Oracle HRMS API Frequently Asked Questions RACLE Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) ---------------------------------------------PI --------------REQUENTLY ASKED

QUESTIONS ------------------------0-JUL-2001 ONTENTS ------. What is an API? . How do I use an API to upload data? . Where are APIs located on my system? . How do I identify the package name and version of the API . Where can I find information on an API, what it does, and API? . How do I identify and work with the required parameters f . What is the Object Version Number and how do I assign val . What is the p_validate Control Parameter? . Where may I find information about available APIs in the 0. Can APIs be used in an HR Shared installation? 1. What is the relationship between Initial Balance Upload a 2. When an amployee is terminated using the HR_EX_EMPLOYEE_A changing to Ex-Employee. 3. In Release 11i, why is the HR_EX_EMPLOYEE_API looking for assignment? 4. What is the difference between the Salary Upload API and API? 5. Can I use an API on an applications table on which an eve 6. What is the difference between an API and a publically ca UESTION & ANSWERS ----------------. What is an API? nswer ----he Application Programming Interface or API is a PL/SQL pack an be used as an alternative to traditional Application onli oint into the Application. he advantage of using an API as a means of adding data to th an enter new information or alter existing data without havi he information into the application. PIs allow users to maintain HRMS information without using O PIs insure the integrity of the interrelationship of Oracle ou can modify application information without having to know atabase structure, and depend on the API to update all the i ontinued use of APIs helps to protect customer-specific data hanges. As the table structures change, the APIs will be mo tructural changes so that data can continue to be modified w

pdate coding. . How do I use an API to upload data? nswer ----hile the API package contains many procedures to insert, upd pplication data, the API is not executed on its own. The AP xecuted, by other PL/SQL modules, by a direct SQL*Plus call, uch as the Data Pump. he API package should never be modified for specific custom racle will not be able to support them. If you need additio an be used as building blocks, to be called within a more ex ou may build to address the unique functionality you desire.

one of the HRMS APIs issue commits. The calling module shou he transaction. The calling module should also address exce ctual logging of exceptions to exception tables. . Where are APIs located on my system? nswer ----or Oracle release 10.7, the APIs are located in the operatin PER_TOP/patchsc/107/sql and $PAY_TOP/patchsc/107/sql, efer to filenames like pe???bpi.pkh, py???bpi.pkh, and hr??? here the ??? represents wildcard characters. or Oracle release 11 and release 11i, the APIs are located i irectories: PER_TOP/patch/xxx/sql and $PAY_TOP/patch/xxx/sql, here xxx represents the release 110 or 115. efer to filenames like pe???api.pkh, py???api.pkh, and hr??? here ??? represents wildcard characters. . How do I identify the package name and version of the API? nswer ----o identify the package name of an API as compiled into the O QL*Plus enter the following select statement (logged in as A SELECT text FROM all_source WHERE name like '%your_api_name%' (example: HR_POSITION_API) AND text like '%Header%'; his will return the header line of the package and package b ame and current version number. o compare the version of the API package in your operating s ne compiled in your database and to check for synchronizatio rom the command line in the API directory: rompt>strings -a packagename | grep Header his will return all occurrences of the package, package body umber of the file. Version numbers should match what is com . Where can I find information on an API and its parameters? nswer -----

eview the package header file for the particular API file (. . How do I identify and work with the required parameters fo nswer ----he parameters for each API can be found in the documentation r by using SQL*Plus to describe the API. Each API has a set r may not be specified. Most of the parameters map to a dat chema. There will be some control parameters that will cont he API but will not map to a database column. ach parameter name in the API will be prefixed with p_. If database column, the remainder of the name will usually be olumn name. hen calling an API, you may not need to specify every parame s optional to assign values to PL/SQL variables with default he declaration. Therefore, those parameters without default he declaration are considered required parameters and must a he API call. Also, any variable tagged as an IN OUT paramet n the calling parameter list. If you do not wish to assign arameter, you may assign it a null value. hose parameters defined with default values may have other v etermine are needed for your business process. You may wish racle Application updates the table to help you decide on ov efaulted parameters. inally, if you do not directly assign variables within your our API call, then number and sequence of parameters must ma alling and the called procedures. . What is the Object Version Number and how do I assign valu nswer ----bject Version Number is an assigned number to a row in a dat ew row is inserted, its number is set to 1. As updates are he object version number is incremented. Object Version Num ith the row when a query is performed on it. If an update i ransaction and saved back to the table, then the current obj ompared with the value being passed back from the transactio f the two are the same, the update can be committed to the t ifferent, the update is rejected and flagged with an error. hould be re-queried, and the update made again to the more c ow. he API treats object version numbers similarly. Every publi _object version_number control parameters.

or Create APIs, this parameter is defined as an OUT - the AP ersion number to be 1 for row inserts. For Update APIs, the s IN OUT. For Update APIs, the object version number is man he current value must be passed in the API call and it is co n the row in the table. If the versions are different, the R_7155_OBJECT_LOCKED is raised. The information can be re-q urrent version.

