Tips for operating DataConnect
You can use the following tips to enhance how your company operates the IBM® TRIRIGA® DataConnect tool.
| Tip | Description |
|---|---|
| Approval task | An Approval task cannot be run from within a DataConnect task. |
| DataConnect job remains in Processing state; workflow probably does not contain a Trigger Action to move job to Failed or Completed. | If a DataConnect job remains in Processing status, check the workflow instance for the job. It is likely that the workflow completed but there is no workflow task to transition the job to Completed or Failed. |
| DC_PATH column in the staging table can be used to set a hierarchy on insert. On update, the DC_PATH must be the record to update. | The DC_PATH column in the staging table needs to be used during an update. The DC_PATH must be set to the record you want to update. It must be the IBS_SPEC.OBJECT_PATH of the record you want to update. DC_PATH used with Insert can indicate to the DataConnect task where in the hierarchy to place the record. The children must have the parent’s path in the DC_PATH. With this path, the DataConnect Task sets the hierarchy. The objects at the top of the hierarchy or objects not in a hierarchy must have nothing in the DC_PATH. |
| Execution schedule | To avoid impacting database connections and threads available to the Application Server, schedule DataConnect jobs to run during non-peak hours. |
| Issues found by the DataConnect Agent are logged to the server.log | Most of the common issues with entries in the DataConnect job table (DC_JOB) are handled by the DataConnect Agent. The issue is logged in the server.log and the DataConnect job entry is set to Fail. Additional information can be obtained by turning on debug logging in the DataConnect Agent. After the issue is resolved, the job can be tried again from the Administrator Console by using the Retry Job link. |
| Job control business object | The business object for the workflow that contains the DataConnect task must be a subtype of triDataConnectJob, or in other words, created in the triDataConnectJob module. If not, the system generates an error. |
| Number field’s UOM | If you set the Staging Table Field property for a Number field with a related UOM field that is defined in the business object, set the Staging Table Field property for the related UOM field. |
| Staging table fields come from General section | Only fields that are in the General section are supported to be staging table fields. If you want to pull data from other sections, use temporary fields in the business object and use the workflow engine to move the data into the appropriate non-General fields. Otherwise, use a helper business object to pull all of your data and use the workflow engine to move the data into the real business object. |
| Staging table name | Use the DataConnect managed object in the Administrator Console to find out the staging table name. Click Business Objects with Staging Tables. The database field name is listed along with other information. The Expand Data link provides more information for the selected rows, such as field names in the staging table and jobs that are using the staging table. |
| Suspended workflow | A workflow cannot be suspended while it processes a DataConnect task. |
| The DataConnect process can handle business object with smart section association. | If the business object has a smart section that must be populated through the integration, add an extra field to the business object as a staging table field. Populate that field in the staging table with the identifier that can be queried to find the record you want associated to the new smart object. In the workflow, Query the record and Associate it to the new smart object. |
| The Initial State is what the smart object is created in; it is not transitioned. | If the integration wants the smart object to be transitioned to the state, set the Initial State to null in the DataConnect task. Within the body of the DataConnect task, use a Trigger Action to transition the object to the intended state. |
| Tracking errors | You might want to create a record
to track errors that are encountered during workflow validations.
One approach is to create a custom cstDataMigrationError business
object in the triIntermediate module. This business object can include
the following fields:
|
| User Action task | A User Action task cannot be run from within a DataConnect task. |
| Workflow exceptions | The DataConnect task fails if the workflow encounters a hard exception during workflow processing. |