Creating and Editing the BI Beans Configuration File

As you create a BI application in JDeveloper, you first create the BIDesigner object (within a project). BIDesigner is a container that holds the BI Beans objects for a project.

The BI Beans configuration file is automatically created in JDeveloper when you create a BIDesigner object. This file stores configuration information that is used as input to the BISession object for interactions with the application module at runtime.

While the configuration file is created by the BIDesigner object, the settings in the file do not affect the BIDesigner. The settings are used by the BISession object. By default, the information that is stored in the configuration file is synchronized with the same information for the BIDesigner object. If you keep them synchronized, then the BIDesigner object automatically updates the file when you modify properties on the BIDesigner object.

Important: If you are working in a development environment other than JDeveloper, then you must create the configuration file manually.

Contents of the file

Within the configuration file, XML nodes divide the file into sections. Within each section, configuration settings are specified by name-value pairs. The configuration file contains the following types of settings:

Naming and storing the configuration file

The configuration file is an XML file whose default name is project-namebiconfigint.xml, where project-name is the project name and int is an integer. If you work with the file in conjunction with the BIDesigner object, then avoid renaming the file. If you copy the file for use not in conjunction with the BIDesigner object or for use outside of JDeveloper, then you can give the file any name that you want.

You can specify the configuration file name:

You should store the configuration file in a directory that is specified in the CLASSPATH variable on any client machine that will run your Java application or in a servlet engine. Store the file in an area that is accessible by the application class loader. If you use JDeveloper's Deployment Profile, then the configuration file and the DAD files are automatically stored in the correct locations.

Editing the configuration file

You can edit the configuration file using dialog boxes in JDeveloper or using any XML editor. If you keep the BIDesigner object and the configuration file synchronized, then any changes that you make to BIDesigner properties are automatically reflected in the configuration file. You should keep these items synchronized during application development.

While working in JDeveloper, you can edit the file in the following ways:

As you work in JDeveloper and use the Copy Objects to Remote Catalog wizard, you can affect the contents of the configuration file. The Select Folders and Objects panel of that wizard contains an option called Update the runtime configuration file to use the current remote Catalog. If you select this option, then the Catalog that is specified both on the Runtime Settings tab of the BI Beans Settings dialog box and in the configuration file is updated. In addition, the BIDesigner object and the configuration file are no longer synchronized.

Using multiple configuration files

You need to use multiple configuration files in the following situations:

Using debug settings

One section of the configuration file allows you to control the debugging environment. The Mode attribute of the Debug element accepts the following values:

You can combine the values by using a comma separator. For example, the <Debug Mode="LOG,TRACE" /> setting displays both log and trace messages.

Benefits of the configuration file

BI Beans allows you to specify configuration settings in one of two places:

The use of each option offers advantages and disadvantages.

Storing configuration settings in the BISession object only

You can use the BISession object and the application module that it creates to store configuration settings. The advantages of this approach are that you do not need to work with a configuration file or specifically make the settings available to the Web server.

The disadvantages of this approach are that you must:

Storing configuration settings in the configuration file in conjunction with the BISession object

The advantages of storing configuration settings in the configuration file are that you do not have to:

The disadvantage of using the configuration file is that you must maintain the information that it contains. If you are using JDeveloper, then the file is maintained automatically as you modify settings. If you are not using JDeveloper, then you must maintain the file manually.

Deployment Options for BI Beans
Updating BI Beans Application Settings