To Create Component Interface from scratch
As you may or may not know, PeopleSoft delivers several component interfaces for most of the major components inside PeopleSoft. For example, in HCM there are component interfaces such as ones for the JOB_DATA component and another for the PERSON information.
Each of these delivered component interfaces are also known as Enterprise Integration Points. It's nice to be able to just utilize a delivered component interface in PeopleSoft when you need to get data inserted or updated into a delivered component.
Remember, the biggest reason for using a Component Interface is to trigger all of the same business rules, warnings, errors, etc.. that PeopleSoft triggers when a user is entering data on a page. However, there are also instances when you will need to create your own Component Interface from scratch, because PeopleSoft does not provide one, or perhaps its a custom component of your own.
So, let's dive into creating a CI from scratch.
As I mentioned earlier, a component Interface is based on a single component within PeopleTools. This is why you must know understand and know the structure of the component that you are creating a CI for. But, don’t worry, you can simply use the existing component within your application or create a component for the sole purpose of creating and building your component interface.
Remember, the CI components, such as the keys, are created based on settings in the referenced component. And, you create a Component Interface object the same as you would create any other PeopleTools object in Application Designer. Here are the steps for creating a New CI.
1. Select File, New from the Application Designer menu and choose Component Interface.
2. You will be asked to choose the Component on which this component interface is based.
3. Next, you will be asked if you want the fields exposed in the selected component to become the default properties of the component interface.
If you elect to have the property definitions automatically defaulted by the system, then all properties that appear on the pages of the underlying component are added to the component interface. I recommend that you choose Yes and accept the default properties. Even though the system adds the default properties, you may need to move other properties into the component view for the component to work.An untitled component interface appears, showing the Get keys and Find keys. Remember, the Create keys are produced only if the underlying component is able to run in Add mode and Application Designer generates the keys for you as you drag definitions.
Also, notice the standard methods Cancel, Find, Get, and Save is automatically created.
You can begin adding properties to a new component interface at any point. However, you cannot add any user-defined methods to the component interface until you have saved the component interface. Once you have saved the component interface, you can further define user-defined methods.
Next, I'll be talking about the various rules you'll need to follow when creating a Component interface
