Is there a GroupShare SDK available for third-party developers?

Some customers suggest that we try to integrate Xbench with GroupShare.

Where could we find information on the GroupShare APIs available? Is there a GroupShare SDK for third-party developers?

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  • Customer requests/pains seem to revolve about being able to fetch project files and TMs automatically so that it is less tedious for them than to check out everything manually. In the Xbench plugin for Studio, for server projects we decided to focus on what has been already checked out to the local machine by the user but it seems that some server users expect a little bit more automation also with what was not checked out so we are exploring what the options are.

    It's difficult to tell without seeing it what kind of Xbench integration would flow naturally from the GroupShare API and how it relates to the Studio API, but perhaps a good eference example for an Xbench integration with a cloud/server based CAT environment is our Xbench Connector for Memsource (video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDEM1oXH8D4).

    When we started working on the Xbench Connector for Memsource our reference implementation for the use case was the Xbench plugin for Studio. Later, after examining and playing with it the Memsource API, we decided that the assets to consider in a QA sessions were the project files and optionally the termbases, which is what we finally shipped as beta. We're quite happy with the outcome as, to a large extent, everything is so quick that you do not have the sense that you are fetching stuff from the cloud.

    I suppose that for GroupShare we would carry out with a similar decision process taking both the plugin for Studio and the connector for Memsource as implementation references and, after looking at what information is available in the GroupShare API and how cheap or expensive in terms of performance are its calls, we would try to come up with something suitable as an integration.
  • Hi Josep,

    What I would do is provide an option where you can automate the export of TMX files from server-based TMs.

    You can do that with the SDL SDK:

    Of course large TMs take a little while to export (especially large ones), but it would save a lot of time having to manually export the TMX file and adding it to an Xbench project yourself.

    However, one issue I encountered though is acquiring the credentials to access a Groupshare server. I would like SDL to update there SDK to make this easier to do.

  • Hi Jesse,

    Do you mean that there is no such thing as a standalone GroupShare API but instead there are server extensions here and there in the Studio API that allow you to programmatically download server project files, TMs and TBs?

    Josep.
  • No - there is a GroupShare API. I asked to respond as he knows better and will probably give you the information you need in due course - he's probably wrapped up in the GroupShare 2015 release!

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • As Paul mentioned there is a Groupshare API.

    See the following for documentation:

    Basically you POST or GET (or DELETE) via HTTP requests. However, it still is a bit limited in what you can do.

    From what I heard they are adding more functionality for the next release in August or so. Maybe Luis Lopes and give more info about that.

  • Hi Josep,

    Thank you for your interest in integrating with GroupShare. I am the Product Manager and am happy to help facilitate.
    I had a look at the video you linked (I like the PiedPiper and Hooli Project names ;) ).

    I believe it should be possible to achieve a similar level of integration as with MemSource and GroupShare.

    We currently have two ways of working with GroupShare through the API. The "traditional" and currently more powerful Desktop API through Studio, as well as the newer REST API, which we are extending every release with new functionality.

    Find below the documentation as to what is currently possible in the REST API:
    http://sdldevelopmentpartners.sdlproducts.com/documentation/api

    For your use-case, I think the most relevant pieces are the ability to get Projects, status of files in projects and ability to download specific file version in a project.
    One key consideration here, is that in GroupShare currently the fileversion on the server is not always the latest, as this is only provided once a translator checks it in to the server to confirm.
    As for being able to launch the file in Studio and go to the relevant section, it would need integration through Studio API, which you already have, but would need to be extended to work with Online Projects and Checkout the file etc.

    We have a hosted GroupShare Server which can be used by partners to integrate, so let me know by e-mail llopes@sdl.com if you want me to create an account for your development purposes.

    Thanks,
    Luis

    Best regards,
    Luis Lopes | Principal Product Manager | RWS | (twitter) @Luis___Lopes |