The RXI Files

As you probably know OpenInsight has plenty of command line switches and naturally for version 10 we've managed to add some more.  Here's a list so far of the old and new ones (We'll take a look at the new ones in a later post):

Of course remembering to add all these to a shortcut can be tedious and error prone, so a new feature of OI 10 is the RXI (Revelation Xml Ini) file. This is basically a configuration file that stores the equivalent of these switches for a specific application and is parsed when the Presentation Server is first booted.

The contents of an RXI file are simple XML which looks like this:

 RevX.SYSPROG
 \\.\REVXPS_DEBUG
 
 REV_IDE
 revx.png
 Revelation X Dev System
 1
 1
 1
 0
 0
 1
 0
 0
 1
 C:\RevSoft\RevX.Dev
 1

An RXI file can be created for each of your OI applications using the Application ID as the file name with an extension of ".rxi", e.g.

• sysprog.rxi
• examples.rxi
• zzxadm.rxi

To use the RXI file specify the appropriate Application ID with the "/AP" command line switch when you start OpenInsight.  It is important to note that any of the settings contained within an RXI file are overridden by it's corresponding command line switch if the switch is present.

Another point to bear in mind is that just as with command line switches the information contained within an RXI file is only used when the Presentation Server is first booted.  For example if you boot into SYSPROG and then change the application to EXAMPLES the "examples.rxi" file will not be processed.  This is because the information in the RXI file can only be processed and applied at boot-time.

[Edit: 01 Feb 13 - AM switch renamed to TB and taskBarID]

[Edit: 08 Jan 13 - Added DPI Scaling modifications]

(Disclaimer: This article is based on preliminary information and may be subject to change in the final release version of OpenInsight 10).

Hi Carl, I often find myself limiting instances to processor affinity, would it be an advantage to add a switch to set this OS parameter? Thanks, Pascal

Hi Pascal - how are you doing this at the moment? SetProcessAffinityMask()? I can look at putting a switch, or perhaps a property of the SYSTEM object. Would you want a hex-string so you can set the multiple processes or just a simple number?

e.g. /AF=0x1001 for processors 1 and 4?, or something like /AF=4

Hi Don,

Currently there's no command-line switch to specify an actual file name. Do you want one?

The Oinsight.ini file is no longer used - is a per-workstation login banner something you would require?

The RIX example has an option for BannerFile, but I do not see a corresponding command line switch. Was this omitted in the documentation or will it not exist as a supported switch? Also, what happens if the BannerFile is used and there is a Logon Banner defined in the INI file?

Hi Don,

Hope your news is still getting better :)

The Application Manager is no longer part of the PS - I expect any customization options for the v10 IDE will be stored in LH. Basically the idea of the RXI file is to put in only info that is needed <em>before</em> the PS boots an engine - once it's past that stage we've got DB access so we can store anything else we need in there.

Hi Carl,

I don't particularly want or need one. It was just curious to spot it and not find a command switch to go along with it.

And heavens no…I certainly do not need a per-workstation login banner. :) Getting rid of the Oinsight.ini is the best news I have heard all morning (but the morning is still young so maybe I will get better news later on. :D)

Now that you have brought up the fact that Oinsight.ini is going away, will there still be a way to customize the button bar?