Rules from Actions and Conditions and SQL Objects

When you use the Actions and Conditions or the SQL Objects pages, you won't create complete rules, but the building blocks of rules: rule components. To define a complete rule, you must:

• Link the components to other components.

• Place the components in the proper order for processing (define rule steps).

• Specify the period of interest for the resulting rule.

• Group rules into rule programs and then link these rules to time reporters through workgroups.

Note:

Template-built rules are fully defined rules. This means that you don't need to define the rule steps that make up a template-built rule. However, you do need to add template-built rules to rule programs on the Rule Programs page, and assign the rule program to a workgroup.

To complete a rule definition:

1. Define the rule components.

   Use Actions and Conditions or SQL Objects.

2. Define the rule period.

   Specify the period of interest for the rule using the Define Rule Header page. Valid periods include PeopleSoft-delivered periods and any time periods created using the Time Period pages. The system uses time periods to determine the data for a particular span of time on which the rule will act. The Time Administration program also uses the time period to determine which reported time to load into the working tables during processing.

3. Define rule steps.

   Once you define the individual building blocks that make up a rule using actions and conditions or SQL objects, you must combine these components into complete rules and place them in the correct processing order by arranging them into rule steps. Each rule can have one or multiple steps. You'll order individual rule components into rule steps on the Define Rule Steps pages. SQL processes the records in sets. Rule steps must be properly ordered for set processing. Review delivered rule templates (with the rule ID prefix of TEMPLATE) to see how rule steps are organized for set processing. Test the SQL statement for each rule step with the database query tool to ensure that it produces the desired results before continuing with the next step. You may need to replace meta-SQL with platform–specific SQL before testing the SQL statement.

4. Assign the rule to a rule program.

   Add your rules to a rule program using the Rule Program and Program Detail pages. The rule program specifies the set of rules and the order in which the Time Administration process executes them.

   Note:

   The number of online rules you can include in a rule program is determined by the entry in the Maximum Online Rules field on the TL Installation page.

   Note:

   Rule programs are effective-dated, but the individual rules contained within them are not. You cannot modify a rule once you assign it to a rule program. However, you can remove the rule from the rule program and replace it, if appropriate, with a new rule. This feature ensures the referential integrity of rules processing.

5. Attach the rule program to a workgroup.

   Use the Workgroup page. The rule program determines which rules are processed for the time reporters in the workgroup. If a rule does not exist in the rule program associated with a workgroup, no member of the workgroup is processed using that rule.