3 API reference

The damas-core API is implemented as modules for Python and Javascript programming languages. Please read the Client Setup guide to setup a scripting environment, or try the demo site https://demo.damas.io

Notes on types

The client modules use the built-in types: Python expose elements as dictionaries and JavaScript expose elements as Objects. Python None, True, False, are equivalent to JavaScript null, true, false, and are translated to/from JSON to communicate with the server.

Sync / Async

The JavaScript API supports both synchronous and asynchronous requests. If the optional callback argument is provided, the request will run asynchronously and the response will be given as an argument to the specified callback. If the callback is not provided, the request is made synchronously and the return value holds the response. The Python API uses synchronous requests only (a bit of work is required to make them async ready).

Graphs

Since version 2.3, and in the NodeJS server, the edges (the directed links between nodes) are objects as nodes, wearing key/values, with the reserved keys src_id and tgt_id referring to the _id of the nodes to link.

Specifications

The API implementations follow the specifications described in the Specifications page to communicate with the server, that you could read if you would like have more details about the underlying architecture.

Table of contents

Generic elements

The elements are identified using unique identifiers stored in the reserved _id key. If the _id key is not provided at creation, a default unique value for _id is assigned. The other properties are stored next to it as key/value pairs using the JSON types.

{
    "_id": "your_custom_id",
    "number": 1234,
    "string":"hello world",
    "boolean": true
}

A set of generic CRUD functions is provided to create, read, modify and delete elements:

• create - create element(s)
• read - retrieve element(s) using identifiers
• update - modify element(s)
• upsert - create or modify element(s)
• delete - delete element(s)

File Management

The files are described as JSON objects where the _id key (identifier) is the path of the file using the UNIX path format with / slash character as sub level delimiter.

{
    "_id": "/project/path/to/file",
    "author": "username who published the file",
    "comment": "author text when published",
    "file_mtime": 1491503965000,
    "file_size": 21419055,
    "lock": "username who locked the file",
    "time": 1491692123000
}

• lock - lock file(s) for edition
• publish - add file(s) to the index
• unlock - unlock file(s)
• comment - add a comments to file(s)

User Management

The users are described as elements wearing some reserved keys: username, password, class plus optional keys.

{
    "class": "user",
    "email": "usermail@address.com",
    "fullname": "Firstname Lastname String",
    "password": "13d3a2a16c0cd2f7bf115d471999377e",
    "username": "userlogin"
}

The Authentication page gives more details about the authentication mechanism.

• signIn- request an authentication token from the server
• signOut - revoke a token
• verify - ask the server for the authentication status and user

Search queries

• graph - retrieve connected edges and nodes (recursive)
• search - find elements matching a query string
• search_one - find first element matching a query string
• search_mongo - find elements using a MongoDB query object (if MongoDB is the back-end)

Functions list

create

Create element(s) in the database. Elements have an _id key being their unique identifier in the database. This key can be specified during creation, but can't be updated afterwards without first deleting the element. The server may add some other arbitrary keys (like author, time at creation) depending on its configuration.

create( elements [, callback] )

parameters

• elements an object or array of objects to insert in the database
• callback (js only, optional) if specified, the request is asynchronous

return values

• returns an object or an array of objects (depending on the input) on success
• returns null (Javascript) or None (Python) on failure

examples

# Python
# create a new element
>>> damas.create({"key1":"value1"})
{u'key1': u'value1', u'time': 1437469470133, u'_id': u'55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', u'author': u'demo'}

# create a file element
>>> damas.create({"_id":"/project/folder/file", "additional_key":"value"})
{u'additional_key': u'value', u'_id': u'/project/folder/file', u'time': 1480586620449, u'author': u'demo'}

# create multiple elements
>>> damas.create([{"label":"element1"}, {"label":"element2"}])
[{u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde32', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'element1', u'author': u'demo'}, {u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde33', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'element2', u'author': u'demo'}]

# create a new edge element
>>> damas.create({"src_id":"/project/folder/file1","tgt_id":"/project/folder/file2"})
{u'tgt_id': u'/project/folder/to/file2', u'_id': u'583ff67647e759beb73bde34', u'time': 1480586870826, u'src_id': u'/project/folder/to/file1', u'author': u'demo'}

// Javascript
// create a new element
damas.create({key1: "value1"});
▸ Object { author: "demo", time: 1437469470133, key1: "value1", _id: "55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9" }

// create a new element using an asynchronous call
damas.create({key1: "value2"}, function (element) {
    console.log(element.time);
});

// create a file element
damas.create({"_id":"/project/folder/file", "additional_key":"value"});
▸ Object {additional_key: "value", _id: "/project/folder/file", time: 1480586620449, author: "demo"}

