using .NET API for TM1

[manoj928]

Hello Gurus,

To design TM1 interface, we are resorting on using .NET API of TM1 10.1. We are new in this territory and want to explore more on it.

Business wants a great look and feel for one of our TM1 application so we want to create .NET page for interface, and that is quite possible using .NET pages only. We tried to fulfill those requirement in TM1 web-sheet form, but due to lots of limitation ,we cant'.

So before moving , we want to check what all are pros and cons of using .NET API for interface design. Using API, we want to use pull data from TM1 cube and also want to run TI process.

Please let me your view and also let me know a brief about your project if any of you have it implemented in any of TM1 application.

Thanks,
Manoj

[tomok]

Business wants a great look and feel for one of our TM1 application so we want to create .NET page for interface

For your sake I hope Business has deep pockets because you are going to spend an unbelievable amount of hours on this. Good luck. May I suggest you use the search function on this site for .NET API and read ALL the posts about programming with the API. When you are done, come back and ask specific questions.

[declanr]

We tried to fulfill those requirement in TM1 web-sheet form, but due to lots of limitation ,we cant'.

In my experience very few people utilise the full capabilities of having TM1 Web as an interface due not necessarily to limitations with the tool but a lack of understanding on how to use it. Admittedly I would say that is very forgiveable as sometimes you have to get quite creative with the design of your system to accommodate some functionality but I would be quite surprised if a number of the "limitations" you are encountering could not be overcome using TM1 Web, perhaps before going down what Tomok has eluded to will be a very difficult path; it would be worth you explaining what limitations you are encountering and people here may be able to point you in a direction of how you can overcome them.

[manoj928]

Sorry to say, but our users are quite picky ones. They want what they ask.

Few of them are:
1. Calendar in cell as date input.
2. Use of Tab button to move from one form object to another.
3. Mouse over functionality on cell...
4. Reset option on action button...
5. Cacheing issue while using URL in active forms.
and so on.....


Any Help on these...

Thanks,
Manoj

[winsonlee]

You would only want to use .NET API for certain function. If you are planning to use it entirely to replace the whole interface, then it really defeat the purpose of using TM1. You would be better off coding the interface and use a normal back end database eg MS SQL server. I have been through the path creating interface using ASP.NET with .NET API and it is not sustainable. Maintaining the code is a big issue and to have other people to maintain the code is a nightmare.

[George Regateiro]

You would only want to use .NET API for certain function. If you are planning to use it entirely to replace the whole interface, then it really defeat the purpose of using TM1. You would be better off coding the interface and use a normal back end database eg MS SQL server. I have been through the path creating interface using ASP.NET with .NET API and it is not sustainable. Maintaining the code is a big issue and to have other people to maintain the code is a nightmare.

You beat me to it. TM1 has its UI faults but the idea of building a whole custom overlay seems to be placing common sense to the side. I have used the classic and .NET API for smaller utilities but maintaining large interfaces for the long term seems to be a waste of resources.

Suggestions to the OP

1) Take the advice and read through the other posts in this forum on the APIs. This is not a plug and play adventure that you are trying to embark on. The ups and downs of of each API has already been chronicled in other posts

2) Heed the advice to think outside of the box. Some API coding is fine, but can over come some of the short comings you see in the product by a combination of TM1Web, Action Buttons, TI, Command Files and other EXEs? You would be amazed at what you can accomplish when you think outside of the box with TM1Web.

3) If you do go down the path talk to some of the different consulting companies that offer tools to ease this pain. There are many options that are offered and if you still go out on your own custom route they can still help getting you over the initial hurdles.

[manoj928]

Thank for all suggestions.

We don want to go heavily on .NET path, but for few interface design, we want to use API where users are stick to their requirement.

and those interface are not that much complicated. Just to accept few data points using form and pass them to TM1 cube using TI. Just Read/Write processes only.

It does not seem a complex stuff to implement.

Thanks,
Manoj

[lotsaram]

We don want to go heavily on .NET path, but for few interface design, we want to use API where users are stick to their requirement.

and those interface are not that much complicated. Just to accept few data points using form and pass them to TM1 cube using TI. Just Read/Write processes only.

It does not seem a complex stuff to implement.

But the point is where is all this .Net stuff going to sit? Surely you don't think you can just bolt on a "pop up a date picker window" there, and slide in a "information on mouse-over" there all within a broader TM1 Web or Cognos BI application? Any technology comes with inherent features, but inherent limitations are also part and parcel. Me thinks your picky users could benefit from an injection of reality of just how much extra such customizations might cost, not just from an initial build perspective but also from the point of view of ongoing maintenance and difficulty in upgrading to name just a few. They need some good advice and one wonders if that's what they're getting.

