The following are brief summaries of the topics covered
during the sessions I attended during the conference.
PS = PeopleSoft
PT = PeopleTools
PC = PeopleCode
CONVOY-DM, Convoy Corp. 9/8
- Features Similar to Import Manager provided by PS.
- COBOL Source parser (ANSI '85, II)
- Generates COBOL to extract from VSAM files into pseudo-relational
ASCII files
- Staging tables not required but can be created
- Have tested with a 400 million rows table
- Recommend to break-up migration task into groups of 100 or less tables.
PS HRMS~= 1,600, FIN~=3,000
- DB2 version in October
- Referential integrity is handled by hand as spec. by PS
- Can debug for test runs
- Scripting language supports same as SQR built-in functions.
- Generates SQR source to do the migration
- Will send sample script files to NEU
Straight Talk on 9/10
- EDI manager in place - OK for CDF files but not with PeopleCode
- Dave Bowen at PS is contact
#792 - PS Interfaces 9/11
- Covered basic interface topics
- PS provides a number of staging interface tables (for other non-PS
apps)
- SQR's tables from client vs. server may not be the same
- Table descriptions contain detailed docs.
- Need to manage "effective date" init. and flags
- Use Import Manager since it execs PeopleCode from repository, on
test subsets
- Never add fields to PS tables - specially if
table is used by any COBOL/SQR routine. Will likely cause errors because
COBOL/SQR routines will try to set new fields to NULL but rejected by PS.
- Use date parameters in conversion routines
- Get from PS the script to create operator from
the back-end for HR/FIN/SA
#701 Applying App. Upgrades
- Slides are very detailed - get from the Conf.
CD or web (steps for HR)
- There were lots of questions, at least 500
in room
- Users report that some posted/required fixes
are pulled out and then reposted
- Should put SQR source files both, on file server
and RDBMS server
- Executables are only for the client, or are
self-extracting with source files
- The fix/update/upgrade process is complex and
not the same for HR/FIN/SA
- Critical to do fixes/updates/upgrades up to
date
#739 Application Engine
- Provides/uses SQL like language (more like
Oracle's PL/SQL)
- The AE is used to define sections (like routines),
execution sequence, error handling
- AE is written in COBOL
- Can produce extracts of AE apps. as SQL scripts
- Can be run from the scheduler (asynch), or
as remote call (synch)
- Provides checkpoint/re-start capabilities (e.g.,
good for long batch processes)
- Is like having non-RDBMS stored procs
- It only implements SET oriented processing
(e.g., like SQL), no 3GL capabilities
- AE apps can be managed from the process monitor
(e.g., re-started, stooped)
- The PT upgrader does not help if AE apps. have
been customized
- Can't print entire contents of AE app.
- Positioned as an alternative to SQR (but no
procedural processing)
- Better integrated with PT than SQR (uses the
repository)
- Only server based
- Sections can not be shared among different
AE apps.
- Will consider using PeopleCode in addition
to SQL-like language now available
- Will integrate more with PT
- Intend to move COBOL routines from COBOL to
AE
- Update process for AE is well behind PT updates
#715 GUI Standards
- Currently being defined
- Will publish standards on the web (URL should
be on the presentation CD):
- Guidelines
- Tips & Tech
- Tools
- Identify three types of users:
- Power user
- Frequent user
- Occasional user
- Wen on to describe the philosophy of the stds.
development process, and classes of widgets
- Web (Java) client works only in 3-tier, and
provides:
- Most panels
- Queries
- Workflow
- No SQR/COBOL
- Printing
- Version 7 will come with
21 self-service apps.
- Designed for Occasional
users
- PS uses NetObject Fusion for HTML development
#720 PT Straight Talk
- Have benchmarked Panels, Panel Groups, SQRs,
COBOL, Scheduler, AE, and others - greatly improved performance in v. 7
- Currently the message agent under NT/Unix is
not a service (daemon)
- SELECT software now used for Data modeling
and will use for process modeling, no more EasyCase
- For enabling SQR processing need to contact/acquire
SQR web enabler from Scribe
- PS internal PT developers use Microsoft VisualSource
Safe for version control
- Recognize that PS needs to improve PT documentation
- PS uses Remotely Possible to control
the Scheduler since it is not an NT service
- For fast keyboard oriented data entry, 3rd
party vendor will set CTRL key navigation
- On person asked whether to upgrade tools (to
7) or stay in synch. PS said that yes, it is mainly a tools upgrade, but
a show of hands in the audience (at least 500) recommended NO.
- Seth Ravin (PS) coordinated the early upgrade
users
- Contact person is baer@peoplesoft.com,
he believes in SQL/AE as the tech. to use
- Crystal reports in version 6.x has many problems
Higher Ed SIG, 9/7
- NU needs to get in touch with Michael Harris
(714 - 224-1021) to join this SIG. Cornell and Syracuse are very active
in it.
- In Dec'97 PS will release SA, PT v.7, HRMS/PS
but not FIN/PS
- In 4th qtr.'98 FIN/PS v. 7.5
- PT upgrade on 4/98 for Web/Web-Mac
- Collected several documents detailing the SIG
organization
#722 PT 7 and Beyond
- 2-3 years in the making
- Presented by Baer, baer@peoplesoft.com
- 163 Java classes, 806 C++ classes, 77 shared
DLLs, 428 MB of source code, 11,083 source files, 9 languages, 123 horror
movies, 213 cases of beer, 462 games of pool, and 15 stitches!
