Data Sources

Sources: Importing data into Omniscope

Overview of importing data into Omniscope 

 

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Data Import Options

Omniscope can import data from files in supported file formats, or via direct connections to reporting view(s)/table(s) in relational databases using standard protocols such as ODBC and JDBC. Connectors can be developed for specific applications when performance or other special requirements do not permit standard protocols to be used.

Importing from Data Files

Omniscope can import data exported from relational database tables and other sources if they have been formatted in a supported file format, such as Comma Separated Value (.CSV) flat files, in the flavour exported by Excel (without 65,000 record limit).

Omniscope can also import XML data files, in the Visokio XML data schema intended for flat file data transmission in XML. If you already have a different XML output schema implemented, it is easy to apply XSL transforms on import.

Refreshed source data files can be provided either as files on a local disk or network share, or as HTTP or FTP URLs to intra-/extranet servers or public websites (the latter requiring any necessary proxy servers to be configured in Omniscope). For more information see Proxy Settings.

Direct Database Connections using ODBC/JDBC

Omniscope can import from any ODBC or JDBC data source. This typically means a database, although it is possible to implement an ODBC or JDBC interface to a spreadsheet, or a proprietary system. It is also possible to develop bespoke Connectors to optimise the update/refresh cycle and deal with other limitations of ODBC and JDBC-based connections. A SQL statement returning a table can be embedded in the Omniscope database connection wizard and will be re-evaluated on  

Using .IOK files as linked data sources-

Q: How can I refresh .IOK files that users have configured in ways different to the 'data mart' source .IOK file, and personalised in ways unknown to me?

A: If your 'data mart' source .IOK/.IOM files are the linked data source for users' child .IOK/.IOM files, users can customise and re-configure their Omniscope working/reporting files however they wish. Whenever users open their file, only the data (not the tab configurations or query/filter settings will be refreshed, leaving their individually-personalised view configurations, filter settings and tabs settings unchanged.

Presenting File Menus

In addition to opening files accessible to the local machine via the File > Open File dialog, Omniscope can also open displaying a menu of available source/reporting files displayed in the external Outside Browser view. This view is available with no specific .IOK/.IOM file selected, and is intended to provide a web-page based menu of files for users to select from while in Omniscope. This option is not available from the free Viewer. More detail on using the Outside Browser.

Integration with Proprietary Systems

Visokio applications are standalone installed applications. Visokio does not currently provide API type integration options for embedding Omniscope as a visual module within a larger application. To integrate with a proprietary data system, you must consider Omniscope to be standalone clients with various options for refreshing the data in batches (even at 1 second intervals) as discussed above.


*Genuinely real-time data, updating continuously, is not directly possible in Omniscope, for usability and architectural reasons. Instead, data updates are received and displayed in batches when the application is idle or the user explicitly requests. This can be done as often as every second, depending on bandwidth, dataset size & update efficiency. For all but the very strictest real-time requirements, this near-real time live approximation is more than 'live' enough.