Defining and Managing Oracle BAM Data Objects

Introduction to Oracle BAM Data Objects

Data objects are tables that store raw data in the database. Each data object has a specific layout which can be a combination of data fields, lookup fields, and calculated fields. The data objects are used to create reports in Oracle BAM Active Studio, active data visualization components in ADF applications, among other uses. Data objects can also be accessed and updated by Oracle BAM alerts.

Defining Data Objects

Objects are defined using Oracle BAM Architect.

How to Define a Data Object

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.

2. Click Create Data Object.

3. Enter a name for the data object like “Sample_DO”

4. Enter the path to the location in the folder tree in which to store the data object. Click Browse to use the Select a Folder dialog. Select Sample folder then click OK.

5. Optionally, enter a description of the data object.

6. If this data object is loaded from an External Data Source (EDS) select the External Data Source checkbox(see creating Data Object using EDS)

• Select an External Data Source from the list.(creating External Data source)
• Select the External Table Name.

Note: Only the tables that belong to the user are shown when a data object is created on an EDS.

Note: Creating a data object with multiple time stamp fields on an EDS is not supported.

7. Add columns to the data object using the Add a field or add one or more lookup fields’ option.

8. Add fields like shown in below diagram use Add a field link.

9. Click Create Data Object when you are finished adding columns or lookup columns.

How to Add Columns to a Data Object

1. In a Data Object you are creating or editing, click Add a field.

2. Specify the column name, data type, maximum size (scale for decimal columns), whether it is null able, whether it is public, and tip text.

Note an External Data Source you must also supply the External field name.

Data Types:

1. String: Text columns containing a sequence of characters.
2. Integer: Numeric columns containing whole numbers
3. Float: Double-precision floating point numbers.
4. Decimal: Numbers including decimal points
5. Boolean: Boolean columns with true or false values.
6. Auto-incrementing integer: Automatically incremented integer column.
7. DateTime: Dates and times combined as a real number.
8. Timestamp: Date time stamp generated to milliseconds.

Note:  A Data Object can contain only one time stamp field.

9. Calculated: Calculated columns are generated by an expression and saved as another data type.

Keep adding columns using add a field and Add one or more lookup fields until all the required columns are listed.

3. Click Remove to remove a column in the data object (if needed).
4. Click Save changes.

How to Add Lookup Columns to a Data Object

You can add lookup columns to a data object. This performs lookups on key columns in a specified data object to return columns to the current data object. You can match multiple columns and return multiple lookup columns.

To add a lookup column to a data object:

1. In a data object you are creating or editing, click Add one or more lookup fields.

2. The Define Lookup Field dialog opens.

3. Click Select the data object to use for the lookup, Choose Data Object –Webpage Dialog shown select Data Object and click ok.

2. Select the lookup columns from the data object. You can select one or more columns by holding down the Shift or Control key when selecting. Selecting multiple columns creates multiple lookup columns in the data object. These are the columns you want to return.
3. Select the column to match from the lookup data object.
4. Select the column to match from the current data object. You must have previously created other columns in this data object so that you have a column to select.
5. Click Add.

6. The matched column names are displayed in the list. You can click Remove to remove any matched pairs you create.
7. You can repeat steps 4 through 6 to create multiple matched columns. This is also known as a composite key.
8. Click OK to save your changes and close the dialog.

The new lookup columns are added to the data object. Click Modify Lookup Field in Layout > Edit Layout page to make changes to a lookup column. Multiple selection of return columns is possible when defining a new lookup but not when modifying an existing one.

You can click Remove to remove any lookups you create.

How to Add Calculated Columns to a Data Object

When creating calculated columns in a data object you can use operators and expression functions, combined with column names, to produce a new column.

1. Open BAM_BPEL_DO from BAM Architect.

2. From right side frame click layout

3. It will show the layout of the BAM_BPEL_DO, select Edit Layout.

4. This will show the content in edit mode , Add a now field  to calculate Total Price

For that  new field name as Total Price select type as  Calculated  from Edit formula link provide formula for calculating (price* quantity).

  

5. Click Ok for Calculated Column Editor the Save Changes of Data Objects.

6. After done this click on the content, here you’re able to see the Calculated filed as Total Price at last column of Data Object with values.

