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Many vendors such as Microsoft with Sharepoint and Dynamics have made it impossible to access database tables directly in newer versions as they convert to Software as Service (SAS) offerings.

I am working with PTC Windchill and have developed extensive Oracle SQL Layer ETL processing. Is this a future proof practice within the context of this product line? Or in the future will I be required to work through some sort of DAL. If so, is there a recommended practice?

The information available from Windchill for Cloud appear vague and mostly suggesting to me virtualizion at the infrastructure layer, suggesting I would be able to query at the database layer for many years to come. Any confirmation, pointers or feedback would be appreciated.

ffejrekaburb
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    I don't know the PTC Windchill product but for SAAS offerings it's always the best to consume the Web (REST) API if there is one in place. A quick Google search brings me to this documentation page: http://support.ptc.com/help/windchill/whc/whc_en/index.html#page/Windchill_Help_Center/NewandChanged_REST_Odata.html Don't know if you can get the desired data from this interface, but that would be the right way. – Tim van Lint May 02 '19 at 14:00

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Windchill offers extensive APIs for data access (and customization) in java. Starting from version 11.0, There are also some soap and rest web service for data access , but not for everything. It is always better to use API, they offer Data Abstraction Layer in a supported way. PTC would recommend that you refer to a consultant for this job.

But if you want to try:
There is a huge documentation about Windchill Customization, you can also create your own web services in java to access the data you want, if standard web services does not suffice. a starting point can be the Windchill help, and the javadoc located in the windchill server in this folder:
WINDCHILL_HOME/codebase/wt/clients/library/api/index.html
there are also some examples:
WINDCHILL_HOME/prog_examples
more documentation and appropriate training is available on https://support.ptc.com, only for registered customer users.

Simone Parca
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