Scheduling a custom event
BIRT iHub provides administrators with a flexible set of options for scheduling when a report runs. A report can be scheduled to run at a specific point in time. At times, running a report can be dependent on other data processing tasks, such as a pending update to a data warehouse or some other decision-support system. Unless these processes complete first, the report can be incomplete or contain out‑of‑date information. BIRT iHub supports event-based scheduling to facilitate these types of processing requirements.
BIRT iHub supports scheduling a report to run at a specific calendar date and time or when one of the following types of events occurs:
File
Specify an operating system file or folder as the event criteria. BIRT iHub runs the event-based job when it finds the file or folder in the specified location.
Job
Specify a scheduled job in the Encyclopedia volume as the event criteria. When the scheduled job completes, BIRT iHub runs the event-based job.
Custom
Specify a web service that BIRT iHub monitors. BIRT iHub communicates with the web service, continuously polling the service with an event name and parameters. BIRT iHub runs the custom-event based job when the web service returns the specified signal.
File and job events do not require custom programming. A custom event requires you to create the web service and configure BIRT iHub to communicate with the service.
The BIRT iHub installation program installs a default custom event web service and configures the Encyclopedia volume to use the service. BIRT iHub Integration Technology provides a customizable web service application as a sample, including the source code, in the Custom Event Web Service folder.