Make add-in from application? Get app path?

Question

Is there a way to create an add-in from an application I have built? The application is fairly complex and all I would like to do is bundle it into an add-in. Additionally, this problem might be solved if someone can help me solve the following problem:

I built an application and have it in a folder (myApp/) and have scripts that I would like to include() from the source directory (myApp/src/). However, when I try to Get Default Directory() from within the app, it returns "/", which will not allow me to find the source folder if the application were run on a different computer. Is there a way to query the location of the app that is currently running? Alternatively, is there a way to bundle files into the application so I can reliably access my files (perhaps through a default path variable)?

My attempts to put the application into an add-in have failed. I can't run the app (.jmpappsource or .jmpapp) from the add-in. Also, since the application is fairly complex, I don't want to rebuild it in the add-in builder. Is there a way I could organize the app into an add-in? It would be great if JMP added an "Export application as add-in" or "Create add-in from application" feature.

laisteve17 · Answer

Thank you nascif_jmp for sharing your method and thank you ian_jmp for sharing the paper! Both were helpful but I settled for a different approach - restructuring my app/addin. Here are the steps I took to ensure that my application would find its include files, reliably, on different computers.

* Put all files/folders relevant to the application into a folder (I call it the app root directory, or root directory for short)
* Use a path variable for the app root directory and relative paths to refer to files and directories in the application.* For example, a directory "$appRoot/" that contains a folder "src/" with my scripts and a "lib/" with images and icons. I refer to these as "$appRoot/src/" and "$appRoot/lib/"

* Save your app as a .jmpapp file, located somewhere under your app root directory or in one of its subdirectories (doesn't matter where as long as it's accessible via relative path from the root folder)
* Create an add-in and under additional files, add the app root directory (jmp will also import all of its files and subdirectories as well to be included in the add-in). These files will be located in the add-in's directory.
* Now you can locate all of your files by refering to the add-in's directory, which is in a default location on each computer. This location is retrieved by doing getPathVariable("ADDIN_HOME("My Add In Name")). Use this to find the files and directories you added in the previous step. In your add-in script, set the path variable to the add-in root directory:* ADDIN_NAME = "My Add In Name";
* setPathVariable("appRoot", getPathVariable(evalInsert("ADDIN_HOME(^ADDIN_NAME^)")) || "App root directory/");
* Set other path variables relative to this root directory

* Run your application file from your add-in script by using open("$appRoot/pathToMyApp/myApp.jmpapp");
* To distribute your application, instead distribute the add-in that contains your application along with its necesary files

ian_jmp · Answer

Additionally, this paper from Predictum would show how others have managed this: Best Practices in JMP® Add-In Management

nascif_jmp · Answer

I had a similar issue when I tried to break down a JSL framework into multiple modules that would include each other. I solved it by adding the following code to the main module:

// Find the current location in the source tree for the given file
__getThisPath = Function( {this_f},
	{Default Local},
	this_p = "";
	ifl = Include File List();
	For( ifli = 1, ifli <= N Items( ifl ), ifli++,
		a_path = ifl[ifli];
		idx = Contains( a_path, this_f );
		If( idx > 0,
			this_p = Left( a_path, idx - 1 );
			Break();
		);
	);
	If( this_p == "",
		Throw( "Unable to find path for " || this_f )
	);
	Return( this_p );
);

Once I determined my script location in the file system, I was able to use it to find and include its dependencies:

// Use the current location in the source tree for this file
// in order to load its dependencies.
__INCLUDE = __getThisPath( "timeit.jsl" );
Set Path Variable( "TI_HOME", __INCLUDE );
Include( "$TI_HOME/../JSLhelpers/mfr.jsl" );