Get started with Robots scripting and the Diligent HighBond API

This getting started tutorial introduces you to native, cloud-based scripting in Diligent One, using the Robots app, and to the HighBond API (application programming interface).

Scripting in Robots combines the full power of Python and all its supported libraries with HighBond Command Language (HCL), our custom Python library for domain-focused data analysis and Diligent One automation.

The HighBond API allows you to interact programmatically with Diligent One to create, read, update, or delete data, and automate operations.

Requirement	Details
Estimated time	Part 1 45 to 60 minutes Part 2 30 to 45 minutes Part 3 30 to 45 minutes Tip Feel free to pace yourself. You can do each part of the tutorial separately.
Experience	No previous scripting or API experience is required. Some basic data analysis experience is assumed, but not absolutely critical.
Diligent One apps	Robots Results
Diligent One permissions	Launchpad System Admin

What will I learn?

This three-part tutorial contains sections that build upon one another to give you practice using native scripting in Robots with the HighBond API. It also introduces you to using Robots scripting with the Python Requests library to connect to the HighBond API or to third-party APIs.

Tip

If you're new to Python, APIs, or scripting in general, don't worry too much about terms like "library", "method", "request", "object", and so on. You'll become more comfortable with the terminology as you encounter it in the context of the hands-on familiarizing in this tutorial and elsewhere.

Part	Section	Details
Part 1: The basics The sections in Part 1 cover the basics, and must be done as a unit.	Sign in to Diligent One and do some set-up tasks	Walks you through the set-up tasks including how to create a HighBond API token
	Create and test the script in interactive mode	Walks you through creating and testing a script in interactive mode Introduces you to the HCL HighBond API methods for making API requests and interacting with a Diligent One object
Part 2: Increase your knowledge The sections in Part 2 progressively increase your knowledge.	Extend the script to do more	Walks you through extending the script to use the HighBond API to interact with multiple related Diligent One objects
	Schedule a Robots task to run the script	Walks you through creating and scheduling a task to run the script unattended
Part 3: Extend your reach The sections in Part 3 show you how to use the Python Requests library in Robots scripting.	Use the Python Requests library with the HighBond API	Introduces you to the Python Requests library, which you can also use for making requests to the HighBond API
	Use the Python Requests library with a third-party API	Walks you through using the Python Requests library and Robots scripting to connect to a third-party API

Some quick background regarding Diligent One, the Robots app, and APIs

Diligent One and the Robots app

Diligent One is a cloud platform for managing your organization's governance, risk, and compliance activities. Diligent One includes the Robots app, which provides data analysis and data automation capabilities for the platform.

The HighBond API

The HighBond API is the developer interface for the Diligent One Platform. You can use the API to interact programmatically with Diligent One – that is, by writing code to interact with Diligent One rather than by performing actions manually through the Diligent One user interface.

A variety of possibilities

In this tutorial we're going to use a Robots script, Python, and HCL to make requests, or calls, to the HighBond API. However, you can access the HighBond API using any tool and programming language that supports interacting with a REST API.

Likewise, Robots scripts aren't limited to interacting with only the HighBond API. You can use them to interact with any third-party API that Python can access. We'll look at that process in Part 3 of the tutorial.

Let's get started!

Okay, you now have a high-level understanding of Diligent One, Robots, and APIs. Let's get started building your first Robots script and making a call to the HighBond API.

Go to > Part 1: The basics