user developed tools something old, something new something borrowed, something blue bradley smith...

User Developed Tools

Something Old, Something New Something Borrowed, Something

Blue

Bradley Smith

Assistant Director

University of Central Florida

http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~brad

W4 - Bradley Smith 2

University of Central Florida

• 30,000+ Enrolled students• 400,000+ PeopleSoft logins• Oracle Database• UNIX/NT Process Schedulers• UNIX Application Servers• IIS5 (Windows 2000) Web Server• Peopletools 7.62• Student Admin 7.6


Something New• Emailing Crystal Reports output via NT

Process Scheduler• Batch Loading of Photos• Pushing SQR’s/Crystal’s to Process Scheduler• Revision Control of HTML Access Files• Process Summary Report• Creating HTML access enabled users


Something New

• Management of direct access to PeopleSoft tables

• One solution for check printing issues


Emailing Crystal Reports output via NT Process Scheduler

• Allows users to run crystal reports without having Crystal Reports installed

• Crystal Report output is emailed back to the user as an attachment in Microsoft Word format

• Allows Crystal Reports to be automated via process scheduler

• Source is provided - Microsoft C 6.0


NT Process Scheduler & Crystal Reports

• Installation– Edit source, Compile install binary & blat.exe

• change *blat to reflect your environment

• change *blat_error to reflect your environment

– Change Crystal Reports process definition• Need to change process type definition for new

executable

– See web page for word document show all that is needed


Batch Loading of Photos

• No delivered PeopleSoft method

• SQR’s can’t handle jpg files easily

• data type is a longraw makes SQL unusable

• Wrote program in ‘C’, using Oracle OCI libraries



• Installation– Edit/Change Source to fit your needs

• Program takes input from a file– one person/entry per line

– format is “SSN”,”JPEGFILENAME”

• Program Usage-f inputfilename-u sysadm

-p password-d database



• Program Flow– Reads datafile– Looks up EMPLID via SSN– Deletes current record, because of longs you

can not do an update– Inserts new picture file– repeats


Pushing SQR’s/Crystal’s to Process Scheduler

• Multiple Process Schedulers on multiple machines

WorkStation



• Program Features– Drap/Drop– While running reuses same password– Configurable

• Installation– Only a binary & and a INI file that gets created– Setup of hosts/directories

• Written Clarion for Windows


Revision Control of HTML Access Files

• Features– Allows test/production to be read-only and have

revision control– Does recursive file date/time compare– Configurable with different source and target

directories– Permanently/Temporarily disables moving of files– uses freely available RCS tools



• Installation– one binary & INI file that holds configuration– setup of source/target directories


Process Summary Report

• SQR the runs nightly to produce a report that shows process scheduler activity



• Installation– Import into AUD Database project:

CF_MOD2124_PRCS_SUMMARY_RPT.DAT– Look at objects begin copied - may not want to

copy menu– Copy project to development– Create table, fix menu, give security– Place SQR on server


Creating HTML access enabled users

• Delivered method uses Application Engine, hard to debug, difficult to change

• Wrote an SQR to create/enable operator ids– creates users based on relationships with

institution.– Sets up values for opr_def_tbl_cc, and security

for student admin– finds manually added operators and makes them

web enabled


Creating HTML access enabled users

• Installation– Import App Designer Project into AUD– Enable/Disable upgrade elements and copy to

development.– Enable security of new menu item– Edit SQR to local needs– Place SQR on server

• Enjoy!


Management of direct access to PeopleSoft tables

• Issues – User offices have their own programmers and

want to write SQR’s because Crystal isn’t powerful enough.

– Since these SQR’s are outside your control, you want to make sure that the SQR’s don’t do incorrecting updating/deleting and such of records.

– Giving out sysadm password is impossible.



• Solution– set of PeopleSoft panels that allow you to setup

Oracle roles which allow direct access to PeopleSoft tables the PeopleSoft login

– Permissions include Select, Delete, Update, and Insert

– Decentralize report writing



• Installation– Import App Designer Project into AUD– Enable/Disable upgrade elements and copy to

development.– Create new tables– Enable security of new menu item

• Gotcha– ALTER/CREATE VIEW - looses permissions, have

an SQR (in progress) for nightly runs


One solution for check printing issues

• Issues– SQR graphic format depends on SQR output

format– Use of MICR font requires graphics to be in

HPGL format

• Solution– Program that converts PCX format files into HP

Soft Fonts to be down loaded to printer.



• Features– Can read/write soft font files created by

program.– Saved file ready to be sent directly to printer,

no translation needed, contains all the PCL commands to save font. We place the font file on the UNIX server and modified prcs_sqr to download the file to the printer before running the SQR



• Features (cont’d)– Soft font file can hold more than 1 bitmap

image.– Program tells you what the escape sequence

you need to use in your SQR program to be able to access the bitmaps.



do Declare-Printer-Check! do Format-Check-Name-Address!print the company and bank information and the check number let #row = 67 columns 2! !!!! Print -image print ucf seal Insert code here! print-image refund-logo (#row,1)! !!!! Print -image print ucf Logo Insert code here encode '<27>&lO<27>(s1P<27>(1025V<27>(s100Tm<27>(0U' into $prtseal print $prtseal (#row,1)

•How the SQR works


Something Old

• UNIX Process Scheduler Email/FTP

• Mod/Issue - Project Request System

• Revision Control for SQR’s

• All presentations available on website


UNIX Process Scheduler Email/FTP

• Sends email back to user with output/logfiles as attachments.

• Allows for sending or getting datafiles via FTP before and after SQR’s run

• Pretty easy and painless to implement


Mod/Issue - Project Request System

• Tracks issue requests, Modification requests and project request moves

• Has email ability

• Tracks objects moved

• Allows for other support documents to be included


Revision Control for SQR’s/COBOL

• Benefits/Features– Tracks both locally written and PeopleSoft

delivered– Uses RCS - freely available– BAT programs to help automate moving of

locally written SQR’s and when PeopleSoft patches are applied


Something Borrowed

• SQR Viewing Program– written by: Scott Sills– edit zsqr.bat to your own

needs (I install it in the sendto Folder)


Something Borrowed

• WWW Interesting Links– Yahoo Fans

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peoplesoft-fans/– Slerp http://www.slerp.com– PeopleSoft Fans

http://www.peoplesoftfans.com


Something Borrowed

– PeopleSoft Pros http://www.peoplesoftpros.com/discussion/

– SQR Users Group - http://www.sqrug.com/– Ray Ontko & Co. - http://www.ontko.com/sqr/


Conclusion

• HTTP://higheredsig.cua.edu/ (attendees may download HEUG2002 presentations from the archives at this location)

• HTTP://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~brad

• [email protected]

user developed tools something old, something new something borrowed, something blue bradley smith...

Documents

process schedulersource

process type definition

binary blat

peoplesoft methodsqrs

different source

microsoft c

new executablesee web

peoplesoft tablesone