Invoking Oracle 6i Reports from Oracle 6i Forms using RUN_PRODUCT The RUN_PRODUCT builtin is used by Oracle Forms to achieve

integration with the other Developer 2000/6i products. This article looks at the calling of Oracle Reports from Oracle Forms. There are two methods by which an Oracle Reports module may be accessed from an Oracle Forms form. These are: o Passing parameters from the calling application (Forms) to the called application (Reports). o Passing data records from the calling application (Forms) to the called application (Reports). This is more efficient since it reduces the need for the called product to execute a query against the database. The Shared Services Layer (SSL) will detect that data is being passed and replace the query in Oracle Reports with data from the Oracle Forms record cache (record group). The names and datatypes of the elements of the select list in the reports query must match with the query sourcing the record group. You cannot pass a record group to a child query in Reports. Data passing only works for master queries. Child queries in Reports have a line appended to the 'where' clause containing a reference to the bind from the master query. Reports would have no way of qualifying (applying the bind) to the data coming from the record group from Forms. The objective of this article will be to create a standard Dept/Emp Form from which a user may launch an Oracle Reports module via a button. The report will be based on the 'current department' displayed in the form. Creation of Oracle Forms objects, such as default blocks, relations and buttons is not discussed. The article concentrates on the Forms procedures required in the two scenarios described above. The first Oracle Forms procedure documents simply passing a bind parameter to the report, in this case the current department number from the dept block. The Reports query then binds this value in and produces the desired report. The second procedure looks at the passing of a lexical parameter, a string containing quotes. The third passes the 'where' clause of the last executed Forms query and finally, the last, looks at the method by which a record group is passed to Oracle Reports and actually replaces the Reports query. The RUN_PRODUCT builtin is adequately documented in the Oracle Forms reference manual and developers should refer to this for

further information. However, for reference there are two basic types of parameters for RUN_PRODUCT: o TEXT_PARAMETERs for passing bind and lexical parameters o DATA_PARAMETERs for associations between Oracle Forms record groups and Oracle Reports queries. 1. Passing Bind Parameters

Oracle Reports Component Create a report based on a single query. Q_emp: SELECT empno, sal FROM emp WHERE deptno = :departmentno ORDER BY sal Forms Component Create the Oracle Forms procedure pass_parameter, outlined below as a PL/SQL program unit and reference it from a when-button-pressed trigger. By default, the reports runtime parameter form will appear everytime the report is run. Pass_parameter will pass two parameters, one being the department number, the other, a parameter to suppress the display of the parameter form. The parameters are passed via a parameter list. Please refer to the Oracle Forms reference manual for further information about parameter lists.

PROCEDURE pass_parameter IS plid paramlist; the_param varchar2(15) := 'tmpdata'; BEGIN plid := get_parameter_list(the_param); /* check if 'tmpdata' exists */ IF NOT id_null(plid) THEN destroy_parameter_list(plid); END IF; /* if it does destroy it */

plid := create_parameter_list(the_param); /* create it afresh */ add_parameter(plid, 'departmentno', TEXT_PARAMETER,to_char(:dept.deptno)); /* associate the param in the form with the param in the report */ add_Parameter(plid, 'PARAMFORM', TEXT_PARAMETER, 'NO'); /* to suppress the parameter form displaying */ run_product(REPORTS, /* product name */ 'formrep.rdf', /* Oracle Reports module */ SYNCHRONOUS, /* communication mode */ RUNTIME, /* execution mode */ FILESYSTEM, /* location of the Reports module */ plid, /* handle to the parameter list */ null ); END; 2. Passing Lexical Parameters

Oracle Reports Component Create the lexical parameter MYWHERE and give it an initial value of: where 1=1 The aim of this example will be to pass from the Form a string: where loc like 'NEW YORK' Create a report based on a single query: Q_emp: SELECT empno, sal FROM emp &MYWHERE Forms Component

Create the Oracle Forms procedure pass_parameter, outlined below as a PL/SQL program unit and reference it from a when-button-pressed trigger. By default, the reports runtime parameter form will appear everytime the report is run. Pass_parameter will pass two parameters, one being the string for the where clause, the other, a parameter to suppress the display of the parameter form. The parameters are passed via a parameter list. PROCEDURE pass_parameter IS plid paramlist; the_param varchar2(15) := 'tmpdata'; clause varchar2(60); BEGIN plid := get_parameter_list(the_param); /* check if 'tmpdata' exists */ IF NOT id_null(plid) THEN destroy_parameter_list(plid); END IF; /* if it does destroy it */ plid := create_parameter_list(the_param); /* create it afresh */ clause := '"'||'where loc like '||''''||'NEW YORK'||''''||'"'; add_parameter(plid, 'MYWHERE', TEXT_PARAMETER, clause); /* associate the param in the form with the param in the report */ add_Parameter(plid, 'PARAMFORM', TEXT_PARAMETER, 'NO'); /* to suppress the parameter form displaying */ run_product(REPORTS, /* product name */ 'formrep.rdf', /* Oracle Reports module */ SYNCHRONOUS, /* communication mode */ RUNTIME, /* execution mode */ FILESYSTEM, /* location of the Reports module */ plid, /* handle to the parameter list */ null); END;

