Building Block Scan Tool for Blackboard Learn
As of Blackboard Learn SaaS version 3700.11.0, including 9.1 Q4 2019 and higher, you now have the ability to scan any installed Building Block for API changes and readiness for Java 11!
You should ONLY run this on your staging environment. It can be resource- intensive
The process is really quite simple. The scanning tool can be turned on in a browser by loading the following URL:
https://<your Blackboard domain>/webapps/portal/support.jsp?Action=toggleDevOnlyRestEndpoints
The resulting screen will look like this:
Notice the DevOnly endpoint status at the bottom of the screen shot. This is how you can tell whether you enabled or disabled the scanner.
This endpoint is a toggle; calling it twice will turn it off. This endpoint is also only valid in your current browser session. If you close the browser, the scanning tool will be turned off.
Once this is completed, you can scan any currently installed Building Block. Here are the details:
Endpoint:
https://<your Blackboard domain>/learn/api/v1/healthCheck/deepb2s
The endpoint takes the following query parameters
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| handle | The plugin handle for the Building Block | handle=myB2 |
| vendor | The vendor id for the Building Block | vendor=bbdn |
| lookAtEverything | Configure the scanner to check for all options | lookAtEverything=true |
| onlyReportDependencyProblems | Only report issues with libraries in use | onlyReportDependencyProblems=true |
| skipReportingB2Overrides | Don’t report on methods overridden in the Building Block | skipReportingB2Overrides=true |
| groupDependencyIssues | Group dependency issues together | groupDependencyIssues=true |
As an example, to test the building block in our example, you would load the following URL:
https://<your Blackboard domain>/learn/api/v1/healthCheck/deepb2s?handle=myB2&vendor=bbdn&lookAtEverything=true&onlyReportDependencyProblems=true&skipReportingB2Overrides=true&groupDependencyIssues=true
The result of loading this endpoint is a JSON body containing information about the Building Block and any reported discrepancies. Here is an example of the output from running this scanner against the youtube mashup Building Block.