// create multiple elements
damas.create([{"label":"element1"}, {"label":"element2"}]);
▸ Array [{_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde32", time: 1480586663024, label: "element1", author: "demo"}, {_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde33", time: 1480586663024, label: "element2", author: "demo"}]

// create a new edge element
damas.create({"src_id":"/project/folder/file1","tgt_id":"/project/folder/file2"})
▸ Object {tgt_id: "/project/folder/to/file2", _id: "583ff67647e759beb73bde34", time: 1480586870826, src_id: "/project/folder/to/file1", author: "demo"}

read

Retrieve one or more elements given their identifiers.

read(ids [, callback] )

parameters

• ids a string or array of strings containing the ids to read. In Python, can be a list, tuple or set.
• callback (js only, optional) if specified, the request is asynchronous

return values

• returns an object or an array of objects (depending on the input) on success
• returns null or None on failure

For multiple mode, The resulting array is sorted in the same order as the input array of identifiers. If some identifiers are not found, the result array is filled with None / null values for that position.

examples

# Python
# read a file
>>> damas.read("/project/folder/file")
{u'additional_key': u'value', u'_id': u'/project/folder/file', u'time': 1480586620449, u'author': u'demo'}

# read 2 elements
>>> damas.read(["583ff5a747e759beb73bde32","583ff5a747e759beb73bde33"])
[{u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde32', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'element1', u'author': u'demo'}, {u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde33', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'element2', u'author': u'demo'}]

// Javascript
// read an asset node identified by its path
damas.read("/project/folder/file");
▸ Object {additional_key: "value", _id: "/project/folder/file", time: 1480586620449, author: "demo"}

// read 2 elements using their unique identifiers
damas.read(["55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9", "560061f2d4cb24441ed88aa4"]);
▸ Array [_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde32", time: 1480586663024, label: "element1", author: "demo"}, {_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde33", time: 1480586663024, label: "element2", author: "demo"}]

update

Modify and remove keys of the specified element(s).

update( elements [, callback] )

parameters

• elements an object or an array of objects to update
• callback (js only, optional) if specified, the request is asynchronous

return values

• returns an object or an array of objects (depending on the input) on success
• returns null (None in Python) on failure
• returns an array of objects or null on mixed success/failures

The specified keys overwrite the existing keys on the server. Unspecified keys are left untouched on the server. A null or None value removes the key.

If multiple nodes are specified, the resulting array is sorted in the same order as the input array of identifiers.

The _id key can accept an array of identifiers, which means that the update will be performed on each specified element

examples

// Javascript
// update an element
damas.update({_id: "55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9", key1: null, newkey: "value2"});
▸ Object { author: "demo", time: 1437469470133, newkey: "value2", _id: "55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9" }

// update multiple elements
damas.update([{_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde32", "label":"elementA"}, {_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde33", "label":"elementB"}]);
▸ Array [{_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde32", time: 1480586663024, label: "elementA", author: "demo"}, {_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde33", time: 1480586663024, label: "elementB", author: "demo"}]

// update multiple elements, condensed
damas.update({_id: ["583ff5a747e759beb73bde32","583ff5a747e759beb73bde33"], "newkey":"value"});
▸ Array [{_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde32", time: 1480586663024, label: "elementA", author: "demo", newkey:"value"}, {_id: "583ff5a747e759beb73bde33", time: 1480586663024, label: "elementB", author: "demo", newkey:"value"}]

In Python, the None value is used to remove a key.

# Python
# update an element
>>> damas.update({'_id': '55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', 'key1': None, 'newkey': 'value2'})
{u'newkey': u'value2', u'time': 1437469470133, u'_id': u'55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', u'author': u'demo'}

# update multiple elements
damas.update([{'_id': '583ff5a747e759beb73bde32', 'label':'elementA'}, {'_id': '583ff5a747e759beb73bde33', 'label':'elementB'}])
[{u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde32', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'elementA', u'author': u'demo'}, {u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde33', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'elementB', u'author': u'demo'}]

# update multiple elements, condensed
damas.update({'_id': ['583ff5a747e759beb73bde32','583ff5a747e759beb73bde33'], 'newkey':'value'})
[{u'newkey': u'value', u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde32', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'elementA', u'author': u'demo'}, {u'newkey': u'value', u'_id': u'583ff5a747e759beb73bde33', u'time': 1480586663024, u'label': u'elementB', u'author': u'demo'}]

upsert

upsert( nodes [, callback] )

• nodes an object or array of objects to insert and/or update in the database
• callback (js only) if specified, the request is asynchronous
• returns a unique node or an array of nodes (depending on the input) on success
• returns null (Javascript) or None (Python) on failure

Create nodes and/or update existing nodes if Id is specified and found

# Python
# create a new node with a specified id
>>> project.upsert({"_id":"55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9"})
{u'time': 1437469470133, u'_id': u'55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', u'author': u'demo'}

