Using Parameters

You can use Parameters to increase the reusability of a Program; for example, if you hardcode a value in source code and then want to change the value, you must create a new version of the Program definition and revalidate it. No revalidation of the Program definition is required when you rerun the same Program using a different Parameter value.

Your company may develop a library of standard Parameters that are compatible with standard Table Columns and available for reuse throughout Oracle LSH. Using standard Parameters and Table Columns facilitates reusing Programs on different data and streamlines Parameter value propagation in Workflows and Report Sets.

For example, you can create a Parameter Set containing Parameters based on the same Oracle LSH Variables as the Columns in each standard Table, so that when you search for a Parameter definition in a Program that will read from or write to a standard Table, you can search in the Parameter Set with the same name as the Table.

Some more examples of Parameter usage:

• Run on different data. Define a standard study demography report Program definition and promote it to a Domain library. Create instances of this Program in multiple Application Areas, each of which contains data for a different study. Bind the value of the Study Parameter in the Execution Setup for each Program instance to the appropriate Study Parameter value.

  Or create a required Parameter settable at runtime to determine whether a Program uses local lab range definitions, standard published reference ranges, or panic ranges.

  Similarly, use a Parameter to determine whether you run a Program on all adverse events or only serious adverse events; or use a Parameter to determine whether you run a Program on all Oracle Clinical Data Clarification Forms (DCFs) or only those that have been outstanding for a certain time period.

• Generate different report formats. Use a Parameter to generate multiple reports on the same data, each in a different format. For example, create a Parameter called Format with the values Table, Listing, and Figure. Write the source code so that if the input value of the Format Parameter is table, the program produces a table, and so on. If you want to include each format in a Report Set, but want each report to be in a separate Report Set Entry, you can define an instance of the same Program definition in each of three Report Set Entries and bind the Format Parameter to a different value in the Execution Setup of each Program instance.

• Run on a subset of data. Use Parameters for subsetting data; that is, limiting the rows processed in a single Table. For example, from a single table that includes data on both male and female patients, you might choose to report data separately, processing only patients whose Sex Parameter value is Male or only patients whose Sex Parameter value is Female. To run the same Program both ways automatically, create two instances of it in a Workflow or Report Set and bind the value in the Execution Setup of each instance so that each instance uses a different value for the Sex Parameter.