COMPONENT INTERFACE

By, Mr. Srinivas.

What is Component Interface?

A means to access the PeopleSoft application without using the PeopleSoft pages.

It exposes a PeopleSoft component for synchronous access from external application(peoplecode,c/cpp, java).

External applications need not be concerned with the details of page structures and component definitions in order to access the underlying data and business logic through component interfaces.

Architecture of Component Interface

Architecture(Contd..)

Fundamental elements to the component interface architecture.

• Components• Component Interface• Component Interface API

Elements of ComponentInterface

Every component interface has the following four main attributes 1)Name 2)Keys GetKeys Findkeys CreateKeys Generated in CI when the Use tab on the Component Properties

dialog allows the Add action

Elements of ComponentInterface(contd…)

3) Properties and collections (fields and records) Provide access to both component data and component interface

settings. Two types of properties: Standard and User-defined.• Standard properties can be set to true or false.

Examples : InteractiveMode, GetHistoryItems, EditHistoryItems.

Userdefined methods

• User-defined properties map to record fields on the PeopleSoft component and

are displayed in the PeopleSoft Application Designer.

• A component interface collection is a special type of property that corresponds to a scroll.

4)Methods• A method is a function that performs a specific task on a component interface

at runtime.

• Two main types of methods: standard and user-defined.

Standard methods

• Standard methods are those that are available for all component interfaces.

1.Cancel: Cancels any changes made since the last save. 2.Create: Creates new instance of CI 3.Find :Performs partial key search on the particular instance

of the CI using search key at level zero. 4.Get :Retrieves a particular instance of CI. 5.Save : Saves an instance of the CI. 6.GetPropertyByName:Returns the value of the property

specified by name. 7.SetPropertyName: Sets the value to the property specified by

name.

Userdefined Methods

•Those that you can create to meet the requirements of an individual component interface.

•A method is simply a PeopleCode function that you wish to make accessible through the component interface

• Each method maps to a single People Code function

•The Component Interface object, instantiated from a session object, is created at runtime as a way to access the data specified by the Component Interface. &oSession = %Session;

&oSIdn1Ci = &oSession.GetCompIntfc(CompIntfc.S_IDN1_CI);

• When you populate a Component Interface with data, the first thing you fill out are its keys, as you would in a component. These can be keys for getting an existing instance of the data or for creating a new instance of the data.

• Component Interface properties provide access to the data in a component buffer.

• Component Interface methods are functions that can be called to

perform operations on a Component Interface.

• Component Interface can map to only one component.

• A component can have any number of CIs.

Component Interface Definition

Developing & Implementing CI

Design Define Fields Record Definition Build Record Defines Pages Define Components Define the Component Interface Link the Component to the Menu Authorize User Access (Security) Test your Component Interface• A component interface is a PeopleTools object that you create in

Application Designer.• Add individual objects, or groups of objects, to the component

interface by dragging objects from the component view into the component interface view.

Creating & Working with a CI

To create a new component interface Select File, New from the Application Designer menu. Select the Component Interface object type from the New

dialog. Select the component on which this component interface will be

based. Save the component interface. Add properties, collections, or methods to the component

interface. Set the security. Test the component interface.

Working with Component Interface

Declaring a Component Interface Object Component Interfaces are declared as type ApiObject. For example: Local ApiObject &TESTCI;

Scope of a Component Interface Object A Component Interface can be instantiated from PeopleCode, from a

Visual Basic program, from COM and C/C++.

Variables defined at Component and Global are only for Component Interface

Example

In this example, you are getting an existing instance of data for the EMPL_CHECK_CI Component Interface, which is based on the EMPL_CHECKLIST component, for the Update/Display mode.

Local ApiObject &TESTSESSION;Local ApiObject &TESTCI;&TESTSESSION = GetSession();&TESTSESSION.Connect(1, "EXISTING", "", "", 0);&TESTCI = &TESTSESSION.GetCompIntfc(COMPINTFC.EMPL_CHECK_CI);&TESTCI.EMPLID= "8001";&TESTCI.Get();/* Get checklist Code */&CHECKLIST_CD = &TESTCI.CHECKLIST_CD;/* Set Effective date */&TESTCI.EFFDT = "01-01-1990";

Component InterfaceWorking with a CI – Setting Security

Two ways to Secure Component Interfaces 1) Can be used to restrict access to individual methods or entire Component

Interface

Setting Security(contd..)

2)Application Designer • To make individual property =Read Only‘

Using the CI Tester

Using the CI Tester(contd..)

• Specify whether to run in Interactive mode. In noninteractive mode, if you set a property, the property is not

validated until you perform the save. However, in interactive mode the property is validated immediately.

• Specify whether to get or edit history items. Selecting Get History Items retrieves history data Selecting Edit History Items enables editing and saving of history

data. These options apply to effective-dated fields only

Runtime considerations

WinMessage Unavailable You cannot use WinMessage in a component that will be used to build acomponent interface. Use MsgGet() instead. Email from a Component Interface To use a component interface to send email, use TriggerBusinessEventPeople Code event, not SendMail. Related Display Related display fields are not available for use in a component interface

as they are not held in the buffer context that the component interface uses. Row Inserts If RowInserts have been disabled for a page, you must take care when calling inserts against the corresponding component interface.

• Any PeopleCode associated with push buttons used on the page to add rows will not be invoked by the component interface when an insert is done.

Benefits of CI

Access to all business logic

Delivered PeopleSoft logic

Your customizations Insulated from complexities of application

Data relationships

Data Integrity

Upgradeable PeopleTools object

Result: Saves Time & Money

Thank you