite skilled at writing Mobilengine server-side scripts, you can go on to perfect this script.