Setting Up Constraints

Constraints can be made up of one or more filters linked together using AND, OR, and NOT logic. This means that you can keep your filters simple and dedicated to a single purpose, and link them together in constraints to form complex business logic.

Constraints enable you to define business rules for processing and also enable you to create and reuse filters.

This topic discusses how to:

Define constraints.
Specify constraint criteria.
Specify constraint details.

Pages Used to Set Up Constraints

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Constraint	PF_CONSTRAINT_DEFN	select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Constraint	Define a constraint.
Constraint - Criteria	PF_CONSTRAINT_SEQ	select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Criteria	Specify your constraint criteria. This is where you can combine filters to create complex business logic.
Constraint - Details	PF_FILTER_EXPLODE	select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Details	Display the filter contents of a given constraint. Modify the filter, as needed.

Constraint Page

Use the Constraint page (PF_CONSTRAINT_DEFN) to define a constraint.

Navigation

select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Constraint

Image: Constraint page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Constraint page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Save As

Click to replicate existing constraint metadata. You are prompted to enter the new constraint code name and effective date. This is available only in correction mode.

DataMap Code

Select the datamap for the constraint.

View/Edit Datamap

Click to transfer directly to the DataMap setup page where, you can view and edit the selected datamap.

No Criteria

You are not required to link filters to your constraint. By selecting this check box, you indicate to the system that you want all the values from the datamap. The system adds a 0= 0 WHERE clause to any other join criteria that the datamap needs (thus hiding the criteria page). The FROM clause is the same as the from field on the datamap.

Notes

Enter any notes to further describe the constraint.

When you have completed setup of the constraint, click the Build Constraint SQL button to compile the constraint. This compilation sets the as of date of the constraint equal to the effective date. If you want to change the as of date, you must recompile after updating the Effective Date field. Use the Mass Validate utility to validate against as of dates.

Constraint - Criteria Page

Use the Constraint - Criteria page (PF_CONSTRAINT_SEQ) to specify your constraint criteria. This is where you can combine filters to create complex business logic.

Navigation

select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Criteria

Image: Criteria page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Criteria page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Use this page to add or delete the filters that you want to make up the constraint. You can link one or more filter codes. This page is not accessible if you select the No Criteria check box on the Constraint page.

Not

Select to signify the negative of the condition.

Open

Select the number of left parentheses that are needed for the selection criteria. You may have multiple parentheses in a case such as ((X or Y) and Z).

Filter Code

Select the filter to use. You define filters using the Filter component.

Select the number of right parentheses needed.

And/Or

Select either AND or OR to relate one line to the next of the filter criteria.

Three filter types are available: WHERE, HAVING, and a combination of the two. Filter types relate lines of constraint rules.

Note: After a filter is created, the filter type cannot be changed.

Constraint - Details Page

Use the Constraint - Details page (PF_FILTER_EXPLODE) to display the filter contents of a given constraint. Modify the filter, as needed.

Navigation

select EPM Foundation, then select Business Metadata, then select Constraint and Expressions, then select Constraint, then select Details

Image: Details page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Details page.

Here you can view the data elements that are targeted based on the filter selection criteria.

Modify Filter

Click to access the Filter setup page, where you can modify the filter.