3. Passing the WHERE clause from the last query executed in Oracle Forms

Oracle Report component

Create the lexical parameter and query outlined below. Parameter: MYWHERE (initial value is: where 1=2) Q_emp: SELECT * FROM emp &MY_WHERE Oracle Forms component Create the Oracle Forms procedure pass_where, outlined below as a PL/SQL program unit and reference it from a when-button-pressed trigger. Pass_parameter will pass two parameters, one being the where clause obtained from system.last_query, the other, a parameter to suppress the display of the parameter form. The parameters are passed via a parameter list as in the example above. PROCEDURE pass_where IS plid paramlist; the_param varchar2(15) := 'tmpdata'; the_query varchar2(1000); /* store the query */ i number(4); /* will hold the position of WHERE */ BEGIN plid := get_parameter_list (the_param); if not id_null(plid) then destroy_parameter_list(the_param); end if; plid := create_parameter_list(the_param); the_query := :system.last_query ; /* find the position of the first instance of the word where */ i := instr(the_query,'WHERE'); /* check, if the query contains a WHERE clause, i=0 if not */ /* update the_query with just the contents of the where clause */ IF i > 0 THEN the_query := substr(the_query, i, length(the_query) - i + 1) ;

ELSE the_query := ' '; END IF; add_parameter(plid, 'MYWHERE', TEXT_PARAMETER, the_query); add_Parameter(plid, 'PARAMFORM', TEXT_PARAMETER, 'NO'); run_product(REPORTS, 'formrep.rdf', SYNCHRONOUS, RUNTIME, FILESYSTEM, plid, null ); end; 4. Passing a record group to replace a query defined in Reports

Oracle Reports Component Create a report based on a single query. No WHERE clause is included in order to show the true effect of passing the record group. The record group will contain a restricted list of employees. Q_emp: SELECT empno, sal FROM emp Oracle Forms Component Create the Oracle Forms procedure outlined below as a PL/SQL program units and reference it from a when-button-pressed trigger. PROCEDURE pass_record IS repquery varchar2(15) := 'q_emp'; /* name of the reports query */ queryrec varchar2(15) := 'recgroup'; /* name of the record group */ the_param varchar2(15) := 'tmpdata'; plid paramlist; rgid recordgroup; the_query varchar2(1000); /* store query in this */ return_cd number;

BEGIN the_query := 'SELECT empno, sal FROM emp WHERE deptno='|| to_char(:dept.deptno)||' ORDER BY sal'; /* create the query string */ rgid := find_group(queryrec); /* get handle to record group */ IF id_null(rgid) THEN rgid := create_group_from_query(queryrec, the_query); END IF; /* creating group from query, if it wasnt found */ delete_group_row(rgid,all_rows); /* empty the record group */ return_cd := populate_group_with_query(rgid,the_query); /* populate record group using the defined query */ plid := get_parameter_list(the_param); /* check if 'tmpdata' exists */ IF NOT id_null(plid) THEN destroy_parameter_list(plid); END IF; /* if yes - destroy it */ plid := create_parameter_list(the_param); /* create it and associate the record group with the query in Reports */ add_parameter(plid, repquery, DATA_PARAMETER, queryrec); add_Parameter(plid, 'PARAMFORM', TEXT_PARAMETER, 'NO'); /* to suppress the parameter form displaying */ run_product(REPORTS, /* product name */ 'formrep.rdf', /* Oracle Reports module */

SYNCHRONOUS, /* communication mode */ RUNTIME, /* execution mode */ FILESYSTEM, /* location of the Reports module */ plid, /* handle to the parameter list */ null); END;

REP-1340

The error REP-1340 is raised if the Forms procedure passes a query to Reports containing a mismatch between the columns passed and those expected by the report. This will happen if: o the number of columns is different. o the parameter list assembled in the form describes a column differently to that which is expected by the report i.e the datatype is different. Previewer Window Size

Calling Reports from Forms results in a small previewer window, requiring enlargement.