2023.1:Scripting Setup

This article seeks to elucidate the requirements for setup of remote scripting in Grooper 2023.1.

About

.Net scripting is a fantastic way to expand the capabilities of Grooper but has historically been a procedure that was inherently tied to the machine that Grooper is installed on.

With Grooper 2023.1 scripting can now be done on a remote computer, compiled, and thanks to the Grooper SDK, uploaded to the Grooper server.

Understanding the Environment

Before we dive into how things are setup, let's take a look at what parts make up the demonstration environment. Variables in your environment will obviously be slightly different, but this is a basic setup that should work as a reasonable template.

Grooper Server

This is the main server that is hosting everything Grooper, and as such will be referred to as "Grooper Server". The following components are installed on this machine.

• Grooper Software
  • Grooper software is installed on this computer normally. For more information on installing Grooper please visit the Install and Setup article.
• Grooper Web Server
  • The "Grooper Web Client" is installed on this "Grooper Server" (along with the requisite installation and appropriate configuration of IIS) to allow remote computers to access the Grooper environment remotely without having to have Grooper installed on their machines.
• Grooper Repository
  • The infrastructure that establishes a repository of information that the Grooper application points to consists of the following piece that are also installed on this "Grooper Server":
    • Grooper Filestore
      • Files associated with objects in Grooper reside here. This is a file directory located on this "Grooper Server"
    • SQL Server
      • Objects and their configurations are stored in tables in a SQL database that make the backbone of a Grooper repository

Remote Scripting Computer

This is a generic workstation used by a developer wanting to do scripting for Grooper that is on the same network the "Grooper Server" is on, but it is not itself the "Grooper Server". The following Components are installed on this machine.

• Grooper Software
  • This is installed on the computer because of the need to access Grooper code for the developer when compiling. SQL server is not installed on this machine, neither is the Filestore for Grooper so it is pointed at the remote repository (the repository hosted on the "Grooper Server") via Grooper Config.
• Grooper Web Client
  • The "Grooper Web Client" is installed on the developer's machine so that they can have a debug target when creating their scripts. This is not the main webpage users will interact with to access Grooper. IIS is installed on this machine to facilitate the appropriate installation of the "Grooper Web Client", but IIS Express (which is side-loaded when the Grooper SDK is added to Visual Studio) will actually be leveraged upon testing and debugging of scripts.
• Visual Studio - with Grooper SDK
  • Visual Studio 2019 is the supported version for developing with Grooper 2023.1. From Visual Studio you can download and install the Grooper SDK.

Understaing Both

So, we have the "Grooper Server" and we have the "Remote Scripting Computer" and their requisite components on each. As stated, the Grooper Software and the Grooper Web Client are installed on the "Remote Scripting Computer" but the Grooper Repository is established on the "Grooper Server". The "Remote Scripting Computer" is simply referencing the repository as it exists on the "Grooper Server".