PeopleCode Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. What Are Classes In Peoplecode?

Answer :

• A class is the formal definition of an object and acts as a template from which an instance of an object is created at runtime.
• The class defines the properties of the object and the methods used to control the object’s behavior.
• PeopleSoft delivers predefined classes (such as Array, File, Field, SQL, and so on).
• You can create your own classes using the Application class. You can also extend the functionality of the existing classes using the Application class.

Question 2. What Are Setid’s And Table Set Sharing?

Answer :

• SetId is the highest level key in the PeopleSoft. Location, Department and Jobcode tables are control tables and setid’s control the control tables during the transaction.
• Table set sharing is a place where control tables are listed. It is accessed by business unit.

EX: If we have two locations Arizona and Ohio with setid’s xyz and abc,
suppose if we change Ohio’s setid to xyz then we can access all information related to Arizona/xyz like jobcodes etc.

Question 3. What Is Auto Update In Peoplesoft?

Answer :

This record field property is used to update the date field of particular record with the server’s current date and time whenever a user creates or updates a row. Even the user enter the data into that field, the data which the user enters will be updated by the system’s current date and time.

Question 4. Why Do Peoplesoft Often Use Views As Search Records?

Answer :

Search views are used for three main reasons.

• Adding criteria to the search dialogue page
• Providing row level security
• Implementing search page processing

Question 5. What Is Record Group? Which Records Can Be Included Into A Record Group?

Answer :

• Record group consists of records with similar functionality.
• To setup a record in record group we should enter a set control field value in record properties.

Question 6. What Are Metastrings Or Metasql?

Answer :

MetaStrings are special type of SQL expressions preceded by % sign.

MetaStrings are used in the following:

• SQLExec
• In application designer to build dynamic views
• With rowset object methods (select, fill)
• SQL objects
• Record class methods (Insert, Update)
• Application Engine
• Cobol
• Scroll buffer functions (ScrollSelect and its relatives).
• Some Record class methods (Insert, Update, and so on.

Question 7. What Is The Difference Between Sqlexec And Createsql?

Answer :

• SqlExec means it bypasses the component buffer and it is directly contacts database to retrieve data.
• But it retrieves the data row by row and not possible for bulk insert.
• But in the case of Create SQL we can able insert the data in bulk.

Question 8. What Is An Array In People Code?

Answer :

• An array is a collection of data storage locations, each of which holds the same type of data.
• The maximum depth of a PeopleCode array is 15 dimensions.
• Push and UnShift are the functions of the array used to add the elements into the array one from the end of the array and one from the beginning.
• Pop is a function of array used to select and delete an element from the end of the array.

Question 9. Hot To Store Output Of A Sql Query In A Variable Using Peoplecode?

Answer :

Using SQLExec Function

SQLExec (“SELECT EMPLID,NAME FROM PS_PERSONAL_DATA”, &Emplid, &Name);

Question 10. What Is Sub Page, Secondary Page In Peoplesoft?

Answer :

• A Sub Page is utilized where you want to display or capture similar information for various entities,
  for example, capturing an address, for a company or for a person, would need similar information like Street address,State county, Country,Pincode etc.. In those situations a sub page would be used, to design once and reuse at multiple places.

• A Secondary Page is used to display or capture secondary information about an entity.A secondary page could use various sub pages, but the reverse is not true.

Question 11. What Are The Different Ways We Can Set Up The Portal Security To Access Component In Portal?

Answer :

• Structure & content
• Menu import
• Register component

Question 12. What Are The Rules Used By The System To Determine Whether A User Is Authorized To Update An Object?

Answer :

• The user should have the permission to update the object. This is given by the Definition security.
• The group, which holds the object, should be added to the permission list of the user in update mode.

Question 13. How To Give Access To The Records That Are To Be Used In A Query?

Answer :

To give access to the records that are to be used in query, we have create a new query security tree and add the records which we want to give the access and then assign a access group to the tree. After that we have to add that query tree and query access group to the permission list.

Question 14. What Is The Use Of Primary Permission List In User Profile?

Answer :

Primary permission list is used for mass change and definition security purposes.

Question 15. How To Populate Data Into Grid In Online?

Answer :

&Rs.Select or Scrollselect()

Question 16. What Are The Built-functions Used To Control Translate Values Dynamically?

Answer :

Adddropdownitem() Deletedropdownitem()

Question 17. What Is Differed Processing And Its Advantages?

