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Infoworks Icmexchange: What It Is?

InfoWorks ICM Exchange Examples

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274 views

Infoworks Icmexchange: What It Is?

InfoWorks ICM Exchange Examples

Uploaded by

zherohua
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ruby Scripting and ICM Exchange

InfoWorks ICMExchange
What it is?
Firstly, it’s really important to understand that ICMExchange is not an extra application and is not an
add-on module for ICM either. An ICMExchange licence simply activates the Application
Programming Interface (API) for ICM, which is hidden by default. Think of it like a back-door into
ICM. Once that door is open, software code written by a 3rd party can instruct ICM to perform
certain steps/operations/tasks without anyone needing to be sat in front of the ICM software
itself. In other words, ICM is made to run in the background; it’s driven by a 3rd party
application/process and there is nothing to see from the end-users prospective.

With this final point in mind, you’ll appreciate that providing a standard software demo, of the type
we would typically do for applications like InfoWorks or InfoSWMM, Is not a viable proposition. The
whole point about ICMExchange is that there’s nothing to see while it’s running/working. When
driven via the API, ICM is no longer a desktop application, it’s just becomes a background task in a
much bigger process.

How it works / what it can do


With the API opened up, ICM is controlled by writing code in the form of Ruby Scripts. The
programmer would need a high degree of familiarity with Ruby and with the terminology of object
oriented programming. ICMExchange would typically be instigated by running it from the command
line, or via a batch file. The Filename of a Ruby script is passed as an argument and the Script will
then be run and have access to the Scripting API's classes and functions. From the command line the
instruction looks something like this e.g. "C:\Program Files\Innovyze Workgroup Client
4.5\iexchange.exe" c:\myrubyscripts\icmnetwork.rb /ICM.

This is all you would actually see!

The next stage is to use a batch file. This allows ICMExchange to be run automatically as a scheduled
job (for example daily). The job could include one ruby script or multiple scripts. If run as multiple
scripts each will run sequentially i.e. the next one won’t start until the last one has finished.

© Innovyze 1 March 2015


Ruby Scripting and ICM Exchange

What can be done with Ruby Scripts?


Ruby Scripts may be run from:-
1. The user interface of InfoWorks ICM and InfoNet.
2. The separately licensed ICMExchange product, which run from the command line without
displaying a graphical user interface.

Whilst there is a great degree of overlap between the functionality available when running scripts
from the user interface and that available within the ICMExchange product, some functionality is
only available within one or the other.

The distinction between the two is broadly speaking as follows:


1. Within the user interface, scripts are run when a GeoPlan is open displaying a network, possibly
with a guest network loaded. The scripts may manipulate the data in the network, perform
imports and exports using the Open Data Import and Export centres, commit and revert
changes, and display some simple user interface features. The scripts may not manipulate tree
objects except selection lists, and may not open and close databases or set up and run
simulations.
2. From the ICMExchange application, users have the extra capability to manipulate database tree
objects, create databases as well as setting up and running simulations. However the user
interface items available from the ICM or InfoNet User Interfaces will not be available.

In summary ICMExchange can do all the following operations as background tasks:-


• Edit, update and query database tree objects
• Create, copy and delete database tree objects
• Create network scenarios
• Commit and validate networks
• Edit network objects
• Carry out simulations
• Query results and extract data

ICMExchange does not give access to all the tools and menus items that are available in InfoWorks
ICM itself and does not interact with the ICM-TSDB or Create/Export graphs and maps.

Licence / Price Model


To use the ICMExchange API you need to purchase a licence. The door to open up the API applies to
any given instance of InfoWorks ICM. If a licence of ICM does not have ICMExchange capability
available, it won’t accept any commands. ICMExchange is available as part of the InfoWorks ICM
Executive Suite.

© Innovyze 2 March 2015


Ruby Scripting and ICM Exchange

Help / Advice / Support from within Innovyze


The Ruby interface for InfoWorks ICM and InfoNet is common to both applications, but licenced
independently. Clients needing help with creating the scripts to drive InfoWorks/InfoNet can call
upon the Innovyze Support Team for a fee. Behind the scenes, various members of the
Development Team can provide additional help and advice on the object oriented programming
terminology (e.g. ‘class’, ’method’, etc., etc.) that are key to creating successful scripts.

Users must note that the flexible nature of the Ruby scripting language means that the language is
almost infinitely flexible, the embedding of the language within the InfoWorks ICM and InfoNet
applications is intended primarily for the manipulation of data via the product’s APIs. It may not be
possible to get other Ruby libraries working within InfoWorks or InfoNet and it will not be possible to
provide support for such attempts.

Example Ruby Script – Running a Simulation


The script below is a simple example showing how to select a network and various time-vary files
from the database and define the parameters for a Simulation.

© Innovyze 3 March 2015

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