7. Same way you can use the fallowing operator in Different calculations.  

+(plus sign)→Add

- (minus sign)→Subtract

* (asterisk)→Multiply

/ (slash)→Divide

% (percent sign)→Modulus

() (parentheses)→Parentheses determine the order of operations

&& (double ampersand)→Logical AND

!= (exclamation point and equal sign)→Logical NOT

|| (double pipe)→Logical OR

== (double equal sign)→Equality

= (equal sign)→Assignment

How to Add Time Stamp Columns to a Data Object

You can create a date time stamp column generated to milliseconds by selecting the Timestamp data type. This column in the data object must be empty when the data object is populated by the Oracle BAM ADC so that the time stamp data can be created.

Creating Permissions on Data Objects

You can add permissions for users and groups on data objects. When users have at least a read permissions on a data object they can choose the data object when creating reports.

How to Create Permissions on a Data Object

To add permissions on a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.

2. Select the BAM_Composite_DO  data object

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Click Permissions.

4. Click Edit Permissions.

5. Click the Restrict access to Data Object to certain users or groups checkbox.

6. The list of users and groups and permissions is displayed.

7. You can choose to display the following by choosing an option:
• Show all users and groups
• Show only users and groups with permissions
• Show users only
• Show groups only
8. You can set permissions for the entire list by clicking the buttons at the top of the list.

The permissions are Read, Update, and Delete. You can set permissions for individual users or groups in the list by clicking the checkbox in the permission column that is next to the user or group name.

Note: Delete and Update permissions are not effective unless a user is also granted the Read permission.

Members of the Administrator role have all permissions to all data objects, and their permissions cannot be edited.

9. After indicating the permissions with selected checkboxes, click Save changes.

A message is displayed to confirm that your changes are saved.

10. Click Continue to display the actions for the data object.

How to Add a Group of Users

Users assigned to the Administrator role have access to all data objects. The Administrator role overrides the data object permissions.

To add a group to the list:

1. As same as Data object permissions as you done in above.

2. Click Add a group to the list in permissions of Data Object.

3. Type the Windows group name in the field. The group must previously exist as a domain group.

4. Click OK.

The group is added to the list.

5. Provide the permissions to Group and the click Save Changes to save permissions on the Data Object.    

How to Copy Permissions from Other Data Objects

You can copy the permissions from another data object and then make additional changes to the permissions before saving.

In Oracle BAM Architect for a data object, click Permissions and then click Copy from. Select the data object that contains the permissions to copy and click OK. You can edit the copied permissions and click Save changes.

To copy permissions from another data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.

2. Click the data object to add a security filter to.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Click Permissions.

4. Click Copy from.

The Choose Data Object dialog opens.

5. Select the data object that contains the permissions to copy and click OK.
6. If the data object previously had no permissions assigned, select the Restrict access to Data Object checkbox.

7. You can edit the copied permissions or add a group to the list.

8. Click Save changes.

Viewing Existing Data Objects

This section describes how to view information about data objects.

How to View Data Object General Information

The general information of a data object displays the owner, when it was created, when it was last modified, and the row count.

To view the general information of a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.

2. From Folders select Samples  and select BAM_Compposite_DO Data Object from Data Objects

3. This will show  general information is displayed in the right frame

4. The general information is displayed in the right frame. It contains the following information:

• Created. Date and time the data object was created.
• Last modified. Date and time the data object was last modified.
• Row count. Number of rows of data in the data object.
• Location. Location of the data object.
• Type. Type of the data object.
• Data Object ID. The ID used to identify the data object. This is based on the name although the ID is used throughout the system so that you can edit the name without affecting any dependencies.

Note: If the row count is over 500,000 rows, an approximate row count is displayed in the General information for increased performance purposes. The approximate row count is accurate within 5-10% of the actual count. If you want to view an exact row count instead of the

How to View Data Object Layouts

The layout describes the columns in a data object. The columns are described by name, column ID, data type, maximum length allowed, scale, nullable, public, calculated, text tip, and lookup.

To view the layout of a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.

