Denise Luther
Senior Consultant, Technical Services

You might be interested in R7 and
Integrator/Enterprise Integrator if:
• You would like to (or have to-SOX) improve the security of your system
• You would like to integrate multiple systems on multiple platforms into a single user interface
• You want a more proactive system- tell me what I need to know!
• Your users like Microsoft Desktop applications, and you would like to integrate with them
• You would like to use the web to communicate with customers, partners, and employees
• You need the ability to enhance your system as your business needs change-and maintain an upgrade path

Auto Content Security-What Rows
• Special attribute classes are assigned
• On-the-fly security subsets based on values assigned to a user
• Global across all objects
• User can be setup to view all warehouse data but only allowed to maintain data in certain warehouses

We want to restrict this user to warehouse 1 only.

They can still subset from here.
i.e., all the records this user is authorized to.
Only warehouse 1 records appear in the list

Deployment Profiles
• Object/field assumes everything authorized
• Deployment Profile assumes nothing authorized
UI
Deployment
Profile
Object security
Database
What the user chooses to see
What is presented to the user
What user is authorized to
All objects and attributes

• Fields

Security for: Powerlink

…and Security for: Netlink

… and Security for: System-Link

• Security Modeling and Planning
• Advanced Analysis and testing
• Routine Auditing and reporting

Alerts – Integrator Subscriptions
• Via e-mail, phone or system message
• Can also run a program
PO P012345 for $11,283.19 needs approval
ERP

Define the event
• Choose the object
• Define the type of maintenance

Define the event
• Like a subset
• Some new features
– Before
– After
– Difference
– %Difference

Flexible notification
• Notify users
• Email or Cell phone
• Notify a program
• RPG, XML

Notify via e-mail
Substitute Email from vendor object as To address

Notify via cell phone

Data Sources
•
Other Platforms
•
Files from another iseries
•
Files in another XA environment

Data Sources - Drivers
You must acquire drivers from the database provider
Place them in /MAPICS/driverlib
IFS directory where MAPICS is installed
They will work for all environments
Drivers are no-charge and can be downloaded from the web

Data Sources - Drivers iSeries – already installed
Access – already installed
SQL Server – SQL Server Driver for JDBC
Oracle – need 9i driver
PostgreSQL – need driver for JDBC3 Platform

Data Sources – SQL Drivers

Data Sources
[dsh] : [port]
Database
Database owner
[user ID]
[Password]

Data Sources

Display SQL Server
•
Views, subsets, sorts
•
Full navigation
•
Navigation history
• Workbenches
• Code files
• Graph cards
•
Compound cards
•
Attachments
•
Column functions

Navigate to SQL Server table

Navigate to SQL Server table
•
Navigate from iSeries objects to external objects
•
Native menus automatically reflect new choices
•
Consistent UI across platforms
•
Acts like one system to the user

See outside data from within an object
• Show data in context
•
Cards can be external data sources
• Drill-down capability across platforms

5-1. Reduce Development Costs and Schedules
User Exit Code Generation

No downloads

More control

More Exits

Consistency

Exported with object

Enterprise Integrator extends these advantages to your custom objects
(no more triggers)
Compile program
Display Compile listing
Generate program

User Exit Source

Deliver Easy-to-use Applications
Mass Program Actions

Downloadable sample code and instructions are provided

Pass parameters including dynamic token

Program will process all selected records or records within the current subset

Use when standard mass change will not handle your requirements

Improved management for environments
Import/Export individual objects

Use subsets or selected records to limit export

Improved management for environments
Integrator Projects and object maintenance history

Create Projects to track development activity

Each change is logged to a project

View history of project changes

• Better way to do Program actions
– Requires EI
– Transactions Card in Integrator
– Parameters defined as attributes
• Edits
• Default generation
• User Exits

Object Transactions

Object Transactions
• Attribute (Number of copies) is required entry
• User Exit calls the print program

• Program to program interface between XA and other systems.
– Inquiry/Maintenance
– Replacement for offline load
• XML
– Other ERP systems
– Other platforms
• Part of Power Architecture
– CSM, PM, OBPM, EPDM, MM…
– CO’s, PO’s, MO’s, Engineering…
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•
Any object available in Power-Link can be loaded
•
Only certain files are available for offline load
•
System-Link has a standard interface
•
Every application is a different flavor of offline load
•
Secondary objects can be loaded
•
Extra fields defined by user
•
Non-XA Primary objects can be loaded
•
Add, Change and Delete are supported
•
Power-Link edits are enforced
•
Including user defined edits
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System-Link handles:
Database files and fields
Logical fields
Business rules
Editing
Security
You also get Release Transparency
No worries about release upgrades
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• System-Link User Guide – Release 7.7
– Download from Infor website
• Documentation
– Product Manuals
» Miscellaneous
» SYSL
• System-Link Installation Instructions R7
• Configuring WAS 5.0 Express on W2K for
System-Link R7 (SH14777) Servlet information
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• Use Link Manager to manage System-Link processes
By environment
By machine
Distribute server load across resources
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• System-Link processes must be started
• Autostart System-Link
– Options at environment level
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• System-Link Simulator
– Use for testing/troubleshooting
• To web server via XML
– Web pages – Java/HTML
• Directly to System-Link via LPI
– RPG/CL programs
• Web Services
– Anything Microsoft-enabled
– Requires Enterprise Integrator
• IBM’s WebSphere MQ
– Global enterprises
– Requires IBM products
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URL points to your host server
2-44