# update a node
>>> project.upsert([{"_id":"55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9", "additional_key":"value"}])
{u'additional_key': u'value', u'time': 1437469470133, u'_id': u'55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', u'author': u'demo'}

# create a new node without specifying id
>>> project.upsert({"_id":"null"})
{u'_id': u'57ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0b4', u'time': 1480586620449, u'author': u'demo'}

# create and update
>>> project.upsert([{"_id":["55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9", "null"], "additional_key":"hello"}])
[{u'additional_key': u'hello', u'time': 1437469470133, u'_id': u'55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9', u'author': u'demo'}, {u'additional_key': u'hello', u'_id': u'56ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0f9', u'time': 1480586620449, u'author': u'demo'}]

// Javascript
// create a new node
damas.upsert({_id: "null"});
>> Object { author: "damas", time: 1480588505449, _id: "583ffcd947e759beb73bde39" }

// update a node
damas.upsert({_id: "583ffcd947e759beb73bde39", a : "test"})
>> Object { a : "test", author: "damas", time: 1480588505449, _id: "583ffcd947e759beb73bde39" }

//create and update
damas.upsert({_id: ["583ffcd947e759beb73bde39", "null"], a : "damas"})
>> Object { a : "damas", author: "damas", time: 1480588505449, _id: "583ffcd947e759beb73bde39" }
>> Object { a : "damas", author: "damas", time: 1480588505449, _id: "583ffcd947e759beb73ple85" }

// create a new node using an asynchronous call
damas.upsert({key1: "value2"}, function (node) {
    // asynchronous mode
    console.log(node.time);
});

delete

delete( ids [, callback] )

• ids a node index as string (for a unique index), or an array of string indexes
• callback (optional) (js only) function to call for asynchronous mode
• returns true on success, false otherwise

Recursively delete the specified node

// Javascript
damas.delete(id);

lock

lock( ids [, callback] )

• ids a node identifier string (to lock one asset), or an array of identifiers
• callback (optional) (js only) function to call for asynchronous mode accepting a boolean argument
• returns true on success, false otherwise

Nominative lock on assets for the current user (sets lock key equals to authenticated username)

Sets a lock key on the node, with the authenticated username as value. If the asset is already locked, it will return false.

# Python
# lock one asset
project.lock('/project/path/to/file')
# True

# lock multiple assets in 1 request
project.lock(['/project/path/to/file1', '/project/another_file_path'])
# True

publish

publish( nodes [, callback] )

• nodes an object or array of objects to insert in the database
• callback (js only) if specified, the request is asynchronous
• returns an array of nodes (containing parent nodes and child nodes) on success
• returns null (Javascript) or None (Python) on failure

Add files to the index. A child node is created to keep track of the original state of each node upon publish.

same specifications as /api/create, except that it is accessible to the user class or above, and that it is expecting specific keys.

{
  "_id": "/project/path/to/new_file",
  "comment": "text",
  "origin": "sitename"
}

Child node :

{
  "_id": "55ae0b1ed81e88357d77d0e9",
  "#parent" : "/project/path/to/new_file",
  "comment": "text",
  "origin": "sitename"
}

• key _id can be a string path, or an array of string paths
• key origin should be an alphanumerical name without space, for ease of use

optional keys (these keys are not mandatory but could ease multi sites configurations and version control):

• file_mtime Number (milliseconds since 1 Jan 1970 00:00)
• file_size Number (number of bytes)
• version Number

In a multi-site environment, the origin and _id path are used to retrieve the file from the source server.

unlock

unlock( ids [, callback] )

• ids a node identifier string (to unlock one asset), or an array of identifiers
• callback (optional) (js only) function to call for asynchronous mode accepting a boolean argument
• Returns true on success, false otherwise

Unlock a locked asset.

If the asset is not locked or locked for someone else (lock key value != authenticated user name) it returns false. If it was successfully unlocked, returns true.

comment

comment( nodes [, callback] )

• nodes an object or array of objects specifying the assets' id and the string comment
• callback (optional) (js only) function to call for asynchronous mode
• returns a unique node or an array of nodes on success
• null (Javascript) or None (Python) on failure

Add a comment to one or several asset(s).

Sets a key author on the node, with the authenticated username as value, as well as a key time.