2. From Folders select Samples  and select BAM_Compposite_DO Data Object from Data Objects

3. The general information is displayed in the right frame.

4. Click Layout

5. The layout information is displayed in the right frame. It contains the following information:

• Field name. Name of the column.
• Field ID. Generated by the system.

• External name. External column name from the External Data Source (only appears in data objects based on External Data Sources).
• Field type. Data type of the column.
• Max length. Maximum number of characters allowed in column value.
• Scale. Number of digits on the right side of the decimal point.
• Nullable. Whether the data type can contain null values.
• Public. This setting determines if the column is available in Oracle BAM Active Studio to use in a report. If the box is unchecked, the column does not appear in Oracle BAM Active Studio. This is useful for including columns for calculations in data objects that should not appear in reports.
• Lookup. Displays specifics of a lookup column.
• Calculated. Displays the expression of a calculated column.
• Tip Text. Helpful information about the column.

How to View Data Object Contents

You can view the rows of data stored in a data object by viewing the data object contents. You can also edit the contents of the data object.

To view the contents of a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. From Folders select Samples and select BAM_Compposite_DO Data Object from Data Objects.
3. The general information is displayed in the right frame.
4. Click Contents.

5. The first 100 rows of the data object display in the right frame.

Oracle BAM Architect displays the total number of rows in the data object and the number of rows that are available for viewing. For better server performance, the number of rows shown in Oracle BAM Architect is limited by configuration properties.

When internal data objects are displayed in No row number mode (default), you can view all of the records in the data object using the navigation tools.

6. Click Next, Previous, First, and last to go to other sets of rows.

Rows are listed with a Row ID column. Displaying only Row ID provides faster paging for large data objects. Row IDs are assigned one time in each row and maintain a continuous row count when you clear and reload a data object.

You can click Show row numbers to display an additional column containing a current row count starting

7. Click No row numbers to hide the row count column again.

8. Click Refresh to get the latest available contents.

Using Data Object Folders

You can organize data objects by creating folders and subfolders for them. When you create a folder for data objects, you can assign permissions by associating users and actions with the folder.

How to Create Folders

You can create new folders for organizing data objects. Then you can move or create data objects into separate folders for different purposes or users. After creating folders, you can set folder permissions to limit which users can view the data objects it contains.

To create a new folder:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list. The current data object folders display in a tree hierarchy.

2. Click Create subfolder. A field for naming the new folder is displayed.

3. Enter a name for the folder and click Create folder.
4. The folder is created as a subfolder under the Data Objects folder and a message is displayed confirming that the new folder was created
5. Click Continue to view the folder.

6. Click Continue to view the folder.

How to Open Folders

To open a folder

1. Expand the tree of folders by clicking the + (plus sign) next to the Data Objects folder.
2. The System subfolders contain data objects for running Oracle Business Activity Monitoring.

3. Click the link next to a folder to open it.

4. The folder is opened, and the data objects in the folder are shown in the list underneath the folder tree. The general properties for the folder display in the right frame and the following links apply to the current folder:

View. Displays the general properties of this folder such as name, date created date last modified, user who last modified it. View is selected when you first click a folder.

Create subfolder. Creates another folder within the selected folder.

Delete. Removes the selected folder and all the data objects it contains.

Rename. Changes the folder name.

Move. Moves this folder to a new location, for example, as a subfolder under another folder.

Permissions. Sets permissions on this folder.

Create Data Object. Creates a data object in this folder.

How to Set Folder Permissions

When you create a folder, you can set permissions on it so that other users can access the data objects contained in the folder.

To set permissions on a folder:

1. In the Data Objects folder, select the folder to change permissions on.

2. Click Permissions.

3. Click Edit permissions.

4. Select the Restrict access to Data Object to certain users or groups checkbox.

The list of users and groups and permissions is displayed.

5. You can choose to display the following by selecting an option:
• Show all users and groups
• Show only users and groups with permissions
• Show users only
• Show groups only
6. You can set permissions for the entire list by clicking the column headers at the top of the list.

The permissions are Read, Update, and Delete. You can set permissions for individual users or groups in the list by selecting the checkbox in the permission column that is next to the user or group name.

Note: Delete and Update permissions are not effective unless a user is also granted the Read permission.