[macsir]

I am developing some VB.NET programs by using the TM1 API. The thing I can say is that there no complete and up-to-date official doco which you can refer to. This is the biggest disaster to any developer.

[manoj928]

Agree with you mac...

As you are developing VB .NET and TM1 API, can i ask a question, how we can create a dynamic view using TM1 API in .NET. Any technical help would be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Manoj

[PlanningDev]

One way to get around having to code everything in .net or java is to supplement by creating parametized TIs to take care of tasks for you. This way you limit the amount of code you have to manage in .net or java. Things like creating a dynamic view can be done in a TI.

I'll give you an example. There is no password reset capability within TM1 so I built an interface using Java. After spinning my wheels trying to build all the code in java I realized the engine of what I wanted to,do could be done in TI and all I had to do was use the API to grab user input parameters and pass them to my TIs. My example only required that you maintain an extra cube that had the user dimension the users email address and a temp random password.

I'm not saying you have to go this route but ill tell you that after spending hours and ours learning/playing with the API I realized it was more efficient to use the actual API as little as possible.

Also, I believe CARPE DATUM makes an API module that allows you to build forms through MS Infopath that connect to TM1 on the back end.

[Harvey]

Well, as an API lover, I say go for it! I haven't looked at the .NET API much, but have used the C API extensively and love the flexibility it gives you when designing an interface.

However, it's true that you'll need to be prepared to spend a lot of time on this.

My current approach to browser-based .NET API interfaces is not to use ASP.NET, but to go the WPF/Silverlight route. I've found it separates the UI from the business logic very well, and the powerful databinding and graphics features makes it much easier to design rich interfaces. All the new Flow products coming out this year are going along this path.

I have actually written a full object oriented .NET TM1 API which might be handy in a situation like this. I hadn't thought about opening the source or providing it commercially, but if you have any interest, let me know via PM or the email.

[Meister1867]

I just came across this post and found it interesting. I did some work with .NET and TM1 in the past, and I did some .NET and Xcelerator (Cognos Express) last year. Most of this was out of personal interest though. So today I was trying to dig into the API again, but something was different... Visual Studio wasn't accepting references to the libraries. Libraries that I remember being there in the past, aren't there. Documentation for dotNet... it's not there!!! This is for TM1 10.1.0 and 10.1.1. Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like they've removed the dotNet libraries and documentation.

Kind of ashame really because although the dotNet libraries were weak, they would allow you to do pretty much was needed; integrate TM1 into an ASP.NET application. So if you want to do something where TM1 and .NET are integrated, you may have to either look at an article like this (http://www.andyrushton.co.uk/csharp-dyn ... -run-time/) to pull in some functions. Or use the TM1RunTI utility.

[Alan Kirk]

I just came across this post and found it interesting. I did some work with .NET and TM1 in the past, and I did some .NET and Xcelerator (Cognos Express) last year. Most of this was out of personal interest though. So today I was trying to dig into the API again, but something was different... Visual Studio wasn't accepting references to the libraries. Libraries that I remember being there in the past, aren't there. Documentation for dotNet... it's not there!!! This is for TM1 10.1.0 and 10.1.1. Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like they've removed the dotNet libraries and documentation.

Not removed, just moved, for no good and valid reason. See this thread. Except for the .Net documentation, which wasn't so much removed as (apparently) simply forgotten. Support has said that they'll get around to adding it back to the 10.2 install (we'll see) and put it up for download in the meantime (schyeah, right) .

[em_past]

Hi all,

Do You know if there is a some way to publish a package in FM from .NET or Java?

[sachin]

Hi all,

Do You know if there is a some way to publish a package in FM from .NET or Java?

HTH - http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.w ... wg21335762

[manoj928]

So far..so Good.. we acheived what customer was looking for..

But coding part is horrible, combining .NET code with TM1 API... Hope IBM will have some good documentation on usage of API in next release..

Thanks,

[Alan Kirk]

Hope IBM will have some good documentation on usage of API in next release..

{Reads post...}

{Re-reads post....}

{Re-reads post again...}

BWAAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!

Oh Cheezes {gasp, guffaw, splutter}, thank you, thank you! That was a brilliant joke! I needed a {gasp, wipes tears of laughter from my eyes} good laugh and that's the funniest thing I've read in months, if not years!

Oh man, I'll be chuckling over that one for a while...

[Harvey]

I've written an article on using the TM1 C API from a .NET application, and there is an associated Visual Studio project to get you started. It's not that hard to do once you know how.

Here's the article.

Actually using the API is another matter, as managing value pools and value types can get confusing. I'm intending to write more articles on these subjects in the near future, so if you want to help shape what's covered in those articles, let me know.

As I said, I also have a full C# API that wraps the C API, so if there's any interest in that, I could possibly release it along with the article series.