Scripting > Data Input Scripts

Data Input scripts can be used to generate data for data provider commands. Data provider commands include the following types of commands:

•Agent

•Navigate URL

•Set Form Field

•Data List

A Data Input script can be added to a command by selecting the data provider Script from the Data configuration tab:

The following example generates a list of URLs that could be used in an Agent command to provide start URLs:

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Data;

using Sequentum.ContentGrabber.Api;

public class Script

{

public static DataTable ProvideData(DataProviderArguments args)

{

List<string> urls = new List<string>();

for(int i=1;i<1000;i++)

{

urls.Add("http://www.domain.com/page.php?ID=" +i.ToString());

}

return urls.ToDataTable("url");

}

This script makes use of the extension method ToDataTable which is part of the Script Utilities.

The script must have a static method with the following signature:

public static DataTable ProvideData(DataProviderArguments args)

The function must return a DataTable that contains the input data. The DataTable can have one or more data columns, and all columns will be available to the data provider command that is using the script.

An instance of the DataProviderArguments class is provided by Content Grabber and has the following functions and properties:

Property or Function	Description
Agent Agent	The current agent.
ScriptUtils ScriptUtilities	A script utility class with helper methods. See Script Utilities for more information.
Command Command	The current agent command being executed.
IContainer ParentContainer	The parent container command of the current command.
IConnection DatabaseConnection	The current internal database connection used by the agent. This connection is already open and should not be closed by your script.
IHtmlNode HtmlNode	The extracted HTML node.
IInternalDataRow DataRow	The current internal data row containing the data that has been extracted so far in the current container command.
bool IsDebug	True if the agent is running in debug mode.
bool IsSchemaOnly	If true, only the data schema is required, so you can optimize processing by only returning the data schema with no data.
IInputData InputDataCache	All input data available to the current command.
void WriteDebug(string debugMessage, DebugMessageType messageType = DebugMessageType.Information)	Writes log information to the agent log. This method has no effect if agent logging is disabled, or if called during design time.
void WriteDebug(string debugMessage, bool showMessageInDesignMode, DebugMessageType messageType = DebugMessageType.Information)	Writes log information to the agent log. This method has no effect if agent logging is disabled, or if called during design time.
void Notify(bool alwaysNotify)	Triggers notification at the end of an agent run. If alwaysNotify is set to false, this method only triggers a notification if the agent has been configured to send notifications on critical errors.
void Notify(string message, bool alwaysNotify)	Triggers notification at the end of an agent run, and adds the message to the notification email. If alwaysNotify is set to false, this method only triggers a notification if the agent has been configured to send notifications on critical errors.
GlobalDataDictionary GlobalData	Global data dictionary that can be used to store data that needs to be available in all scripts and after agent restarts. Input Parameters are also stored in this dictionary.
IConnection GetDatabaseConnection(string connectionName)	Returns the specified database connection. The database connection must have been previously defined for the agent or be a shared connection for all agents on the computer. Your script is responsible for opening and closing the connection by calling the OpenDatabase and CloseDatabase methods.
IInputDataRow GetInputData()	If the current command is a data provider, the data for that command is returned. Otherwise this function searches the command's parents and returns the first found input data.
IInputDataRow GetInputData(Command command)	If the specified command is a data provider, the data for that command is returned. Otherwise this function searches the command's parents and returns the first found input data.
IInputDataRow GetInputData(string commandName)	If the specified command is a data provider, the data for that command is returned. Otherwise this function searches the command's parents and returns the first found input data.
IInputDataRow GetInputData(Guid commandId)	If the specified command is a data provider, the data for that command is returned. Otherwise the function throws an error.