7. After indicating the permissions with selected checkboxes, click save changes.

A message is displayed to confirm that your changes are saved.

8. Click Continue to display the actions for the data object.

To add a group to the list:

1. Click the Add a group to the list link.

2. Type the Windows group name in the field. The group must previously exist as a domain group.

3. Click OK. The group is added to the list.

How to Move Folders

To move a folder:

1. Select the folder to move.

2. Click Move.

3. Click Browse to select the new location for the folder.

4. Click OK to close the dialog.
5. Click Move folder.

The folder is moved.

6. Click Continue.
7. Now navigate to Folder Samples/Monitor Express folder you can able to see the sample folder in.

How to Rename Folders

To rename a folder:

1. Select the folder to rename.
2. Click Rename.
3. Enter a new name and click Rename folder.

The folder is renamed. You must assign unique folder names within a containing folder.

4. Click Continue.

How to Delete Folders

When you delete a folder, you also delete all of the data objects in the folder.

To delete a folder:

1. Select the folder to delete.
2. Click Delete. A message is displayed to confirm deletion of the folder and all of its contents.
3. Click OK. The folder is deleted.
4. Click Continue.

Renaming and Moving Data Objects

You can rename and move a data object without editing or clearing the data object. If you only want to change the data object name or description, use the Rename option.

How to Rename a Data Object

To rename a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to rename.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Rename/Move.
4. Enter the new name, tip text, and description for the data object.
5. Click Save changes.

How to Move a Data Object

To move a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the list.
2. Select the data object to rename.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Rename/Move.
4. Click Browse to enter the new location for the data object.
5. Click Save changes.

Creating Security Filters

You can add security filters to data objects so that only specific users can view specific rows in the data object. This can be useful when working with data objects that contain sensitive or confidential information that is not intended for all report designers or report viewers.

Security filters perform a lookup using another data object, referred to as a security data object, containing user names or group names. Before you can add a security filter, you must create a security data object containing the user names or group names and the value in the column to allow for each user name or each group name. Security data objects cannot contain null values.

If the user has a view open, and you change that user's security filter, it does not affect the currently open view. If the user reopens that view, it has the new security filter settings applied. Security filter settings are used to construct the query behind the view at view construction time, so changes to a security filter are not seen by previously created views.

How to Create a Security Filter

To add a security filter to a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2.  Select the data object to add a security filter to.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Security Filters.

If the data object includes security filters, the filter name is displayed and you can expand and view the information.

4.    Click Add filter.The fields for defining the security filter display.
5. Enter the following information:

• Name of this Security Filter. Type a name for this filter.
• Security Data Object. Select the name of the security data object containing the mapped columns.
• Type of identification. Select either By user or By group from the dropdown list. The security data object must include either domain or local users or groups mapped to values in the identification column.
• Identification column in Security Data Object. Select the name of the column for containing user names or group names.
• Match column in Security Data Object. Select the column to match in the security data object.
• Match column in this Data Object. Select the name of the column to match in this data object.

   6. Click Add

  7.   Select the OR or AND condition when multiple security filters are created on a       data object. Select the condition to apply

   By default the security filters are applied with an OR condition, meaning that if there is a match in one security data object, then the user or group identified can access the data object. The AND condition requires that the user or group be identified in all of the security data objects to access the data object protected by the filters.

How to Copy Security Filters from Other Data Objects

You can copy security filters from another data object and apply them to the data object you are editing.

To copy security filters from another data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to add a security filter to.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Security Filters.

If the data object includes security filters, the filter name is displayed and you can expand and view the information.

4. Click Copy from.

The Choose Data Object dialog opens.

5. Select the data object that contains the security filters to copy and click OK.
6. You can make changes to the security filters by viewing the filter details and clicking Edit.
7. Click Save.

Creating Dimensions

In Oracle BAM Architect, you can add dimensions to data objects to define drill paths for charts in Oracle BAM Active Studio. Dimensions contain columns in a hierarchy. When a hierarchy is selected in chart, the end user can drill down and up the hierarchy of information. When a user drills down in a chart, they can view data at more and more detailed levels.

Hierarchies are an attribute of a dimension in a data object. Multiple dimensions can be created in each data object. Each column in a data object can belong to one dimension only. You can create and edit multiple, independent hierarchies.

