Understanding Data Retrieval Elements

PeopleSoft delivers some data retrieval elements; you can define others. This topic discusses:

  • System elements

  • Arrays

  • Writable arrays

  • Brackets

  • Rate codes

  • Historical rules

System elements are delivered and maintained by PeopleSoft. You never have to change system elements or do anything special to define them. You cannot add system elements; however, you can rename them.

There are two types of system elements:

  • Database system elements

    Think of database system elements as payee-related elements. They contain data that can be used frequently in a calculation, such as department ID, location, and personal data. Database system elements are resolved only when they are used in a calculation.

  • System-computed elements

    System-computed elements are populated by the absence process, but are not physical database fields. If, when, and how often a system-computed element is resolved depends on its purpose and type.

    For example, Period End Date and Period Type are resolved at the beginning of every segment calculation; daily data, which is used in absence calculations, is calculated daily. Other system-computed elements, such as those that are used with rate codes, are resolved only when a rate code element is encountered in a calculation.

An array is a link between a field and an element. An array retrieves data that’s stored in the database tables that Absence Management does not provide in system elements. You can use arrays to retrieve complex data that’s stored in any table outside Absence Management. For example, you can create an array to retrieve birthday data for a payee’s dependents from the DEPENDENT_BENEF table in PeopleSoft HR.

Arrays are temporary tables that the COBOL programs use to store data during processing. Once processing is complete, the programs write the data from the temporary arrays to the output tables.

Using an array is a two-step process:

  1. Retrieve data from the database.

  2. Use that data for further processing.

When defining an array, you must provide enough information to the system so that it can perform both steps.

A writable array writes the values of user-defined elements into a row in a table. Writable arrays are in many ways the opposite of standard arrays.

You can use writable arrays to populate your own result tables. You use PeopleSoft Application Designer to create the result table, and then you use the writable array pages in Absence Management to define the element that populates the table during batch processing.

Use brackets to look up and retrieve values in a lookup table based on other values.

For example, say that your organization provides absence entitlements based on seniority. You build a bracket that lets you look up the correct entitlement amount based on a payee’s years of service.

Note: It is important that you define all of the building blocks that are associated with your lookup rules before you define your bracket.

You use rate codes to resolve multiple components of data. Rate codes retrieve multiple components of data from HR and bring that data into Absence Management.

HR rate codes (HR rate codes) are not automatically resolved in Absence Management. To use the rate code, you set up an absence element in Absence Management and use the rate code element within the definition of that element.

Note: When you define a rate code element in Absence Management, you associate it with a predefined HR rate code. The Absence Management rate code element is automatically created only if the HR rate codes are defined when Absence Management is installed.

You use historical rule elements to set up rules that retrieve data from prior periods. You can use historical rules in formulas.

A historical rule can be attached to any element that’s stored in the Absence Management Accumulator results table, or the Absence Management Element results table.