. What is the p_validate Control Parameter? nswer ----very API has a p_validate control parameter. When the param ll business function validation is performed. If everything an be inserted, updated, or deleted. Non warning UT paramet arameters and IN OUT parameters will be returned with set va f the parameter is set to TRUE, only the actual operation is avepoint is issued at the start of the call and a rollback i he call. If the procedure is successful, non warning OUT pa ull, warning OUT parameters are set to a specific value and et to their original IN values. . Where may I find information about available APIs in the H nswer ----list of Oracle supported APIs and information about them ca he Oracle Application Library in your application. rom the screen menu, navigate to: elp > Oracle Applications Library > Human Resources > ew Features in this Release > Current APIs his site will provide information regarding APIs available i n addition, the document "Publicly Callable Business Proces an be found in the HRMS API Toolkit on Metalink. o find the Toolkit in Metalink navigate: echnical Libraries > ERP Applications > Human Resource Manag uman Resources > Functional Information section > API. his document lists the public APIs as are currently delivere or more information on these and other API topics, see: - "Calling APIs", a technical essay found in the Oracle HRMS Guide, #A25890-2 in HRMS Product Documentation on Metalin - "Understanding and Using APIs in Oracle HRMS", Document 72 - "Understanding and Using the HRMS Data Pump", Document 725 0. Can APIs be used in an HR Shared installation? nswer ----n releases 10.7 and 11 the use of APIs is not supported beca nstallation of HR uses the date tracking capabilities of the hared installations do not. Since the tables that hold peop ssignment information are date tracked and these are common y APIs, there is a real danger of data corruption since tabl orrect mode only. n release 11i, a new responsibility called HR Foundation has rack employees that are being maintained in other applicatio ot installed as Full. Also with the new functionality, seve een introduced that can now be used safely with other applic ee "HR Foundation and APIs" document in the HRMS API Toolkit o find the Toolkit in Metalink navigate: echnical Libraries > ERP Applications > Human Resource Manag uman Resources > Functional Information section > API.

his document contains a summarized definition of HR Foundati upported APIs, a list of non-supported APIs and a list of AP pecial conditions apply. 1. What is the relationship between Initial Balance Upload a nswer ----here is no relationship between Initial Balance Upload and D eparate processes. Initial Balance Upload is not used with ou will find a short description of each. nitial Balance Upload procedure used to transfer accumulated seeded and user bala ayroll for use by implementations. The procedure is usually anager. avigation: HRMS application > Processes and Reports > Submit nitial Balance Upload ata Pump utility which facilitates the loading and updating of data his by allowing the user to load data from an existing HRMS atch interface table using a set of supplied PL/SQL routines gainst the appropriate Application Programming Interface (AP e uploaded into the Oracle HRMS system using the Data Pump E

ata Pump Engine his is a standard concurrent process that performs the data avigation: HRMS application > Processes and Reports > Submi Data Pump Engine 2. When an amployee is terminated using the HR_EX_EMPLOYEE_A s not changing to Ex-Employee. nswer ----e sure to date track forward through the application via the t least one day past the date that was passed in the API. 3. In Release 11i, why is the HR_EX_EMPLOYEE_API looking for ssignment? nswer ----hen using the HR_EX_EMPLOYEE_API.actual_termination_emp proc mployees in Release 11i, the following error message may be uggests a default payroll for the benefits assignment. RA-20001: Cannot default the monthly payroll for the benefit usiness group must have a default monthly payroll assigned. onthly payroll for the business. here has been a change to termination functionality in Relea ssignment is terminated, an assignment row of type 'B' is cr ven though Oracle Advance Benefits (OAB) may not be installe efault monthly payroll needs to be defined on the business g efaults area. You must define a default monthly payroll for ou maintain. Benefits assignments are linked to the default rder to calculate premiums for continuing benefits such as C

tep 1: Create a payroll with a period type Calendar Month avigate to HR application > Work Structures > Organization > tep 2: Query the Organization. tep 3: Select the Business Group on the bottom of the form tep 4: Highlight the classification for Business Group tep 5: Select Others tep 6: Select Benefits Defaults tep 7: Select the Default Monthly Payroll defined in Step 1. 4. What is the Difference between the Salary Upload API and API? nswer ----lthough both APIs are supported APIs, The Salary Upload API pprovals. There is no associated security for the API as th he API allowed salary upload then anyone with SQL*Plus acces or this reason, the Salary Maintain Proposal API is the pref alary proposal information. 5. Can I use an API on an applications table on which an eve nswer ----o, on an applications table that has an event-based Alert de o run the API, the Alert will have to be disabled and then r een executed. 6. What is the difference between an API and a publically ca nswer ----n Application Program Interface is an alternate entry point e inserted, updated, or deleted from the Application. The O pplication contains many APIs, but not all of the APIs deliv he Application are considered supported, or Publicly Callabl ublicly Callable APIs are those that engage in validation in anner as the forms do within the application. Validation is n terms of data integrity, insuring that data relationships roperly between related tables. Validation is also performe usiness functionality as the application form would enforce herefore, only Publicly Callable APIs should be used to inse nd delete data from the Application.