Hierarchy Developer's Guide for Oracle Billing Insight > Basic Hierarchy Manager Use Cases > Exchanging Hierarchy Data Using XML >

Importing Hierarchies

To import the hierarchy XML, you can use the following method through IHierarchyAccessManager:

HierarchyExchangeResult importXML(hierarchyInputStream, startPeriod, endPeriod);

A hierarchy XML file can contain one or multiple hierarchy structures. The XML file only specifies the structure relationship of the hierarchy and user association, but does not specify any time period information. The period information is provided as additional parameters passed in from higher layer application code. When importing for multiple periods, the hierarchy structure will be replicated for each period. If the hierarchy has changes between different periods, it either must be imported separately with one for each period, or it must be modified for the period once they are imported.

You can import a hierarchy either in a published or unpublished state. If the hierarchy already exists in a published state, then any subsequent imported structures must be imported in a published state.

When calling the preceding method where startPeriod and endPeriod are provided, the hierarchy will be imported and published for the periods within the specified range. If the periods are null, the hierarchy will be in an unpublished state.

If a hierarchy exists for a given period, the hierarchy structure will be overwritten. If the hierarchy does not exist, the hierarchy structure will be created.