11 Scripting ↑

11.1 Scripting Operations

A script file works its magic by generally executing the following operations, in the following sequence.

1. Identify an input data source: typically a Notenik Collection, but other options are available as well.

   Each new data source typically replaces any others that were previously identified, but a merge option is available to allow combining of multiple sources.

   Any data input is now treated as a series of rows arranged into columns, with each Note becoming a separate row, and each Field becoming a separate column.

2. Optionally filter the data to exclude some of the rows that are not needed for subsequent operations.

3. Optionally sort the data by one or more columns to get rows into some desired sequence to be used for subsequent operations.

4. Process a merge template, running the filtered and sorted data through the template, and generating whatever output was specified by the template.

5. Optionally generate an output file directly, without the use of a merge template.

6. Direct your web browser to browse a local URL at which you would expect to find your generated website.

This same general series of operations may be repeated as many times as is needed, depending on your goals, your data sources, and your merge templates.

Note that in the Knowledge Base, each of these operations is performed by its own Scripting Module.