# Python
#single parent id
>>> project.comment({"#parent" : "asset_id", "comment" : "text"})
{u'author' : u'username', u'time' : 1480588505449, u'#parent' : u'asset_id', u'comment' : u'text'}

#multiple parent ids
>>> project.comment({"#parent" : ["asset_id1", "asset_id2"], "comment" : "text"})
[{u'author' : u'username', u'time' : 1480588505449, u'#parent' : u'asset_id1', u'comment' : u'text'}, {u'author' : u'username', u'time' : 1480588505449, u'#parent' : u'asset_id2', u'comment' : u'text'}]

// Javascript
damas.comment({'#parent' : "asset_id", comment : "text"});
>> Object { author: "damas", time: 1480588505449, '#parent': "asset_id", comment: "text" }

// comment using an asynchronous call
damas.comment({'#parent' : "asset_id", comment : "text"}, function (node) {
    // asynchronous mode
    console.log(node.time);
});

signin

signIn( username, password [, callback] )

• username string
• password the user secret password string
• callback (js_only, optional) function to call for asynchronous mode
• returns an object containing an authentication token on success, false otherwise

Sign in using the server embedded authentication system

signout

signOut( [callback] )

• callback (js_only, optional) function to call for asynchronous mode
• returns true on success, false otherwise

verify

verify( [callback] )

• callback (js_only, optional) function to call for asynchronous mode
• returns true on success, false otherwise

Ask the server for the authentication status and user

search

search( string [, callback] )

• @param {String} search query string
• @param {function} [callback] - Function to call, boolean argument
• @returns {Array} array of element indexes or null if no element found

Find elements wearing the specified key(s) using a query string.

• format: "keyname1:value keyname2:value"
• operators list: :, <, <=, >, >=

In case of : operator, you can use a regular expression as value. Next line lists every png file containing "floor" in the file name, case insensitive:

search("file:/floor.*png$/i")

List every file containing the word rabbit and wearing the type key = char

search('file:/rabbit/ type:char');

search_one

search_one( string [, callback] )

• @param {String} search query string
• @param {function} [callback] - Function to call, boolean argument
• @returns {Array} array of element indexes or null if no element found

Search nodes, returning the first matching occurrence as a node object (not as index as in search). The search string format is the same as for the search method.

search_mongo

search_mongo(query [, sort, limit, skip, callback] )

• query the query object https://docs.mongodb.org/v3.0/reference/method/db.collection.find/
• sort (optional) https://docs.mongodb.org/v3.0/reference/method/cursor.sort/
• limit (optional) https://docs.mongodb.org/v3.0/reference/method/cursor.limit/
• skip (optional) https://docs.mongodb.org/v3.0/reference/method/cursor.skip/
• callback (optional) (js only) function to call to perform an asynchronous search. If undefined, a synchronous read is performed.
• returns arrays of matching indexes

We expose the MongoDB find and cursor methods here in order to provide a powerful search with many options. It is only available when the server runs a MongoDB database to store the data.

In order to use regular expressions, and because the JSON format only accept strings and has no type for regular expressions, we use strings with the prefix REGEX_ to indicate to the server that it must convert it to a RegExp object before executing the Mongo query. To add options to regular expressions, prefer the syntax RX_expression_RXoptions.

For example: the /.*/ regular expression.

is written "REGEX_.*" as string format in the JSON messages

Example with case-insensitive option: /.*/i

is written "RX_.*_RXi" as string format in the JSON messages

# Python
# get the 10 most recent files (having the higher `time` key on nodes)
>> project.search_mongo({"file":{"$exists": True}}, {"time":-1}, 10, 0)
[u'56701f266899505c6d82ffc4', u'56701e2583cfa5c16c1a2f78', u'56701b791da266d26bc11126', u'56701cf1570a32f16be5bb60', u'56701923a26510e96969e277', u'5670305b40c1a51070f3356f', u'567026b69b2d56016f663242', u'56702671a86238e76e08f600', u'56701fb92fdef89f6dcb8c6c', u'55b36829cc6742a30da59b98']

// Javascript
// get the 200 last indexed files, sorted by descending time key, and display a table in html format as output
damas.search_mongo({'time': {$exists:true}}, {"time":-1},200,0, function(res){
    damas.read(res, function(assets){
        var out = document.querySelector('#contents');
        var str = '<table><tr><th>author</th><th>file</th><th>time &xutri;</th><th>comment</th></tr>';
        for(var i=0; i<assets.length; i++)
        {
            str +=  '<tr>';
            str +=  '<td>'+assets[i].author+'</td>';
            str +=  '<td>'+assets[i].file+'</td>';
            str +=  '<td>'+new Date(parseInt(assets[i].time))+'</td>';
            str +=  '<td style="white-space:normal">'+assets[i].comment+'</td>';
            str +=  '</tr>';
        }
        str += '</table>';
        out.innerHTML = str;
    });
});

graph

graph( ids [, callback] )

• @param {String} ids - Node indexes
• @param {function} [callback] - Function to call, array argument
• @returns {Array} array of element indexes Recursively get all source nodes and edges connected to the specified node

// Javascript
// This will return an array containing nodes (links are nodes too)
var sources = damas.graph("55687e68e040af7047ee1a53");