DIAL Overview

The Dimensional Insight Access Language (DIAL) is a Java programming language designed to process, analyze, and distribute information contained in Dimensional Insight files. When run, DIAL scripts process Markers A Diver file type (.mrk) that stores the actions taken during a dive and the state of the dive window. Reopening a marker displays the most recent build of the model or cBase data in the state the marker was in when it was saved., DivePlans A Diver configuration file type (.dvp) that determines the organization and presentation of DI model and cBase data to Diver clients. DivePlans are used to categorize data into folders., cBases The file type (.cbase) that stores Diver Platform data generated by the Spectre engine. A cBase is a columnar data structure optimized to aggregate (summarize) large volumes of data., and Models The file type (.mdl) that stores data generated by the classic Builder engine. A model is a presummarized, indexed data set designed for multidirectional drill-down without directional limits or predetermined drill paths. to find and flag exceptional data values by accessing and evaluating summary information. DIAL sends the results as email or saves the results in files.

You run DIAL scripts through the DIAL interpreter. You can test the scripts from the command line or from within Workbench, but it is best practice to incorporate DIAL scripts in a Production process for regular delivery of reports through email. You can also use the DI-Broadcast client to schedule and run DIAL scripts.

A DIAL script is a set of statements, organized into blocks defined by braces ('{' and '}') and control statements, for example, if, if-else, and while statements. Within this structure, expressions similar to Diver calculations can be used to access and evaluate cBase and Model data. A set of high-level functions provides a variety of operations for data input and output. The syntax-aware text editor in Workbench offers assistance with the scripting. DIAL scripts can be maintained with any text editor.

To use DIAL you must understand the basic syntax of the language, the expression rules, and the various high-level functions. It is assumed that the cBases and Models, as well as DivePlans and Markers, have been previously created and validated using ProDiver.

DIAL in Workbench

Although created to read DI Models, DIAL scripts do not need to be different to accommodate cBases. DIAL opens Markers and DivePlans as before, whether the Marker is looking at a DivePlan for a Model or a cBase is irrelevant to the script. Workbench DIAL scripts only require an additional statement to set the project. See set_project in DiveLine Functions in DIAL. Note, however, that DIAL continues to use both DiveLine (for inputs) and local system pathing (for outputs). See Path Names in DIAL Language Syntax.

NOTE: Starting with DIAL 7.1(15), the server mode option limits file access to the project. See DIAL Server Mode.

If you are not passing parameters, you can run DIAL scripts in Workbench directly from the DIAL text editor. This facilitates development and testing of the scripts. For long term usage, integrate your scripts into your Production processing by using the DIAL Process or Execute nodes. Visual Integrator scripts can also be used to run DIAL scripts.