KB-1236 Custom expression functions cannot access Admin Console data sources

Symptoms

Custom plugin functions are not able to access data sources configured through the Admin Console. A NameNotfoundException error will be visible in the application server log in conjuction with an error for the custom function being used.

For example, when using the ExecuteStoredProcedure function, an error similar to what is shown below will be logged:

ERROR com.appiancorp.ps.function.ExecuteStoredProcedureFunction - Error executing: 
javax.naming.NameNotFoundException: jdbc/AppianDS

Cause

Custom plugin functions currently do not have the ability to inject the initial context needed to utilize the application server connection pooling and communicate with the data sources configured through the Admin Console when using new InitialContext().

Action

In the custom plugin, use javax.naming.Context instead.

Workaround

Configure the data sources using the traditional method found in Configuring Relational Databases.

Affected Versions

This article applies to Appian 16.1 and later.