Introduction to Scripting
Action Script, the scripting language used in xMatters, has been designed
to be lightweight and powerful, and to meet the unique requirements of
xMatters systems software products and customers.
This introduction focuses on the basics of Action Script, and the requirements
for event resolution.
Concepts
The primary purpose of the runtime portion of an xMatters deployment
(the community of nodes) is to receive external events and manage business
processes surrounding those events. This business process typically includes
generating notifications, processing responses from notification recipients,
and managing the life-cycle of the business process and its constituent
parts.
xMatters Scripting and
Event Flow Diagram
Terms
The following terms are used to describe elements of the
business process management system:
- A business process
is a set of actions taken by the runtime in response to an
event from an event source.
- An event
is an external occurrence that has been injected into the xMatters system
from another source, such a management system. The event contains data
which determines how the associated business process will behave.
- Events are associated with event
domains when they enter the xMatters system. Event domains represent
the event source and determine which scripts will be run for that event.
- A script
is a user-modifiable part of the business process.
- A script package
is a grouping mechanism for scripts and is associated with an event domain.
- A script object
is a script element which functions as both a container for data (variables)
and an interface from within a script to the runtime (methods).
- A notification
is a message from the xMatters system to a User. Notifications
have content which is presented
to a User on a Device. Notifications
are dispatched to Users by Device Engines.
- Users can send responses
to the xMatters system that typically consist of response
choices and sometimes auxiliary data.
Much of the business process is managed by compiled code distributed
with the xMatters runtime. However, certain parts of the business process
are “scriptable” so that users can customize behaviour according to their
needs.
Related topics
Event Processing Overview
Script Hierarchy
Script objects,
methods, and variables
Script
Creation Example
Getting Started With
the xMatters Developer IDE
About
the Scripting Reference