One of the huge benefits that available in Groovy Calculations is the ability to interact with a user, validate data, and act on the validation. Now, we can interrupt form saves, stop Run Time Prompts from continuing, and communicate information back to the user. Read more
For people that are new to Groovy/Java, testing functions that Groovy provides can be a tedious and time consuming process. Learning anything is. Trying to do this with the wrong tools compounds it. I have seen some people give up and walk away from trying to improve applications because they struggle with the Groovy Calculations and the complexity it introduces to go beyond some of the basics, just because they are using a hammer when they need a screwdriver. Read more
The Mouse Or BustI am really excited to be speaking and attending Kscope this year. It is very difficult to get selected to participate, so hopefully I don’t disappoint. The last few years I was on the outside looking in, but this year I have 2 presentations. Read more
Groovy opens up a lot of things above and beyond performance improvements and improving the user experience. One example is the possibility to interact with the metadata. Dimensions and members can be queried for all types of things which can be useful in many situations. Read more
One of the huge frustrations I have with Planning is the fact that you haven’t been able to stop a user from saving data that didn’t validate since Smart View was released and Data Forms could be opened in Excel. Prior to that, the forms could be customized with JavaScript and the form save could be interrupted and cells flagged. Well, thanks to Groovy Calculations, it is back, and every bit as flexible. Read more
On March 22, 2018, I am hosting a webinar featuring the work delivered at Breakthru Beverage Group in Chicago, Illinois. Breakthru had the traditional challenges, but it had some additional obstacles other don’t. With requirements of entering budget at any level, complex allocation and seeding logic, and the need for consolidated reporting in real time, we had to get creative. Welcome, Groovy Calculations! Read more
I was lucky enough to be invited to talk about the new Groovy Calculation in PBCS and ePBCS at the Ohio Valley OAUG meeting today. If you have read the Groovy series, you know how strongly I feel about the advancements in Hyperion Planning with the addition of Groovy Calculations. I want to share the presentation with a wider audience. This is a functional overview for those who are new to the concepts. This also introduces readers how to develop their first Groovy Calculation, and provides some examples. Read more
Groovy has the ability to execute Data Maps and Smart Pushes. Data Maps are objects that define the data movement between applications and are accessible globally. Smart Pushes are Data Maps that are attached to a Data Form and can override the dimensions settings. They are largely the same thing, but defined separately inside of PBCS. Read more
When moving data in PBCS with Data Maps or Smart Pushes, they have limits on how much data can be moved. The amount of data can be seen in the logs, and look something like this. Read more
Accessing Substitution Variables is critical in most calculations, and accessing them in Groovy is a little more complex than it needs to be with not having an API to get them. Since the SubstitutionVariable is not available, there are a couple ways to get them. The precursor to this post is three-fold.
In my bug report above, I suggested grabbing them via a hidden column or row from a form. A reader suggested a another way to do this, and I think it is a better way to accomplish it. Rather than grabbing the substitution variable by adding it to the form and hiding the column/row from the user, Abhi provided a much cleaner approach to working around not having access to the SubstitutionVariable class by using hidden RTPs.
Assume the following 3 variables are required in business rules. Create a new RTP for each. The naming convention is irrelevant, but should be considered and be consistent for easy reference in the business rules. In this read, I have assumed there isn’t an existing RTP with the defaults set to a substitution variable. Even if there is, it might be beneficial to create ones specifically for this need so future changes don’t impact the values.
Name: subVar_CurMonth
Type: Member
Dimension: Period
Default Value: &v_CurMonth
RTP Text: N/A
Name: subVar_CurYear
Type: Member
Dimension: Period
Default Value: &v_CurYear
RTP Text: N/A
Name: subVar_BudYear
Type: Member
Dimension: Period
Default Value: &v_BudYear
RTP Text: N/A
Inside the business rule, the following convention is required to add the variables.
/*RTPS: {subVar_CurMonth subVar_CurYear subVar_BudYear}*/
Set all the RTPs in the Variables tab to set to hidden so the user isn’t prompted for these. Now, the substitution variables can be referenced.
def varCurMonth = rtps.subVar_CurMonth.toString() def varCurYear = rtps.subVar_CurYear.toString() def varBudYear = rtps.subVar_BudYear.toString()
Since these are likely to be used in many rules, it would be beneficial to add these to a script and embed that script into the rules that need to access these. Any new variable that needs to be included can be added to the script, and all the business rules would then have access to them. There are a number of ways to do this with Groovy calculations, but the simplest way is to embed it like a non Groovy business rule. This can be dragged from the left pane, or entered manually. The syntax is
%Script(name:="script name",application:="application Name",plantype:="plantype name"
If and when Oracle releases the class that provides direct access to sub vars, expect it to be documented here.