Debugging module loading

Under the hood, ml-gradle uses the MarkLogic Client API to connect to a MarkLogic REST API server and load modules. So when you run into errors with loading modules, it's often helpful to run a quick test that uses the Client API to confirm that you can connect to your REST API server outside the scope of ml-gradle.

Here's a task that you can customize and run for loading modules via port 8000 (this includes all "asset" modules - i.e. not REST API services, transforms, or options, which must be loaded via your application-specific REST API server):

task testLoadModule {
    doLast {
	// See https://docs.marklogic.com/javadoc/client/com/marklogic/client/DatabaseClientFactory.html
	def host = "localhost"
	def port = 8000
	def database = "example-modules"
	def username = "admin"
	def password = "admin"

	// See https://docs.marklogic.com/javadoc/client/com/marklogic/client/DatabaseClientFactory.SecurityContext.html
	def context = new com.marklogic.client.DatabaseClientFactory.DigestAuthContext(username, password)
	def client = com.marklogic.client.DatabaseClientFactory.newClient(host, port, database, context)
	try {
		client.newDocumentManager().write("/test/module.xqy", new com.marklogic.client.io.StringHandle("<hello>world</hello>"))
	} finally {
		client.release()
	}
    }
}

You can use this as a starting point for any sort of debugging test, such as for loading a service or transform. Just check out the MarkLogic Client API docs to see what calls need to be made.

Authenticating with a certificate

If port 8000 and/or your REST API server (for loading REST extensions like services, transforms, and options) requires authenticating with a certificate, you can use the below task as a starting point for debugging authenticating with that app server. It doesn't load a module; it just evaluates a simple XQuery expression, which should suffice for verifying that you can authenticate correctly.

task testAuthenticateWithCertificate {
  doLast {
    def host = "localhost"
    def port = 8123 // the port of your REST API server
    def certFile = "path/to/cert.p12"
    def certPassword = "not-required"

    // See https://docs.marklogic.com/javadoc/client/com/marklogic/client/DatabaseClientFactory.CertificateAuthContext.html
    def context = new com.marklogic.client.DatabaseClientFactory.CertificateAuthContext(certFile, certPassword)
    def client = com.marklogic.client.DatabaseClientFactory.newClient(host, port, context)
    try {
      println client.newServerEval().xquery("fn:current-dateTime()").evalAs(String.class)
    } finally {
      client.release()
    }
  }
}