2023.1:Grooper Infrastructure (Concept)

From Grooper Wiki

Technically speaking, what is Grooper? Grooper is a repository of information made up by 13 tables in a SQL Server Database and associated files in a Windows file share. This information is displayed to the user via an application(s) that displays a 1 to 1 relationship of what exists in that database and fileshare. Gaining an understanding of how to properly create using Grooper begins by first understanding the structure of its architecture, and why it is built the way it is. This sets a foundational groundwork for knowing how to think and interact with the application.

The Three Layers of Grooper

Grooper consists of three main components that constantly interact with one another:

  1. Database
  2. File Store
  3. Application

The Database

This is the core component of Grooper as all aspects of the functionality and configuration of a Grooper repository are stored here as metadata in cells of tables. There are 13 tables that make up the Grooper database:

  1. dbo.AccessControlEntry
    • This table contains the information necessary for implementing Grooper’s node-level security architecture.
  2. dbo.CustomStats
  3. dbo.FileStoreEntry
    • This table contains the information necessary for associating filestore objects with Grooper nodes. Note: a node with associated files will also contain those files’ filestore object locations, names, and mimetypes in the “files” column of TreeNode.
  4. dbo.License
    • This table contains information relating to Grooper licensing, including the licensing and tamper keys.
  5. dbo.LicenseCheckout
    • This table contains information relating to checked out licenses.
  6. dbo.Lock
    • This table contains one row per locked node; prevents overlapping access to various resources.
  7. dbo.Log
    • This table contains the Grooper log.
  8. dbo.NodeReference
    • This table contains a list of all referenced nodes, and what other nodes they are referenced by. Used to protect referenced nodes from deletion, and in determining what nodes are necessary on exporting.
  9. dbo.ProcessingTask
    • This table contains tasks submitted for activity processing as part of production batches.
  10. dbo.ServiceInstance
    • This table contains a list of installed services. Note: If an installed service does not have a reference in this table, it will not show up in Grooper Config.
  11. dbo.SessionStats
    • This table contains statistical information regarding batches in Grooper.
  12. dbo.Setting
    • This table contains only the Database version, including build number.
  13. dbo.TreeNode
    • The main Grooper table, TreeNode contains one entry for every object in the Grooper node tree. Composed of the following columns:
      • ID – The node’s unique ID. A GUID autogenerated by Grooper.
      • Row ID – Identity Column for the table. Generated by SQL server.
      • Row Version – a timestamp column, updated when the node is changed. Used by certain processes to determine if the node has been updated.
      • Name – The name of the node.
      • TypeName – The name of the object type of the node.
      • ParentID – ID of the node’s parent. The Grooper Root node has a parent ID with all zeros.
      • NodeIndex – Index of the node in it’s containing object (usually a folder)
      • Attributes – A flags attribute indicating whether the node has the following attributes: read-only, fixed contents (no children may be added), sorted (children will always show up in alphabetical order), has ACL, is a system object (may not be changed).
      • NumChildren – Number of children.
      • Properties – Column containing the JSON properties for this node.
      • NodeValues
      • Files – Files associated with this node.

Using a SQL database as the core of Grooper allows for great efficiency. Every property of every object in Grooper, as a result of being a simple entry in a table, can be loaded into memory and accessed nearly instantly. This would not be the case otherwise (if for example Grooper repositories were defined by something like a project file), as file i/o is one of the slowest aspects of modern computing. This also allows the discrete management of objects on an individual basis to allow multiple users to work in one environment and prevent work overlap by locking objects.

The File Store

The File Store in Grooper is a file share in a Windows environment. It houses the files associated with objects in Grooper that have information that would otherwise be inefficient to store in (a cell in) a database table.

The Application

This is the most visible aspect of Grooper as it is the software you interact with that displays the currently active repository. It consists of several pieces:

  1. Grooper Design Studio
  2. Grooper Config
  3. Grooper Attended Client
  4. Grooper Unattended Client

Every object in the Grooper Node Tree is an object, or row, in a specific table, the dbo.TreeNode table. The GUI of Grooper is essentially wrapping information from the Grooper database, and associated files from the Grooper File Store, into a series of grids and windows that allow you to directly interact with that database, and its related Windows file share, without writing SQL queries.

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