- Support for multi-tier using Tuxedo, OLAP using
Cognos, more UI widgets, Java web client, new query/trees, new application
upgrader
- Can still use 2-tier mode (actually must use
in some instances)
- Middle tier has processing logic (I don't think
so...PeopleCode is the processing logic in the client)
- Load balancing, bullet proof connectivity and
ACID transactions, managed on the server, high-volume, WAN users OK
- PS uses an NT box for their HRMS
- New thin client (as far as connectivity goes,
not code) does need RDBMS software, but cannot do direct SQL/COBOL/SQR
- Web client only works in 3-tier using BEA's
Tuxedo Jolt. Allows OLTP, queries and workflow
- Windows client written in C++, OLE, AcitveX,
and Tuxedo client
- 70% of existing app. panels (in v. 6) can be
run in web client - as stored in the PT repository
- nVision is for data analysis - reports with
SQR, Crystal reports, and PS Query, uses tress
- Will publish APIs, ODBC based, including metadata
and trees\
- OLAP support provides multidimensional analysis,
drill down, cubism, data marts, with the bundled Cognos PowerPlay and CubeManager
- Trees, now supporting multimillion node tress,
new user interface
- New log-on, history list, favorites list, query/work
list
- New GUI controls: grids, pop-ups, calendar,
tree control, each panel group is a new process
- New Application designer with all tools in
it (e.g., and IDE). Work organized by projects
- Change control provides timestamp and description/owner
of change
- Upgrade process should take 1-2 weeks.
#792 Them importance of tress
- Presented by end-user of HRMS
- It took them 1.5 months to figure out what
they are/for
- Tree configuration is critical latter on for
getting data out (e.g., reports, extracts)
- Tree design affect performance
- Presented a detail descriptions of how they
use/design them - get slides
#743 Change Management in PT v. 7 - Doug
Chasman
- Only change control in v. 7, Change Management
latter
- Used to simplify upgrade process
- Provides locking of of objects in PT repository
- e.g. a panel
- Change management is optional
- Not a version control system]
- Can save a new version without unlocking
- PS will take client suggestions for new features
- several (out of about 200) commented how they would like to have
features available in SCM tools like PVCS and ClearCase
#817 Workflow Tips & Tech
-9/10, Vince Crandall (510 468-2055, vince_crandall@peoplesoft.com)
- Discussed typical errors
- Slides are very detailed - GET
- There is a Visio Template available to document
WorkFlows (can not print using PT!)
- Provided a list of error codes for DB agent
for process scheduler
- Tools recommended: their message testing program,
trace files (e.g., rom ODBC manger), MAPI Spy (v. 5, 16 bit), workflow
reports
- There is a white paper with C and VB code example
for workflows
- There are web links for APIs
#703 Installation and Upgrade - 9/10
- By Ken Sedlund, Heather Cody, Jim Benge
- Work station: Registry based import/export,
Configuration manager is PSCFG.exe, there is a PS driver manager, must
have at least ODBC 2.5 or 3.0, capabilities for multi-station setup, PSTOOLS7.CFG
is in the CD, to uninstall use pscfg.exe (clean), is better to upgrade,
capable to compare by project or by database (e.g., PS calls an app. a
database)
- Still very complex
- Many slides detailing sequence of steps and
files used
#729 Application Server - Peter Gassner
(peter_gassner@peoplesoft.com)
- The AS will provide future APIs for other services
(e.g, business rules server)
- Uses a file based cache
- It's integrated with the process scheduler
- Uses Tuxedo version 6.3
- Presentation covered different 2/3 tier
configurations and services that can/can't use the 3-tier architecture
#735 Developing with PT WorkFlow
- Laura Steward, Sandy Schaffner
- The presenter seem to equal workflow and business
rules
- PT allows to design/show workflow steps graphically
- WorkFlow maps contain multiple processes, filtered
by operator and provide navigation to required panels
- Rules are only written in PC
- Alternate users can be specified using roles/operator
- Provide route control profiles (e.g., who to
next)
- Integrate with worklists
- Must use message agents to populate panels
- With the web client, can trigger worklist items,
and access worklist items
- Can have a pool worklist - for a group of operators
to pick from
- The routing logic must be written using PC
- Steps: design app. (e.g., workflow), define
roles/users, define worklist record (e.g. columns/tables), define
workflow objects (e.g., panels/groups), define event trigger in PC, define
routing in PC, test.
#773 User presentation of PS Apps. Infrastructure
Requirements - Jayne Spence/Vicki Dulak
- Presenters were the head of IT at a health
services company and one of the consultants (Vicki)
- They had a good example of a catastrophe (failed
production server etc., cowboy coding)
- Solved problems by doing: A risk assessment,
and a Technical Fit analysis of their resources
- Tools: ORACLE, UNISON Scheduler
- Performed the following: a capacity plan using
surveys, performance tuning using PLATINUM products, optimized panel groups
using ORACLE hints/indexes (from 12 secs to 3, and from 196 to 1.48), implemented
change control using a custom built app. (Vicki) - something like Remedy/Harvest
and RCS on Unix for SQR routines.
- Developed and implemented development standards,
code peer reviews, design reviews
#732 App. Deve. using PeopleTools 7
- This version is usable for app. prototyping
- Business rules are implemented using panels/groups,
records, processes/maps, and PC
- Can do SQL create and alter directly
- This session showed in detail all the PT 7
tools
#712 Deriving Models and Rules Wilson
Harris
- Implementation for 18 colleges, 1541 faculty,
7663 staff, 18849 students
- Discovered that loading sequence provided by
PS may not be correct or complete,
- Recommend using SELECT software revereser
- Presented some slides describing apps. data
models
- SQL exec imbedded in PC that implements business
rules using meta data!
- Developed a tool - PSMeta - available at www-da.cit.cornell.edu/psmeta.html
(permission needed)
- PSMeta is a web based tool - looks good for
PS 6.x
- HRSA contains about 3000 tables
- Other URLs: http://www,meta-data.com, http://www.techguide.com,
http://www.cognos.com