HELP! Processing CSV file attachments received via E-mail and producing PDFs from templates

Q&A
1

Hi there,
I need help with assessment of whether Bonitasoft is suitable for my case, and if yes then how. Here is what the process is, in very short.

We are receving E-mails which contain attachments of CSV files. There are different types of attachments - some are updates for reference data records, which we need to save into some database. Other type of attachment files (also CSV) are the data, which needs to be processed in row by row basis producing new set of data rows, which are then used for inserting into PDF templates producing the final PDF files, which are sent via E-mail. Before PDF files are produced from data that was made out of processing of received data, User needs to have a chance to review and edit the data.

I’m trying to understand whether (and how):

  • Bonitasoft can be used for handling Line Items (rows from the atatched CSV files), or am I better off saving the data from CSV to database and let Bonitasfot to take it from there?
  • Bonita soft can handle Line Items in a form with multiple rows to allow User to edit the dat in rows, and add/remove rows?
  • Bonitasoft can initiate creation of Items for Process from results of SQL Query output, if yes - how?
  • Bonitasoft can handle opening PDF file and manipilating its content by replacing substitutes in the text with values loaded from database records, if yes - how?
  • Is there someome who can provide consulting or demo of show me how to do the above things in practical form (via Skype or Google Hangouts screen share)?

Can someone point me in a right direction with this please?

Much appreciate your help!

Alex

2

Hi Alex,

Interesting question, which has so many components and such.

There are many, many, ways to do what you’re asking. However, quick question, how many people will be doing this? 1, 2, 10, 100? The reason I ask is BPM is really useful when there are multiple standardized processes used by lots of people. When they become singular BPM itself is less useful than a dedicated solution.

In short however, can Bonitasoft do what you’re asking, yes. But you will have to put work into it.

Answering your specific questions as given:

can Bonitasoft be used for handling Line Items (rows from the atatched CSV files), or am I better off saving the data from CSV to database and let Bonitasoft to take it from there?

Yes, this is standard JAVA IO call using java.io.BufferedReader.readline()

can Bonitasoft handle Line Items in a form with multiple rows to allow User to edit the dat in rows, and add/remove rows?

Yes, you need to develop the data table to do all you want but it is possible.

can Bonitasoft initiate creation of Items for Process from results of SQL Query output, if yes - how?

Not sure of the actual requirement here (working maybe), but yes, Bonitasoft can create data used by processes from SQL statements.

can Bonitasoft handle opening PDF file and manipulating its content by replacing substitutes in the text with values loaded from database records, if yes - how?

It’s not built-in directly but can be added with extensions. Here is a good example of how to do it (not Bonitasoft specific): http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4131031/editing-pdf-text-using-java

Is there someone who can provide consulting or demo of show me how to do the above things in practical form (via Skype or Google Hangouts screen share)?

Yeah, sure, but programming these things takes time (and money). So not to sure about this.

HOWEVER…

Yes the big however…

And it depends on the office suite you are using - if this is just for a limited number of people I would just create an office application to do what you are asking, if Microsoft Office then using Office VBA would be very easy to do.

Bonitasoft, like other BPM suites is great for many things, but in this case it’s a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It may be just too much.

The reason I give the alternative is, it is easy to jump on a technology bandwagon and then become dissatisfied with the technology because the problem itself wasn’t carefully thought out. Like everything choose the right tool and the effort will seem small, using the wrong tool will really cause you problems though.

regards
Seán

3

Thank you Seán,
much appreciate your answer!

It does actually fit very well to my own assessment. After few hours of trial to make Bonitasoft do what I was hoping to achieve, I did come to a conclusion that it would be lot easier to write a program directly on Java or C# to achieve what I was trying to achieve without Bonitasoft.

To your point, I see the benefits of adopting Bonitasoft as a pltaform for far more complex business cases with more user roles than there are in my case (just one user).

The reason I started asking questions here, was because I thought may be I’m missing something because of me looking at it in a wrong way or just being biased toward certain way of thinking. I was afraid to dismiss the idea of trying to adopt Bonitasoft for my case just on a basis of me not getting some technical details right.

I’m glad to see that my conclusion was fit to your recommendations.

Regards,
Alex

4

Thanks Alex glad I could help, just a quickie, if you can mark as resolved to let others see the question has been answered. Thanks and regards (there should be a tick mark next to my answer, and/or give it a +1)