• Display PO’s for vendor 100 – Restricted List, navigate from Vendor object
•
Navigation/System-Link request
•
Not required to create System-Link requests but it makes the job easy
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2-46

2-47

2-48

2-49

2-50

System-Link Update

Requesting System-Link from Card File

Copying a Create System-Link Command

• WRKODBCJOB command will allow you to manage System-Link jobs.
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• IP address of auxiliary server will be System-
Link sessions
• View job log (Option 10) for troubleshooting
• Errors from associated Integrator user exits will be in QSYSOPR message queue
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• RPG program you call from anywhere
– PSVPSR1R in AMALIBx
• Parameters for the XML to send and receive
– Inquiry – Request rows (view) or details (cards)
– Receive the results
– Maintenance – Create records, Update an attribute
– Receive confirmation
– Send is the Request - Receive is the Response
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LPI Sample
• Illustrate one way of using System-Link with your
RPG programs
– Send a request
– Parse the response
• Available as a download
– SH14873
• Create a report of PO’s for a vendor
• Use RPG to…
– Send XML request to LPI
– Receive and parse XML response from LPI
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• Sample parsing program is written generically
– Can be used for just about any object (use it for yours)
– V5R4 New XML functions for parsing
%XML, XML-INTO, %HANDLER, XML-SAX
• Sample print program calls the parser field-byfield
– You can use this technique in your programs
– There are other techniques
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•
Login information used to construct Login tag
•
System-Link request to retrieve order lines
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• User actions on the web page are used to construct a System-
Link request to create records in a custom transaction file.
• Custom transaction file is a business object with Integrator user exits.
• User exits are used to perform work on the host (update flags, dates, secondary business object)
• Integrator user exits execute if object is being maintained via
PowerLink, System-Link or NetLink.
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System-Link Create Attachment
Web portal can set attachments for document management

Custom objects can be used with System-Link
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System-Link replaces Off-Line Load
• Create the System-Link requests from an interface file
– Separates the XML logic from the load function
• XML logic can be adjusted without changing load program(s)
– Can be used to track XML requests
• Who, what, when created the request?
• When was the request processed?
• Were there any errors?
– Errors can easily be fixed in the file
• Changing XML would be problematic
– Group requests
• Process various types of objects together
• Processing can take place in batch mode as unattached job
• Sequence objects are processed in is important

Sample System-Link Interface File
File name . . . SYSLNKCD Customer Order Line Item - Interface
Format name . . SYSLNKCDR0 Key . . . Sequential
Field Field Text Type
Length
AENB Company number S 2,0
DCCD Internal header type A 1
CVNB Quote/order number A 7
KTNB User entered sequence no. A 7
ACQT Order qty In order U/M P 10,3
AITX Item number A 15
CQCD U/M A 2
A3CD Warehouse A 3
SYST System-link Status A 1
TKEN Token used to uniquely identify record A 15
ACDA Action Code A 1
NWCD Group ID A 10
CRDT Create date P 7,0
CRTM Create time P 6,0
CRUS Created by user A 10
CRPG Create program A 10
CHDT Change date P 7,0
CHTM Change time P 6,0

XML Error Messages
• Errors are returned in XML format in the Response
– Error needs to be parsed out
• Can be found by scanning for:
< Message type=“error”><Text><![CDATA[
• Multiple messages can occur for one request
• In V5R4 native RPG commands aid XML parsing
– %XML, XML-INTO, %HANDLER, XML-SAX
• How are errors managed?
– How are they presented, organized, resolved?
• Watch for external errors
– These do not show up in response

Groups with Errors
• In this model requests are grouped by group ID
Message or e-mail could be sent to user

Errors in the Group
• On overview is used to show multiple record types

System-Link Transaction Detail
• Error(s) returned from
System-
Link
• Error messages are formatted as text
• Linked to transaction by token

System-Link Transaction Detail
• XML that was passed to System-
Link
• See if what you thought you sent is what was sent
• Not meant for user

• Fields passed to
System-
Link
• Errors can be fixed here
• Error transactions can be processed again
System-Link Transaction Detail

System-Link Transaction Detail
• Who initiated this transaction
• When was it initiated
• What program created the transaction
• When was the transaction processed

Web Services Example
MS Excel Worksheet containing pricing data
A button on the worksheet sends data to an XA
Pricebook
XA edits the data
Accepts some
Rejects some
Error messages are returned

Prerequisites
On the server…
•Enterprise Integrator
•System-Link
On the client…
•Microsoft Office
•Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0

Deployment Profile
Generate Web service Catalog

Steps in Excel
•
Search for web services
– Tools => Macros => Visual Basic Editor => Web
Service References
–
Enter the URL from the deployment profile
• Add two services
– PriceBookBasePriceSvc
– SystemOperations
•
Import sample code (File => Import File)
–
ExamplesCode.bas
–
MAPICSLogonPrompt.frm

Price Book version before

Price book version after
Host edits, subscriptions…everything works