I took a nice foray into Equation Engine the other day, and I don’t want to forget what I learned. On a demo instance, I want to go through a quick example of writing an Equation using Residency Data. We’ll try to grab the Residency status for a particular person (in state or out of state).
Great Link: 10 Books for $10 on Packt
If you are looking for an eBook, check out Packt! I was just told about a special promotion that they are running. Until July 5th, all of their books are $10 each.
Check out the books on the Packt webite.
PeopleTools 8.54: Looks Exciting
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
Great Link: International Day Against DRM at Packt
If your looking to buy a book, today is a great day to do it. Packt is celebrating International Day Against DRM by offering books for $10. It’s only for today.
You can check it out at http://bit.ly/1q6bpha.
Packt Publishing Special Discount
I just saw that Packt is running a special on their books. To celebrate their 2,000th title, you get a free eBook with your purchase. If you’re in need of a book, now’s the time to check it out.
You can learn more on the Packt Website.
Installing PeopleTools Client on Ubuntu Linux Host
Ubuntu has been my choice of OS for some time now. It works great for the most part until I start trying to interact with the Microsoft-centric business world. App Designer is one of those pressure points. Normally, my clients give me a Windows-based remote desktop, but for playing around with things outside a client, I needed a way to run App Designer locally on my laptop.
I finally figured out how to install App Designer for Oracle’s PeopleSoft VM images directly in Ubuntu. Here’s what I did…
Ben Admin Snapshot Error
I ran into this error with the Ben Admin Snapshot process. It was the second time I ran into it, so I thought that I had better make sure that I got this in my notes so I would remember it.
Here’s the error…
Costs Not Found For Pgm/Plan/Optn: <benefit program>/<plan type>/<option code>. Application Program Failed In Pgm Section : MOVE-TO-PDEFN Application Program Failed In Pgm Section : TABLE-ACCESS(PSPBATBL) Application Program Failed In Pgm Section : MAIN(PSPBASCH)
Great Link: PSChrome Extension
The other day, I ran across this nice Chrome Extension called PSChrome.
I had an old TamperMonkey script that I had used, and I was wondering if an extension might make more sense. When I looked to see if one already exists, I found PSChrome.
Changing Records in Queries
This isn’t best practice, but I found a way to switch out a record in a query without redoing the criteria. Here’s the situation: I have a query in which the row-level security is causing problems. It is slowing down the query and also eliminating future-dated rows from the results. So, I created a view of the table which would select all of the rows from the original table. It was basically a copy with the query security view removed. The next challenge was to change the query to use that new record. If I remove the old record and add the new, I would have to redo the whole complicated query just about.
So, I found that I could update two records in the database:
UPDATE PSQRYFIELD SET RECNAME = '<new record name>' WHERE QRYNAME = '<query name>' AND RECNAME = '<old record name>'; UPDATE PSQRYRECORD SET RECNAME = '<new record name>' WHERE QRYNAME = '<query name>' AND RECNAME = '<old record name>';
After that, I found that I needed to open the query online in query manager, make a small change, and save it. After that, it worked fine with no problems.
Warning: use at your own risk. This isn’t the intended way to edit queries.
Null Date in PeopleCode
Just the other day, I needed to set a Date to null or blank, and I couldn’t remember how to do it. Here’s my notes so that I can remember next time. Javier’s blog came to the rescue:
Javier’s PeopleSoft blog: Setting Date Variables to Null in PeopleCode
The short version is: use the Date(0) function:
Local Date &hireDate; &hireDate = Date(0);
Here’s some more information to explore a little more in depth…