I’ve been a bit behind on reading my news. Back in April, PeopleSoft released their “Release Value Proposition” for PeopleTools 8.54, and it’s got me excited about it. Then, a week or two ago, PeopleSoft published the pre-release notes. I don’t have any inside information, but I thought I would list the features that looked exciting to me…
- Code Completion: HUGE — this is a feature I have been looking for for years!
- 64-bit developer client: Application Designer, etc. is going 64-bit. So, a developer must run a 64-bit machine to develop, and now no 32-bit database drivers are required.
- Automated Configuration Manager: looks like tools that will make automating refreshes much easier
- %SelectDummyTable: allows for a better way than using the DUAL table for Oracle or PS_INSTALLATION for platform independence
- Mobile Application Platform: new interface for smart phones
- Fluid Layout: Creating interfaces with CSS positioning rather than fix positioned pages. It will be a learning curve for developers
- Application Designer: PNG files supported for images in Application Designer
- Application Engine changes: it will now split the trace file into multiple files if it gets too big, you can now choose not to commit at the end of the program
- Branding Framework: tools to allow customizing the look and branding without needing to code; it looks like it is all in the PIA
- Query: Default values for prompts and support for images in Query results
- BI Publisher Updatable PDFs: users can update the report and submit the content back into PeopleSoft
- Global Temporary Tables (for batch App Engines): supporting in-memory tables
- Materialized Views: for Oracle — App Designer will create views that store their data in the database for quicker retrieval
- Portable PS_HOME: On Unix the psadmin binary is only located in the bin directory, paths are not saved in configuration files to moving and cloning the directories easier, and the PS_HOME variable is not set by the psconfig.sh script (you set that before calling the script and everything is relative to PS_HOME)
- Push Notification Framework: looks like it allows the PIA/Web Server to initiate messages to the browser
- PIA-Based Definition security: ability to secure App Designer definitions using the online pages plus additional new features
- Query Security: new advanced option to allow up to 5 security records for an individual record
- SQR: new XML output option
- Component Interface: new errors sheet to consolidate errors
As I went through the documents, I noticed a couple of features that are already released and that I need to do some learning and catch up. Do you mind if I just take some notes out loud here?
- Activity Guides: “Activity Guides are a useful PeopleTools feature that helps guide users through complex or infrequently performed processes.” What’s new: “With PeopleTools 8.54, Activity Guides will be even easier to create and manage because PeopleTools includes an Activity Guide Management WorkCenter.”
- Data Migration Workbench: “Data Migration Workbench is a lifecycle management tool first delivered with PeopleTools 8.53 that enabled customers to move and compare configuration data easily and securely between PeopleSoft application instances such as DEV, TEST, and PROD”
- JSON: The PeopleSoft Documents Technology mentions using JSON, and I hadn’t kept up that JSON was available.
- Oracle Secure Files: mentions that Report Repository files can be exposed as a “virtual mount point”
64-bit History: The 64-bit requirements have been of notable interest to me because I spent some time working for a client who had challenges switching away from 32-bit hardware. One of the documents listed the history of the migration of PeopleSoft from 32-bit to 64-bit. Here’s a nice summary:
- PeopleTools 8.48 — Unix Application server converted to 64-bit
- PeopleTools 8.50 — Linux Application server
- PeopleTools 8.51 — Web Server
- PeopleTools 8.53 — Windows Application server
- PeopleTools 8.54 — Developer Tools
Resources
- PeopleSoft Technology Blog: PeopleTools 8.54 Release Value Proposition Now Available
- Oracle Support: Release Value Proposition
- PeopleSoft Technology Blog: PeopleTools 8.54 Pre-Release Notes Available
- Oracle Support: Prerelease Notes: Oracle’s PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.54