Marvin Live developer guide - export plugins
Marvin Live export plugins add new report file format or report storage locations. These plugins are NodeJS modules, stored in a folder set by Marvin Live’s configuration file.
Prerequisites
-
an instance of Marvin Live available for development purposes, i.e.: the ability to stop and start it, to try different configuration options
-
familiarity with JavaScript, NodeJS and its module system
-
good understanding of Promises
NodeJS introduction material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l96hPlqzcI (78m), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKQr2DGJjUQ (19m), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJVXP1bU68Y (48m)
NodeJS module description: http://nodejs.org/api/modules.html
Promise introduction: http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/es6/promises/#toc-async, https://github.com/kriskowal/q#readme
Export plugins
This plugin type is intended to save important information from a discussion room, to files such as a powerpoint document saved to the local machine.
Life-cycle
Marvin Live scans the services directory to find all export plugins and generates a GUI element to execute them. There is 1 instance of a plugin per domain.
Specification
Export plugins are NodeJS modules , denoted by their filename: *.export.js and the location in the services directory as configured during installation.
An export plugin exports the following required properties:
Name |
Type |
Description |
generate |
function |
The main function of the plugin, called when the sketcher is used, once for each change. The function must return a Promise of the results. The results are broadcasted by the application. Arguments:
Return value: Promise The fulfillment value of the promise must be a Buffer, Stream or String when returnType equals file. |
name |
string |
Unique identifier of the plugin, used by Marvin Live for identification and internal communication. If multiple plugins use the same identifier, the last one to be loaded overrides the others. |
label |
string |
Human readable name of the plugin, used by Marvin Live to display GUI elements related to this plugin. |
domains |
array of strings |
List of domains where this plugin may be used, when authentication is enabled in Marvin Live. Use * to allow any domain. If no authentication is setup, this option has no effect. To query the configured domains, send a GET request to /domains or open /domains in your browser. |
returnType |
string |
Configures the application to expect a file or a text message when the generate() promise is resolved. Files are downloaded to the client browser, text messages are displayed in a dialog. Values: file or message Required: no Default: file |
filename |
string |
Suggested file name when the download prompt appears in the browser. Only used when returnType is set to file . It’s possible to use variables that are replaced automatically when creating the file. %roomName% - name of the discussion room Default: mlreport-%roomName%.%serviceName% |
templateFile |
string |
Relative path to an HTML template, when returnType equals message. The template is injected into the room’s interface as a dialog. The templating language is Angular JS, which should allow interpolating formatted numbers or easily enumerating a list. The result of the generate call is made available as the client variable inside the template fragment. |
Meeting data specification
Below is an example of the meeting data object, with inline description of the individual attributes for structures and comments.
{
//Array of objects of all snapshots saved in this room
"snapshots"
: [
{
//String, mrv source of the chemical structure
"structure"
:
"<cml><MDocument>...</MDocument></cml>"
,
//String, base64 encoded PNG image at 500x400
"image"
:
"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KG...5CYII="
,
//String, display name of the author of this structure
"author"
:
"Susan"
,
//Number, millisecond resolution UNIX timestamp of the authoring
//of this structure
"timestamp"
:
1436786661609
,
//String, action item given when making this snapshot
//undefined for non-snapshots
"task"
:
"check IP by Friday"
,
//Array of objects, comments assigned to this snapshot
//undefined for non-snapshots
"comments"
: [
{
"message"
:
"this looks like an interesting compound"
,
"author"
:
"Wilhelm"
,
"timestamp"
:
1436879124086
},
...
],
//Object, key-value data returned by real time plugins for "reports"
"data"
: {
//key: String, label of real time plugin
//value: Object, key-value pairs of data returned
"Calculated Properties"
: {
"Mass"
:
344.43
,
"cLogP"
:
1.74
}
}
},
...
],
//Array of objects, all comments made in this room
"comments"
: [
{
//String, text content of this message
"message"
:
"this looks like an interesting compound"
,
//String, display name of the author of this message
"author"
:
"Michael"
,
//Number, millisecond resolution UNIX timestamp of this message
"timestamp"
:
1436879124086
},
...
]
}