Call for Testers: Running railVIVID CLI on Different Operating Systems with Docker

by Sharon Király (railML.org)

railVIVID is a software tool specifically developed to validate railML® files. The latest version, railVIVID 2.1.1 allows for improved 3-phase validation and graphic visualization of infrastructure elements. More information on the features of railVIVID 2.1.x are available in the News article accompanying the release of railVIVID 2.1.0.

Current versions of railVIVID are only compatible with the operating system Windows. In response to numerous requests from the railML-community, the team of railVIVID developers designed a viable solution involving the use of the software Docker. This endeavour as well as its entailed need for voluntary testers has already been announced at the occasion of the 48th railML Conference in Madrid.

Quick Info: What is Docker?

Docker is a tool that enables users to accelerate software delivery processes by separating an application from the users’ interface (e.g. an operating system). In this sense, Docker allows users to run railVIVID not only on Windows, but on any operating system by running the application in a container. More information on its mode of operation can be found on the website of the software Docker.

How to Use railVIVID with Docker

To allow for railVIVID to be run in Docker – which is not possible with the graphic version – railVIVID CLI (Command line interface) has been created. As the name suggests, the format railVIVID CLI can be run in the user’s command line, providing the very same results as the graphic application format.

Screenshot showcasing a Command Line Interface running railVIVID in Docker, the Docker Desktop App, and the Documentation of railVIVID CLI and Docker

  • Running Docker in the CLI
  • Results shown in the CLI

To the graphic version, railVIVID CLI+Docker compares as follows:

  1. The CLI version allows validating multiple files per request, making this version more automated.
  2. Like the graphic version, the CLI version provides syntactic, semantic, reference validation and information about extensions.
  3. The CLI version allows the results of a validation request to be viewed and exported in text-, XML- or JSON-format. The files are machine readable and can be exported for evaluation.
  4. Using railVIVID with Docker and CLI-interface allows for integration in a CI/CD pipeline, thus increasing the efficiency of file validation workflows.

Any release of railVIVID CLI+Docker will align with the results of the corresponding railVIVID graphic version (i. a. railVIVID 2.1.1 upwards). Whether railVIVID CLI+Docker will be released with every test version (alpha/beta versions) of the graphic format is still up for decision. However, release dates of railVIVID CLI+Docker versions for productive use will roughly coincide with those of the graphic railVIVID format. At this moment, railVIVID CLI+Docker is intended for distribution to railML Contributors and Sponsors.

Call for Testers

railML® development has always been largely driven by community commitment. To deliver the best possible version of railVIVID CLI+Docker, we are looking for volunteers to provide qualified feedback on the working version of the format. If you are a railML Contributor or Sponsor, and you or someone from your team would like to contribute to railVIVID development in this way, please reach out to code@railvivid.railml.org. Your contribution is highly valued.

Acknowledgement: railVIVID CLI+Docker has been developed in cooperation with the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technology. Special thanks are owed to Evgen Shapoval in particular for his invaluable contribution to the format’s development.