jimt,
I recall we already had a discussion on MinVis=0 components. My point has
always been that by the purpose of XPProEmulation project it is essential
to list all components, even the obsolete ones.
For the DependencyExplorer or others it is absolutely safe to set MinVis=0
since you are not really adding components in to your configuration but
rather exploring the database or configuration. Quite frankly, the
knowledge of the product history (including the omitted components like
the FrontPage and etc.) is the goal there.
Anyway, lets come back to the issue you reported. In fact, there is no
issue there
You are just looking at wrong sections.
First of all, the DEPTRACE command of the XPECMD tool is aimed for the
opposite purpose than the DependencyExplorer. The DependencyExplorer
actually shows you the components that the selected component depends on.
The DEPTRACE command though allows you to see which components depend on a
specific component. The latter is indeed closer to what
ConfigurationExplorer does.
Now about the sections. If you fire up Settings page of the
DependencyExplorer, type in a component name in the search edit box and
hit Apply you will see the following sections listed in order: (Note: the
main purpose of the DependencyExplorer component is to walk through
components in the *database*!)
"Components:" - list of components that comply to the search
criteria. Even if you typed in an exact component name, you will still
likely see a few components listed here as there might have been a few
revisions of the same component imported in the database and released.
"Component Dependencies:" - list of components that the component
selected (clicked on) in the above section depends on.
"Component Chain:" - list of components in the inheritance chain of the
component selected in the first section. (Note: the inheritance chain has
nothing to do with the dependency chain). Here you're supposed to see all
the base prototypes of your components, if any, up to the very root one
and the component itself.
"Custom Properties:" - list of advanced properties of the
DependencyExplorer component (not relevant to our current discussion
here).
Now about the ConfigurationExplorer page: (Note: the main purpose of the
ConfigurationExplorer component is to walk through components in the
*Configuration*!)
"Configuration Components:" - list of components that comply to the
search criteria and belong to the config. Here, if you typed in an exact
component name, you will likely see one component listed as it is hard to
add a few revisions of the same component to the same configuration (but
not impossible!).
"Component Dependencies in Configuration:" - list of components that
the component selected in the above section depends on. Only those
dependencies listed here that are included in the configuration.
"Configuration Components depend on the selected component:" - list of
components that depend on the component selected (clicked on) in the first
section but only included in the config. This is similar to the result of
the DEPTREE command of XPECMD tool but not exactly the same. The
difference is that the DEPTREE walks through the database while the
ConfigurationExplorer also filters out components to list only those that
belong to the same Config. If you need the DEPTREE functionality there,
you just use ConfigurationExplorer component within a huge config like
XPProEmulation project.
"Component Chain:" - list of components in the inheritance chain of the
component selected in the first section. Here again you are supposed to
see base prototypes of your components, if any. The prototype components
are all listed here, regardless of if they all belong to the Config, and
the component itself.
Custom Properties: - list of advanced properties of the
ConfigurationExplorer component (not relevant to our current discussion
here).
Now let me show you the results you actually get from the example you used
(XPProEmulation/XPeTools).
DependencyExplorer:
Search box: XPProEmulation
"Components:" section:
XPProEmulation [Version ...], [Visibility=1000]
"Component Dependencies:" section:
No component dependencies found.
"Component Chain:" section:
XPProEmulation [Version ...], [Visibility=1000]
Default Prototype Component [Version ...],
[Visibility=1]
"Custom Properties:" section:
....
ConfigurationExplorer: (in XPProEmulation SLX)
Search box: XPProEmulation
"Configuration Components:" section:
XPProEmulation [Version ...], [Visibility=1000]
"Component Dependencies in Configuration:" section:
No component dependencies found.
(I suspect that here is where you missed the section and/or confused the
results with the section below)
"Configuration Components depend on the selected component"
XPe Tools [Version ...], [Visibility=1000]
"Component Chain:" section:
XPProEmulation [Version ...], [Visibility=1000]
Default Prototype Component [Version ...],
[Visibility=1]
"Custom Properties:" section:
....
Also, not sure if you noticed. All the components in the XPeTools package
on thier Settings page have a link "Help - More Info) at the top of the
page. If you hit the link, it will open a help section that explains what
the component does and explains the other sections meaning. Not really
good English there but I can read it
Hope this clears things up.
Phew, this is being a long post
. I might use it in my blog to make
things clear about the XPeTools components.
