# Export datas to other software with dumpykota

Last modified on $Date: 2005-10-09 22:39:06 +0200 (So, 09. Okt 2005) $

If you want to reuse PyKota datas from another software, but don't want to modify your existing application to have it connect to PyKota's database, your best option is the new `dumpykota` command.

`dumpykota` can export PyKota datas in a number of formats. The supported output formats are comma separated values, semicolon separated values, tab separated values, and XML.

For the print job history's datas, a special format identical to CUPS' `page_log` format is also supported. This allows you to interface PyKota with third party tools like phpPrintAnalyzer which is a logfile analyzer for CUPS.

More formats may be added in the future. In particular, SQL and LDIF are planned, but are currently not implemented.

`dumpykota` can't dump all datas at once though, you have to specify which type of datas you want. The possible types are :

- Users

- Users groups

- Printers

- Printers groups membership

- Users groups membership

- Users print quota entries

- Users groups print quota entries

- History of payments

- History of print jobs

You can then import the dumped datas into a spreadsheet for example, if you want to create complex reports with nice looking graphs and the like.

An important feature of this command is the possibility to use a simple but powerful filtering mechanism to only export the datas you want. You can pass any number of filter expressions which will be ANDed together to select only certain records in the database. For example the filter expression `username=jerome` would only dump datas pertaining to user `jerome` while the filter expression `start=2005` used when dumping the history would only dump jobs printed during the year `2005`.

Several keys like `username` are possible, but some only apply to certain data types. Using a key which is not supported for a particular data type may return an incorrect result.

## Tip

Please refer to dumpykota's help or manual page to obtain the complete list of supported keys.

This command could also be used if you plan to write your own management tools : just write wrappers around the `pkprinters`, `edpykota`, and `dumpykota` tools, and your own tools will automatically benefit from PyKota database backend independance layer. This is exactly what the third party software phpPykotaAdmin does.

Finally, `dumpykota`'s functionnality is now also available remotely through the use of the `dumpykota.cgi` CGI script.

## Warning

Only PyKota administrators can dump PyKota's datas.

## Reference

            dumpykota
            -v--version
            -h--help

              -f outputformat
              --format outputformat

              -o filename
              --output filename

              -d datatype
              --data datatype