To use hierarchies as drill paths in charts, the report designer must select the hierarchy to use as the drill path. To create a dimension, you must select multiple columns to save as a dimension. Then you organize the columns into a hierarchy.

How to Create a Dimension

To add a dimension and hierarchy:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to add a dimension to.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Dimensions.
4. Click Add a new dimension.
5. Enter a dimension name.

6. Enter a description for the dimension. A description is required for drilling configuration.
7. Select the column names to include in the dimension. An example is Sales, Category, Brand, and Description.

The column names are moved from the Data Objects Fields list to the Dimension Fields list to show that they are selected.

8. Click Save.
9. Click Continue.

The new dimension is listed. You must still define a hierarchy for the columns.

10. Click Add new hierarchy.
11. Enter a hierarchy name.
12. Enter a description for the hierarchy.
13. Select the column names to define as attributes for the dimension. An example is Sales remains in the Dimension Field list, and you click Category, Brand, and Description to arrange them in a general to more specific order. The order that you click the columns is the order that they are listed in the Hierarchy Field list. Arrange the more general grouping column at the top of the Hierarchy Fields list and the most granular column at the bottom of the Hierarchy Fields list.
14. Click Save.
15. Click Continue.

The new hierarchy is listed. You can edit or remove hierarchies and dimensions by clicking the links. You can also continue defining multiple hierarchies for the dimension or add new dimensions to the data object.

How to Create a Time Dimension

If your dimension contains a time date data type column, you can select the time levels to include in the hierarchy.

To select time levels:

1. In a dimension containing a time date data type column, add a hierarchy.
2. Select the time date data type column. If you are editing existing time levels, click Edit Time Levels.

The Time Levels Definition dialog opens.

3. Click the levels to include in the hierarchy. The levels include:

• Year. Year in a four digit number.
• Quarter. Quarter of four quarters starting with quarter one representing January, February, March.
• Month. Months one through 12, starting with January.
• Week of the Year. Numbers for each week starting with January 1st.
• Day of the Year. Numbers for each day of the year starting with January 1st.
• Day of the Month. Numbers for each day of the month.
• Day of the Week. Numbers for each day of the week, starting from Sunday to Saturday.
• Hour. Numbers from one to twenty four.
• Minute. Numbers from one to 60.
• Second. Numbers from one to 60.
• Click OK to close the dialog.

Renaming and Moving Data Objects

You can rename and move a data object without editing or clearing the data object. If you only want to change the data object name or description, use the Rename option.

How to Rename a Data Object

To rename a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to rename.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Rename/Move.
4. Enter the new name, tip text, and description for the data object.
5. Click Save changes.

How to Move a Data Object

To move a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the list.
2. Select the data object to rename.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Select Rename/Move.
4. Click Browse to enter the new location for the data object.
5. Click Save changes.

Creating Indexes

Indexes improve performance for large data objects containing many rows. Without any indexes, accessing data requires scanning all rows in a data object. Scans are inefficient for very large data objects. Indexes can help find rows with a specified value in a column.

If the data object has an index for the columns requested, the information is found without having to look at all the data. Indexes are most useful for locating rows by values in columns, aggregating data, and sorting data.

How to Create an Index

You can add indexes to data objects by selecting columns to be indexed as you are creating a data object.

To add an index:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to add an index to.
3. Select Indexes.
4. Click Add Index.

The Add Index dialog opens.

5. Enter a Name and Description for the index
6. Add as many columns as needed to create an index for the table.

Click a column in the list on the right to remove the column from the index.

7. Click OK.

Clearing Data Objects

Clearing a data object removes the current contents without deleting the data object from the Oracle BAM ADC.

How to Clear a Data Object

To clear a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Select the data object to clear.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Click Clear.

Deleting Data Objects

When deleting data objects, you must remove referrals to the data object from reports and alerts that are using it. If the data object is in use by an active alert or report, it cannot be deleted in Oracle BAM Architect.

How to Delete a Data Object

To delete a data object:

1. Select Data Objects from the Oracle BAM Architect function list.
2. Click the data object to delete.

The general information for the data object is displayed in the right frame.

3. Click Delete.