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Shifting to .NET Access Provider

This document gives guidance for the users of COM access provider on how to move their code to .NET access provider. The .NET Access Provider allows you do develop .NET based applications that interact with the processes and activities in the server. COM Access Provider is not supported any more by IFS. Therefore, developers could use the following guidelines to move their logic which uses COM to .NET based platform.

Apart from switching to a .NET based application and rewriting the application in a .NET language, there is also the option to use .NET Access Provider while using a COM client. Documentation to setup the .NET Access Provider for COM clients is found here.

This document describes how each activity followed in developing applications with COM access provider can be re-implemented using a .NET language and also by accessing .NET Access Provider while using a COM client. If there is a need to use DOCMAN macros you will have to follow a similar way as using .NET Access Provider while using a COM client. Developing DOCMAN macros using .NET Access Provider is also described in this document.

At the end of this document there are three complete examples of the same implementation done using

1.     COM Access Provider
2.     .NET Access Provider from a .NET language
3.     .NET Access Provider from a COM language.
4.     .NET Access Provider from DOCMAN macros.

Installation

Adding references

Creating a server connection

Defining the command

Properties of command objects

Properties of PlsqlSelectCommand, PlsqlCommand and PlsqlBaseMethodCommand in COM-AP, such as BindVariables, CommandText and Server exist in .NET-AP as well in a similar manner. Following code examples show that defining a command is quite similar in both COM-AP and .NET AP.

Invoking the server operation

Handling the result

Exception Handling

Activity queries and Activity commands

Few things to remember

• If you need to allow any UI in the connection while using .NET access provider keep InteractiveMode public variable in FndConnection as true. Otherwise you can turn off interactivemode by setting the variable to false.

            conn.InteractiveMode = false;

Additional features

.NET AP has the advantage of making use of the IFS debug console so that troubleshooting is easier. You have to add reference to Ifs.Fnd.Diagnostics.dll, set DebugSettings.DebugMode property of FndConnection instance to true and use FndDebugMonitor.StartDebugMonitor() to start the debug console. But please note that using the IFS debug console is not possible when accessing .NET AP from a COM client.

Complete code examples of the implementation of retrieving user details.

• Using COM Access Provider

Option Explicit

Sub Main()
Dim oServer As New Server
' Uncomment the following two lines to avoid connect dialog
'oServer.ConnectionString = "<server_url>"
'oServer.SetCredentials "<identity>", "<password>"

Dim oCmd As New PlsqlSelectCommand
Set oCmd.Server = oServer
oCmd.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM FND_USER WHERE DESCRIPTION LIKE :DESC"
oCmd.BindVariables.Add "DESC", "A%"
Dim oResult As RecordCollection
Set oResult = oCmd.ExecuteQuery

Dim oUser As Record
Dim sMsg As String

' Read result into message
For Each oUser In oResult
sMsg = sMsg & oUser.Attributes("DESCRIPTION").Value & vbCrLf
Next

' Show message
MsgBox sMsg

End Sub

• Using .NET Access Provider from a .NET language

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using Ifs.Fnd;
using Ifs.Fnd.Data;
using Ifs.Fnd.AccessProvider;
using Ifs.Fnd.AccessProvider.PLSQL;

public abstract class UserDetails
{
	private static FndConnection conn;

	public static void Main(string [] pars)
	{
		try
		{ 
			// If you want to have a login dialog, use constructor with only first parameter instead. 2nd and 3rd parameters are username and password.
			conn = new FndConnection(pars[0], pars[1], pars[2]);
			// I set CatchExceptions = false since I'm in a try block
			conn.CatchExceptions = false;

			FndPLSQLSelectCommand cmd = new FndPLSQLSelectCommand(conn, "SELECT * FROM FND_USER WHERE DESCRIPTION LIKE :DESC");
			cmd.BindVariables.Add(new FndBindVariable(FndBindVariableDirection.In, "DESC", new FndTextAttribute("A%")));

			FndDataTable table = cmd.ExecuteReader("FND_USER");
			String strText = "";

			for(int i = 0; i < table.Rows.Count; i++)
			{
				strText = strText + table.Rows[i]["DESCRIPTION"].ToString() + "\n";

			}
			MessageBox.Show(strText);

		}
		catch(FndException err)
		{
			err.Show();
		}
	}
}

• Using .NET Access Provider from a COM language

Option Explicit


Sub Main()
Dim conn As New FndConnection
conn.ConnectionString = "<server_url>"
conn.SetCredentials "<identity>", "<password>"


conn.CatchExceptions = False

Dim oTxtAttr As New FndTextAttribute
oTxtAttr.SetValue ("A%")


Dim oBindVar As New FndBindVariable
oBindVar.Direction = FndBindVariableDirection.FndBindVariableDirection_In
oBindVar.Name = "DESC"
Set oBindVar.Value = oTxtAttr


Dim oCmd As New FndPLSQLSelectCommand
oCmd.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM FND_USER WHERE DESCRIPTION LIKE :DESC"
Set oCmd.Connection = conn
oCmd.BindVariables.Add oBindVar


Dim oTable As FndDataTable
Dim oRow As FndDataRow


Set oTable = oCmd.ExecuteReader_3("FND_USER")


Dim sMsg As String
Dim intCounter As Integer
Dim oDesAttr As FndTextAttribute

For intCounter = 0 To oTable.Rows.Count - 1
	Set oRow = oTable.Rows.Item(intCounter)
	Set oDesAttr = oRow.Item(1)
	sMsg = sMsg & oDesAttr.ToString() & vbCrLf

Next

' Show message
MsgBox sMsg


End Sub

• Using .NET Access Provider from DOCMAN macro

Sub TestMac1()

Dim oFndConnection, oSelectCmd
Dim text As String

Set oFndConnection = CreateObject("Ifs.Fnd.AccessProvider.FndConnection")
'oFndConnection.CatchExceptions = False
oFndConnection.ConnectionString = "<server_url>"

Set oSelectCmd = CreateObject("Ifs.Fnd.AccessProvider.PLSQL.FndPLSQLSelectCommand")
oSelectCmd.Connection = oFndConnection
Set oBindVarDesc = CreateObject("Ifs.Fnd.AccessProvider.PLSQL.FndBindVariable")
Set oFndTextAttr = CreateObject("Ifs.Fnd.Data.FndTextAttribute")
oFndTextAttr.SetValue "A%"

Set oFndDataTable = CreateObject("Ifs.Fnd.Data.FndDataTable")

oBindVarDesc.Direction = 0
oBindVarDesc.Name = "DESC"
oBindVarDesc.Value = oFndTextAttr

oSelectCmd.CommandText = "SELECT * FROM FND_USER WHERE DESCRIPTION LIKE :DESC"

oSelectCmd.BindVariables.Add (oBindVarDesc)

Set oFndDataTable = oSelectCmd.ExecuteReader()


For Each Row In oFndDataTable.Rows
text = text & Row.Item(1) & vbCrLf
Next
MsgBox text, vbOKOnly


End Sub