Understanding Runtime Considerations
In many ways, accessing a component interface is functionally equivalent to working with an online component. However, some important differences exist between component interfaces and components. This section describes how those differences affect interactive operation, functionality designed for graphical interfaces, client versus server operation, and several miscellaneous situations. These considerations, unless otherwise noted, apply to all the programming languages listed in this manual.
This section discusses general considerations for component interface programs.
WinMessage Unavailable
You cannot use the WinMessage API in a component that will be used to build a component interface. Use the MsgGet() function instead.
Email from a Component Interface
To use a component interface to send email, use the TriggerBusinessEvent PeopleCode event, not SendMail.
Related Display
Related display fields are not available for use in a component interface because they are not held in the buffer context that the component interface uses.
Row Inserts
If row insert functionality has been disabled for a page, you must take care when calling inserts against the corresponding component interface. Any PeopleCode associated with buttons used on the page to add rows will not be invoked by the component interface when an insert is done.
Note: If a component has logic that inserts rows on using the RowInsert event, the component interface cannot identify the change and locate the rows that were inserted by the application code. Generic interfaces such as Excel to Component Interfaces utility and the WSDLToCI will not function correctly when using this type of dynamic insert.
Custom Field Formats
Custom field formats that are defined dynamically via Peoplecode are not enforced by component interfaces, as they are evaluated by the page processor and not available to the component interface processor. Only the static formats defined in the PeopleSoft Application Designer will be applied.
This section discusses scope conflicts for component interface programs.
Infinite Processing Loops
A component interface should not call itself in any of the PeopleCode included within its component definition, because this may result in an infinite loop of the component interface. A component interface also should not call itself from a user-defined method.
Multiple Instances of a Component Interface
C++ applications should not create multiple, simultaneous instances of the same component interface, either within a single procedure, or in both a parent and a child procedure because of potential conflicts.
This section discusses interactive mode considerations for component interface programs.
UNIX Server Performance
If you are using a component interface as part of a batch process in which thousands of rows are being inserted, running in interactive mode may reduce performance enough on some UNIX servers to produce a connection failure. Prevent this by setting the InteractiveMode property to False.
Hidden Edit Validation Errors
If the InteractiveMode property is set to True, and if a transaction sets a property to a value that isn't allowed in a prompt edit field, the edit field value is reset back to its original value. The error is logged in the PSMessages collection; however, the Save method runs without errors. Check the value of both the Save method and the collection ErrorPending property to discover all of the errors.