This guide describes the process of embedding Flexmonster Data Server in a .NET Core application. Follow the steps below to reference the Data Server as a DLL.
In this tutorial, we use Visual Studio 2019 as an IDE. If you do not have Visual Studio installed, download it here.
To use Flexmonster Data Server as a DLL, you need Microsoft .NET Core 3.1 or higher. Get it here if it’s not already installed on your machine.
If Flexmonster is not yet embedded, set up an empty component in your webpage:
Complete the Quick start guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:
let pivot = new Flexmonster({
container: "pivotContainer",
componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
toolbar: true
});
Complete the Integration with Angular guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:
<fm-pivot
[toolbar]="true">
</fm-pivot>
Complete the Integration with React guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:
<FlexmonsterReact.Pivot
toolbar={true}
/>
Complete the Integration with Vue guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:
<Pivot
ref="pivot"
toolbar>
</Pivot>
Now it’s time to embed Flexmonster Data Server into your ASP.NET Core project.
Skip this step if you already have an ASP.NET Core project. Otherwise, create a new project:
In the project templates menu, select the ASP.NET Core template:
Then, to simplify the server configuration process, create a project based on the API template:
Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
can be installed with NuGet – Visual Studio’s package manager:
Another way to install Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
is by running the following command in the console:
dotnet add package Flexmonster.DataServer.Core
Startup.cs
is located in the project’s root directory. Add the following line of code to the beginning of the file:
using Flexmonster.DataServer.Core;
In the ConfigureServices()
method of the Startup.cs
file, add the following line of code:
services.AddFlexmonsterApi();
For Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
, it is possible to configure data sources and different data storage options. The most convenient way of setting the Data Server configuration is to use the configuration file.
In the configuration file (e.g., appsettings.json
), define the data sources to use. For example:
"DataSources": [ { "Type": "json", "Indexes": { "index-json": { "Path": "data.json" } } }, //other data sources ],
To learn more about the available configurations for Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
, refer to the DLL configurations guide.
Data storage options include the data refresh time and the cache size limit. The data refresh time defines how often the data is reloaded from a file or a database. The cache size limit is the maximum number of cached server responses for every index specified in the "DataSources"
property. You can set the configurations in the configuration file like this:
"DataStorageOptions": {
"DataRefreshTime": 60,
"CacheSizeLimit": 150
}
The data refresh time is set in minutes. If the refresh time is not defined, the data is not reloaded.
If the cache size limit is not specified, the number of cached responses is 100
.
The IConfiguration
object contains user configurations and is used to pass them to the Data Server. Create a variable with the IConfiguration
type and initialize it in the constructor:
public Startup(IConfiguration configuration)
{
Configuration = configuration;
}
public IConfiguration Configuration { get; }
In the previous steps, we configured the Data Server in the configuration file. To apply this configuration, add the following line of code to the ConfigureServices()
method of the Startup.cs
file:
services.ConfigureFlexmonsterOptions(Configuration);
Now the ConfigureServices()
method of the Startup.cs
file should look similar to the following:
public IConfiguration Configuration { get; } public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) { // other services configurations services.ConfigureFlexmonsterOptions(Configuration); services.AddFlexmonsterApi(); // other services configurations }
The API controller is responsible for handling the requests from Flexmonster Pivot. The implementation of the controller is described in the API controller guide.
After you implement the API controller, add the following lines of code to the ConfigureServices()
and Configure()
methods:
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
// other configurations
services.ConfigureFlexmonsterOptions(Configuration);
services.AddFlexmonsterApi();
services.AddControllers();
}
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env)
{
// other configurations
app.UseEndpoints(endpoints =>
{
endpoints.MapControllerRoute(
name: "default",
pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}");
});
}
When using the Data Server as a DLL, it is possible to preload data before running the Data Server.
The prepopulatingService.Prepopulate()
method is responsible for data preloading. You can use it in the Configure()
method:
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env, IPrepopulatingService prepopulatingService) { // other configurations prepopulatingService.Prepopulate(); app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => { endpoints.MapControllerRoute( name: "default", pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}"); }); }
Due to the same-origin policy, the browser only allows requests that come from the same origin. Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) allows web applications to make cross-domain requests.
If the ASP.NET Core server and the client share the same origin, skip this step. Otherwise, CORS must be enabled to allow Flexmonster Pivot to send requests to Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
:
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services) { // other configurations services.ConfigureFlexmonsterOptions(Configuration); services.AddFlexmonsterApi(); services.AddControllers(); services.AddCors(); } public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app, IWebHostEnvironment env, IPrepopulatingService prepopulatingService) { // other configurations app.UseCors(builder => { builder.AllowAnyOrigin().AllowAnyMethod().AllowAnyHeader(); }); prepopulatingService.Prepopulate(); app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => { endpoints.MapControllerRoute( name: "default", pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}"); }); }
Find out how to enable CORS in ASP.NET Core here.
The ASP.NET Core project can be run either using Visual Studio or the console. To run the project from the console, enter the following command:
dotnet run
On the client side, configure the report as follows:
new Flexmonster({ container: "pivotContainer", componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/", toolbar: true, report: { dataSource: { type: "api", url: "http://localhost:5000/api", // replace with your url index: "index-json" } } });
Note The index
must match the name of the index defined in step 6 (e.g., "index_json"
).
Now Flexmonster.DataServer.Core.dll
is configured and ready to connect to Flexmonster Pivot. Open the pivot table in the browser to see the data.
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