Scripting and Automation

This chapter details how to automate tasks within the software using scripts. It covers the supported scripting languages, scheduling options, error handling, and provides examples of common automation scenarios.

Supported Scripting Languages

The software supports the following scripting languages for automation:

JavaScript (Node.js): The primary scripting language used for automating various tasks within the software. This language offers a wide range of libraries and tools for interacting with the software's API and performing system-level operations. [See more about CLI and Node.js in CLI Usage]
Python: Supported through integration with the python CLI tool. It provides a rich ecosystem of libraries for automation, data analysis, and machine learning. [See more about CLI in CLI Usage]
Shell Scripting: Basic shell scripting using Bash or Zsh is supported for simple automation tasks. This is particularly useful for tasks that involve interacting with the system's command line interface.

Scheduling Scripts for Automatic Execution

You can schedule scripts to execute automatically at specific times or intervals. This is achieved through system-level scheduling tools:

Cron (Linux/macOS): Use the cron utility to schedule scripts to run at specific times or intervals.
Task Scheduler (Windows): Use the Task Scheduler to schedule scripts for automatic execution on Windows systems.

Example: The following is a crontab entry that schedules a Node.js script named daily_report.js to run every day at 6:00 AM:

0 6 * * * node /path/to/daily_report.js

Error Handling and Exceptions in Scripts

When writing scripts, it's crucial to handle errors and exceptions gracefully to prevent unexpected behavior or program crashes. Here's how to handle errors:

JavaScript (Node.js):

try {
  // Code that may throw an error
  const data = JSON.parse(response.body);
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Error:", error);
  // Handle the error, e.g., log the error, retry the operation, etc.
}

Python:

try:
  # Code that may raise an exception
  file = open('myfile.txt', 'r')
except FileNotFoundError:
  print("File not found.")
  # Handle the exception, e.g., create the file, log the error, etc.

Shell Scripting:

#!/bin/bash

# Code that may fail
command_to_run

# Check if the command was successful
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "Command failed!"
  # Handle the error
fi

Common Automation Script Examples

Here are some common automation scripts using JavaScript:

Generating Reports: Script to collect data from the software and generate reports in a desired format (e.g., CSV, PDF).
Data Processing: Script to process large datasets, perform transformations, and generate insights.
Task Scheduling: Script to automate tasks that need to be executed at specific times or intervals.
API Integration: Script to interact with external APIs to retrieve or send data.
System Monitoring: Script to monitor system performance and alert on potential issues.

Note: This section is just a starting point for automation. There are countless other use cases and scripts that can be developed to streamline your workflows. The software's extensive API provides a foundation for creating powerful and customized automation solutions.

Example Wiki