Overview of Defining a Procedure

To create a Procedure, you must do the following:

• Name and describe the Procedure and specify whether data from single or multiple events (visits) and DCMs are involved; see Naming and Describing a Procedure. You can also copy and modify an existing Procedure; see Where to Start.

• Specify the Question Group(s) and Questions whose responses the Procedure compares; see Defining Procedure Question Groups and Defining Procedure Questions.

• Define any variables necessary for the test logic; see Procedure Variables.

• (Optional) Set up special processing such as correlation, aggregation, lags, and/or Where clause extensions or qualifying expressions; see Special Processing.

• Write one or more validation tests or, in the case of Derivation Procedures, calculations; see Defining Procedure Details.

• (Optional) Write custom code to be inserted at one or more fixed places in the generated Procedure PL/SQL code; see Custom Code.

• Run Procedure generation. The system generates PL/SQL code based on your definitions and custom code. You can see the generated code and edit it if you have the necessary privileges, but all edits of generated code are lost if you run generation again. Custom code is not lost when you regenerate. Generating and Compiling a Procedure and Editing Generated PL/SQL Code.

It usually makes sense to include all the tests you need to do for the same set of data in the same Validation Procedure. See Structure of Procedure PL/SQL Programs for further information.