The application engine program is for batch processing. In the past, the only way to do batch processing was through COBOL or SQR. However, that was tough, and to make the thing simple, one of the PeopleSoft developers made application engines with the help of Peopletools as front end and COBOL as backend. When the Peopletools team agreed to incorporate the application engine, they rewrote the backend in C++. With the current version, the Application engine also creates reports and charts. With the help of the application engine action plug-in, we can alter SQL or PeopleCode action, which we use to write down the application engine program. Application engine programs mainly consist of Peoplecode or SQL re-executable configurable plug-in action at runtime. Hence we can modify the code without any requirement of redesigning or customizing the AE program. We can configure the program through a new SQL or Peoplecode or by replacing the existing Peoplecode or SQL action with the help of PIA on the application-engine-action-plugin page.
Note: It’s possible to configure the code only in Peoplecode or SQL actions in the AE program. The steps with SQL or Peoplecode action are visible in PIA. We cannot add new sections or steps to the existing AE program.
The action that belongs to one step of the same section of the application engine program is integrable with numerous plug-ins in actions defined. It is not required to match the action plug-in type to the action type for configuring the application engine program. Same SQL or Peoplecode plug-in action is used numerous times for different application engine programs.
The configured application-engine-action is not usable for configuring other application engine programs. Moreover, we cannot define action multiple times with various application engine programs.
Before configuring the application engine action “plug-in,” we need to understand the modules of the application engine program. It generally has four sections: main sections, set up, process, and clean up.
The required section makes a presence in all application engine programs is Main. The other three are optional. All setup required for the working of the application engine program is in the setup section. Processing of the work is through the process section. Closing and finalizing the process are in the cleanup section.
It’s essential to note that the action plug-in configures the SQL or Peoplecode action.
A typical application engine program consists of the following Parts:
- Section
- Step
- Action type
- Code
- Description
The section can be of four types. Steps can be in any number. Various action types are possible, and SQL, and Peoplecode, are the two action types. We can configure only these two action types with the help of the application engine action plug-in in the PIA. Do select, Do until, and Do when action types are not configurable. The code contains the code for action type, and the description describes the code.
Hence, the application-engine-action plug-in page reconfigures the application engine program, and we mainly mean the configuration of the above parts. We configure the code section, but it’s important to remember that we can configure the code of SQL and Peoplecode only.
The configuration of the application engine program is verifiable with the help of the application designer, and, under the code pane or program flow, we can track the impact of plug-ins. And we can configure the application engine action plug-in from the application engine plug-in Page.
The application-engine-action-plug-in page contains parameters like enabled, section, step, action type, plug-in name, mode, order within the “mode,” and description. These are the same as discussed above related to application engine programming.
We need to check enabled for enabling configuration. Then we need to select the section of the application engine program to customize. It’s essential to remember that we can customize only Peoplecode or SQL action types. Then we pick the step. And step for only “SQL and Peoplecode” displayed in the PIA. From that, we select the action. In the plug-in name, we need the application engine program, which has the SQL or Peoplecode action for configuring the application-engine program. Then we pick the SQL or Peoplecode action from the selected step for adding before or after the “current action” or replacing the “current action.”
As clear from the above sentence, there are three modes: the first is before, the second is after, and the third is “replace,” and their meaning is self-understood.
One application engine program can have multiple plug-ins in the same mode, and we need to arrange them in a sequence for which we need to provide order within the “mode.”
The description covers the descriptive notes.
We need to provide these and click save to complete the configuration.
It’s important to note that sometimes the configuration changes take around 10 minutes to show, and sometimes it is recognized immediately.
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