Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

AngelaIp — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:02:57 GMT

Yes, the new federated flag makes sense! I right now use 'Federated' as type for regular string/integer properties, but 'Item' for federated items. It works, but is confusing.

I think Aras added this one as first modification for their own upcoming federation service. But I don´t think we will see it this year. I expect they want to cover REST and SQL and probably plan to provide a lot UI to make it simple for users. Will take them some time to cover everything.

My federated dataset with above sample project currently looks like this.

Search bar works mostly like usual. Items are clickable. We can link the federated data to other items cause they have static id. But I still weren´t able to make all of the paging buttons work as normal. Especially the counter for amount of found pages and items is still missing. It´s not high priority, but it would be a nice addition.

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

Jen Caputo — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 14:23:06 GMT

hahha... oh no... we are still on 11 SP 12 :(

But we have looked at the latest release a bit and the new federated flags which I like a lot - I have properties that are federated Item Types for example and we have really had to hack that to make it work because we couldn't set the property type as "Item". If we set the data source in the DB (because you can't set it in the UI if it's federated) everything works beautifully - same things with lists. So I am a big fan of this change and am very much looking forward to when we can upgrade.

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

AngelaIp — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 10:30:42 GMT

Hi,

I right now play around with Release 2023 and noticed that Aras changed a view things regarding "Federation" in this release. This version has an additional "Federated" flag in the ItemType properties. Not sure if this has a real technical impact or is just a way to "highlight" federated property in a better way.

In my I12 you still can set DataType to "Federated" and there is no additional flag. Technically using DataType "Federation" never had some real technical impact, despite the quick erase of the existing db values.

Not sure, I haven´t tested federation yet in Release 2023. But this is maybe an additional reason the mentioned project is not promoted by Aras anymore.

You said you used Federation for many tasks. Have you noticed differences regarding the used Method when using Innovator 12 vs. Innovator 14? Of course only when you already work on a newer release... :)

Best regards

Angela

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

AngelaIp — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:33:26 GMT

Hahaha. Sure, they lost it "by accident" while moving to the new building. 😉Even the original developer still works there!

To defend support, I understand why they don´t want to share it anymore:

- It´s based on Innovator 11 or older
- It was really just a sample project.
- It´s maybe risky regarding security and performance
- They don´t have the people to support it, cause you definitely will have questions
- You are more encouraged to use a professional connector
- Since a while they work on more advanced federation solutions. You can the Federation Service is on the roadmap

Here´s a screenshot of the old sample project:

It´s a independent ItemType that you use in combination with a included generic “onGet” Method. It´s no big problem to remove the solution as soon there is a better one available.

I don´t use the project for all federation use cases. I have a custom variant that is optimized for speed and some others for add/update/delete.

I cannot send the package to you cause I don´t own this project. But I could send it back to Aras or share it with you when I got permission. It would be a big help to have the option to work with other users on this one.

The shown federation concept is a sample project, we are aware of this. Sure there are better options upcoming, but why wait for the best solution in the future, when you can have the 2^nd or 3^rd best solution now. This is why the forum exists. I miss the old community spirit where people were more experimental.

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

Jen Caputo — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 18:54:49 GMT

Bummer, they said they don't have it anymore.... they sent me a few methods but they were very basic. We've got probably a dozen federated items and the support methods are so complicated. I was really hoping there was a better way.

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

Jen Caputo — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 15:25:26 GMT

We have a ton of federated items but I feel like we are doing it in a very ancient way compared to what you describe here. Thanks, I will definitely reach out.

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

AngelaIp — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 09:10:36 GMT

Hi Jen,

I didn´t get the solution from the subscriber portal. Aras support sent it to me after I asked for some Federation samples for ERP connection. I can look up the ticket number if needed.

Ask support if they can send you the package or maybe even have a modernized variant.

Please note that this one is not an official Aras application, it´s officially labeled as sample code. But I still like the project and even use it in production. But I enhanced it in many comers and there are still a couple of topics that I want to improve.

My first post above form 1 year ago is still quite up-to-date! So I would be happy about any one that uses the project!

Best regards

Angela

RE: Who is using the Aras SQL 'Federation ItemType Sample v3-1' and can share experience?

Jen Caputo — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 18:10:09 GMT

How do you access the Federation ItemType Sample v3-1? I tried a search for it here and looking in the subscriber portal and am not seeing it.