Common Variables

The two main calculation rule and eligibility criteria BOs provided in base use conditional expressions in their rule logic. These expressions are supported in turn by a common set of variable elements that are defined in a data area to allow reuse across rules.

The following topics highlight some of the available features for using conditional variables.

Variable Definition

The Calculation Engine Variable List DA incorporates the following elements:

Additional Variable Details

Most variable types require additional configuration details, as follows:

Calculation Line
Enter the category types and values that identify the calculation line. Multiple categories may be entered; the variable value will then be the sum of the values of all targeted lines.
  • Calculation Line Category Type is the category type of the targeted calculation line or lines

  • Calculation Line Category Value is the category value of the targeted calculation line or lines.

Characteristic
Enter the following details that identify the characteristic value:
  • Calculation Characteristic Entity is the source entity for the characteristic value. Valid entities are: Account, Address, Asset, Characteristic Collection and Tax Role

  • Characteristic Type is the type of characteristic from which the variable value is derived.

  • Effective Date Source is the source of the effective date to use when fetching the characteristic value. Valid values are: Calculation Period Start Date , Calculation Period End Date, Revenue Period Start Date and Revenue Period End Date

Constant
Specify the constant value to be used in the expression
Factor
Enter the following details that identify the factor value:
  • Factor is the factor from which the variable value is derived.

  • Effective Date Source is the source of the effective date to use when fetching the factor value. Valid values are: Calculation Period Start Date, Calculation Period End Date, Revenue Period Start Date and Revenue Period End Date

Value Detail
Specify the value detail type whose value is to be used in the expression

Deriving Variable Values

With the exception of factors and characteristics, the calculation processor derives variable values from details within the calculation data area maintained in memory. The following highlights important details about the logic used to derive the values for certain variable types.

Calculation Line
The calculation processor uses common logic to identify all calculation lines that are members of the target categories and return the summarized value. The same logic is used by base rules for summarizing calculation lines.
Characteristic
The following rules apply when determining the characteristic value:
  • If the source is Characteristic Collection, the processor will look only within the internal calculation data characteristic collection for the value

  • If the source is one of the valid entities, the processor will derive the entity ID from the obligation passed to the internal calculation data area. If the source is Tax Role, the processor assumes that the obligation is linked to a tax role. If the source is Asset, the processor assumes that the obligation’s tax role is linked to an asset. Note that an entity of Address is assumed to be an asset billing address.

Factor
If the variable type is factor and the factor values vary by a characteristic type, the calculation processor assumes that the characteristic values supplied to the internal data area take precedence over the factor determine characteristic logic. If a value for the factor’s characteristic type exists in the internal collection, that value will be used by the factor value processor to derive the value.