--
=========
Regards,
KM
Hi KM;
1) Hmm, I deliberately omitted level zero components because Microsoft
has used that mechanism to obsolete a component. The 'FrontPage Server
Extensions' component was an example of this... I found a post from a MS
person that said the visibilty for that component was dropped to zero so
nobody would use it. Or so the theory goes, anyway
2) While learning your tool I used XPECMD to make sure I was getting it
right. Maybe I got the depend/dependee order switched in the first
post... Perhaps a simpler example would help. Suppose I wanted to find
out which component(s) were depending on having XPPRoEMulation in the
configuration. We know from the XPe Tools release notes that XPe Tools
component will list XPProEmulation as one of five dependencies.
The XPECMD to retrieve this is:
xpecmd>DEPTRACE myVar 'comp:XPProEmulation'
Analyzing Database... 100%
Components: [1 item]
----- ------------
Index: Value
----- ------------
1: XPe Tools [R19]
xpecmd>
So the 'XPe Tools' component will list XPProEmulation as a dependency, as
expected. If I use ConfigurationExplorer I can arrive at the same
conclusion, so that tool works too.
But if I enter 'XPProEmulation' into the Dependency Explorer to the left
of APPLY, and click APPLY, and then click on the "XPProEmulation" name
that appeared, I do not see 'XPe Tools' show up anywhere. I think it
should show up as the component which lists the named XPProEmulation
component as a dependent. That is the problem (or I may not be doing it
right?).
The other way works great on DependencyExplorer. If I go the other way
and enter 'XPe Tools' to the left of APPLY, and then click on APPLY, then
click on the popped up named component, I see all 5 of the expected
dependencies, including XPProEmulation.
3) BTW in the original post I think I was looking for all components that
list "Enhanced Write Filter" as a dependency-- per the 2nd paragraph. I
hope the above will simplify my example. Let's forget about the EWF for
purposes of this post, and just use the example above.
BTW thanks again for the assist.
--
jimt
KM said:
jim,
DependencyExplorer works like a charm on my end. I do believe it should
work the same way on your side as well
Anyway, a few notes here that may remove some confusions:
- It is good you are lowering the MinVis option on the component's
page to 1. However, don't hesitate to lower it down to 0. Then you will
be able to see even Legacy components left in the database from previous
version of the product (and still distributed by Microsoft).
- At least 2 latest revisions of the El Torito CD component do NOT
have a Enhanced Write Filter listed as dependency. It was a fix provided
in SP2 times. Please read through NG archive to get more details about
the issues caused by that dependency, we have discussed most of them
here.
- Enhanced Write Filter API component (any revision) does depend on
the Enhanced Write Filter, obviously. It is shown here when I use the
same version of the DependencyExplorer as you are referring to.
- In your example of the steps you performed, why were you expecting
El Torito CD component being listed as a dependency of the Enhanced
Write Filter?? It is rather vise versa - you should expect Enhanced
Write Filter being listed as a dependency of the El Torito CD component.
--
=========
Regards,
KM
Hi,
Maybe this is just an operator error, but the XpeTools
"DependencyExplorer" does not seem to show what components are
dependent on the named component.
For example, I see from XPECMD that "El Torito CD" and "Enhanced Write
Filter API (EWF API)" both list the "Enhanced Write Filter" as a
dependency. (deptrace myVar 'comp:Enhanced Write Filter')
If I fire up the xpetools DependencyExplorer, I should be able to see
the same relationships. From the info help for DependencyExplorer:
"This tool allows you to navigate through XPe database components to
see their dependencies and components depend on them."
My procedure was:
1) start TD, add the XPE Tools component, resolve dependencies, go to
settings for DependencyExplorer component.
2) Enter 1 and [Set] for min component visibility, leave all others as
they are
3) Enter "Enhanced Write Filter" w/out quotes in box, leave the "Search
by Component Name" filter, and click Apply.
4) Under each component name, click each "Enhanced Write Filter" that
appears. Look below for each click and try to find "El Torito CD"
listed anywhere.
The problem was that I couldn't find one. I am open to being told I
goofed up, but it seems like this tool is not showing the components
that depend on the named component. I'm using XPeTools on OEM XPe SP2
FP2007. I'm using the version of xpetools that comes in the
xpetools_176.zip file.
Thanks,
