Description of the « LookingForRest » 4D component
This component is a tool to visualise REST exchanges between 4D Server and 4D Client
This component is intended to be used with 4D v18 This component is provided in a 4D project form (lookingForRest.4DProject) with all sources available.
Purpose of this component
This component is given as a kind of user interface for the new member methods introduced with 4D v17 R6 for the dataStore object.
According to the documentation, the dataStore.startRequestLog new member method allows you to log ORDA requests on the client side. It is designed for debugging purposes in client/Server configurations. By default the component uses this command to store the ORDA requests in the memory and shows you the latest 100 requests. Via the component, you can start and stop the debugging process, visualize ORDA requests exchanged between the client and the server, as well as copy those requests to analyse them in detail later.
Please keep in mind that the component will show you nothing if you don’t use it in client/server mode.
Additional information about the new member methods of the dataStore object can be found in 4D documentation at the following place: https://doc.4d.com/4Dv18/4D/18/dataStorestartRequestLog.305-4505929.en.html
How to call the component ?
The component is called by running the single component method « LOGsView »
How to use the component ?
All actions available with the components are accessible through a single dialog, which will appear when calling the component « LOGsView » method. The « Capture » button in this dialog will start the debugging process while the « Stop » button will abort it. During the debugging process, the incoming exchanges between client and server will be displayed in the main listbox of the interface, allowing you to check for the following information: Unique sequence number of the ORDA request, duration of the request, request url sent to the server and status response from the server.
The dataStore.getRequestLog member method is used every second to refresh the content of the ListBox displaying the ORDA requests.
The « Copy » button will copy in the clipboard all the « urls » information loaded in the ListBox during the latest or current recording of ORDA requests.
For the « Clear » button to be used, the logging process needs to be stopped. The « Clear » button will erase all information previously loaded in the ListBox.
Additional features: When a row is selected in the component’s listbox, a contextual menu will allow you to either copy the url associated with the ORDA request or the whole content of the request (including the server response) in json format in the clipboard. The whole content of an ORDA request (or at least a part of it) is also displayed as a tip when the mouse is hovering above the Sequence number part of a row.