Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | PDF     

Siebel Insurance Guide > Business Services for Siebel Financial Services > Defining Properties for a Business Rule Process >

About Business Rule Process Property Types

You can categorize properties into two classes:

  • Simple property types. Scalar properties such as an integer, string, or date.
  • Complex property types. Nonscalar properties such as property sets, vectors, and Siebel Business Component references.

At run time, you can pass values for global properties to the BRP business service as an input argument. This run-time value overwrites the initial value definition, if any, on the property.

TIP:  Use an appropriate prefix, such as global_, local_, or l_ to designate local and global properties.

Complex properties except ProperySet and Vector cannot be passed as inputs to a BRP process.

Table 38 describes the complex types in further detail.

Table 38. Complex Property Types
Type
Description

BusComp

This data type stores a reference to a Siebel Business Component (BC) and is used in conjunction with the FINS CAP Buscomp Handler business service.

See Using BRP Helper Business Services.

BusComp is used within BRP process as a stand-alone BC, without the context of Business Object (BO). Hence, you have to explicitly query the BusComp with the correct key values to establish a context.

Property Set

Property sets are collections of properties used for storing data. They might have child property sets assigned to them to form a hierarchical data structure. See Siebel Object Interfaces Reference.

The Property Set itself can contain child property sets. This is particularly convenient to store array-like data. For example, to store multiple contacts and their properties such as Name, Phone Number, and Date of Birth. Each contact is stored as a child property set of Contacts. At the leaf, the property map stores data as a name-value pair.

A property set cannot be instantiated with an assignment. Property sets are always instantiated using a business service, such as FINS CAP Buscomp Data Loader Service. See Using BRP Helper Business Services.

Vector

Vectors are special-formatted Property Sets, where each nonleaf node stores a unique key as its value.

NOTE:  The vector root node type for a BRP process is always SEBLFACapVector.

A vector cannot be instantiated with an assignment. Vectors are always instantiated using an business service, such as FINS CAP Buscomp Data Loader Service. See Using BRP Helper Business Services.

The following diagram shows a ProductRate vector that has 2 levels - Region & Product name. At the leaf level the vector stores the rate and the balance as key value pairs.

Vector Reference

Vector Reference is a reference to a property set, vector or a child property set. Once defined, you can use Vector Reference as a vector or propertyset.

When the referenced object is reset, the dependent reference is automatically set to NULL.

This property set is particularly useful when accessing data on the child property sets. There are two ways to make a child Property Set reference:

  • childPropertySetRef = parentPropertySet[strkeyValue]
  • childPropertySetRef = parentPropertySet(nIndex)
About Using Parentheses

Round parentheses ( ) are used to retrieve a child Property Set by index.

NOTE:  The index starts at 0.

Square parentheses [ ] are used to get a child Property Set by value.

NOTE:  Accessing by value is only valid for Vectors.

Only literals or property names can be used within [ ] or ( ). Expressions cannot be used within.

TIP:  To use expressions within [ ] or ( ), assign these to a simple property type and use the simple property within [ ] or ( ).

You can use square and round parentheses in combination.

Example:

grandchildPropertySetRef = parentPropertySet(2)["California"]

In the preceding notion, parentPropertySet itself can be a reference. In other words, a reference and a property set are used interchangeably for data access.

Retrieve leaf properties by using square parentheses [ ].

Example:

ProductRate = productRate[productId][domain]["Annual Fee"]

The following procedure describes how to define a property for use in a business rule process.

To define a property for a business rule process

  1. Navigate to the Business Rule Processor screen and select a process for which you want to create global variables.
  2. Click the Properties view tab and create a new property completing the fields as necessary.

    Some fields are described in the following table.

    Field
    Comments

    Sequence

    Identifies the numeric sequence of this property. The application initializes properties in numerical order based on this number.

    Data Type

    The data type for the property. The value can be one of the following.

    Simple types:

    • String
    • Integer
    • Number
    • Date
    • Boolean

    Complex types:

    • Property Set
    • Vector
    • Vector Reference
    • BusComp

    Value

    Initial value of the property.

    Initial values can be set only for Simple property types.

    Output

    Select this check box to make property an output argument and is used to pass information out of the business service. which has no output arguments of its own.

    This flag does not apply to Complex property types except ProperySet and Vector.
    
Siebel Insurance Guide Copyright © 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.