Answer :

Postpones some user actions to reduce the number of trips to the database so that increases the performance (in system edits, field edit, and field change).

Advantages:

• Reduces the network traffic.
• Increases the performance.

Question 18. Can You Save The Component Programmatically?

Answer :

Using Dosave and Dosavenow functions.

Question 19. What Is Difference Between Getrowset And Createrowset In People Code?

Answer :

• Getrowset –is used to get rowset for a record in the component buffer.
• Createrowset—is used to create rowset for a record which in database, and is also called a Standalone rowset

Question 20. What Is An Array In People Code? What Is Maximum Dimension Of An Array? Which Function Inserts Values Into An Array? What Is “pop”?

Answer :

• An array is a collection of data storage locations, each of which holds the same type of data.
• The maximum depth of a PeopleCode array is 15 dimensions.
• Push and unshift are the functions of the array used to add the elements into the array one from the end of the array and one from the beginning. Pop is a function of array used to select and delete an element from the end of the array.

Question 21. What Is Getlevel0()? What Is The Use Of %subrec And %selectall Functions?

Answer :

• Getlevel0()— used to get the rowset of the level0.
• %subrec    — is used only in Dynamic View SQL where it expands to the columns of a subrecord:
• %selectall–%SelectAll is shorthand for selecting all fields in the specified record, wrapping date/time fields with %DateOut, %TimeOut.

Question 22. What Is Difference Between Saveprechange And Savepostchange? Which Function Directly Interacts With The Database?

Answer :

• Saveprechange—last event that executes before updating the data from component buffer to the database.
• Savepostchange –fires after the updation of data in the database.
• SQLEXEC — function directly interacts with the database.

Question 23. What Is Difference Between Field Default And Row Init?

Answer :

• Field default specifies only the default value for a field when we are in Add mode.
• Row init fires only when a row of data coming from database to component buffer

Question 24. What Is Default Processing?

Answer :

• In default processing, any blank fields in the component are set to their default value.
• You can specify the default value either in the Record Field Properties, or in FieldDefault PeopleCode

Question 25. What Are Different Variables In People Code And Their Scope?

Answer :

• System variables and User defined variables.
• Scope
• Global
• Component
• Local

Question 26. When We Select A Component What Events Will Be Fired?

Answer :

• If default mode for component is search mode:  only searchinit will fired.
• If default mode for component is new mode :field default, field formula, rowinit, searchinit.

Question 27. What Databuffer Classes Are Available In People Code?

Answer :

• Rowset
• Row
• Record
• Field
• Array
• File
• Sql
• chart
• grid and so on.

Question 28. What Is The Difference Between Component Buffer And Data Buffer?

Answer :

Component buffer contains all the data of the active component. Data buffer contains the data other than the data in the component buffer (Data of other records)

Question 29. What Is The Purpose Of The Sqlexec Function? What Are Its Benefits And Draw Backs?

Answer :

 SQLEXEC is used to execute the sql statements(select,insert,update,delete). We can get only one row at a time.

Question 30. Is There Any Way By Which You Can Find Out Whether The User Is In Add Mode Or Update Mode?

Answer :

• %mode
  Returns A—for Add mode.
  Returns U — for Update mode

Question 31. In Which Events Error & Warning Are Used Most Extensively?

Answer :

• Field edit
• Save edit
• Search save
• row delete
• row insert

Question 32. What Are Think Time Functions?

Answer :

Think-time functions suspend processing either until the user has taken some action (such as clicking a button in a message box), or until an external process has run to completion.

Question 33. Differentiate Field Edit And Save Edit?

Answer :

In Field edit for each field change, a transition to the application server to the database is taken place. In Saveedit for all the fields , only one transition to the application server to the Database is taken place.

Question 34. What Is Pia And What Are Its Components?

Answer :

It is n-tier architecture. We have client, web server, application server and Database server. We have jolt and tuxedo. We have WSL, WSH, JSL, JSH, QUEUES and services. In database server we have system tables, peopletools tables and application tables.

Question 35. How Can A Component Have More Than One Search Record? Give A Situation?

Answer :

You might want to reuse the same component multiple times with different search records. You can accomplish this by overriding the component search record at run-time when the component is opened from a menu item without creating separate copies of the component.

The component override is temporary, and occurs only when the component is opened from the menu item in which the override is set. It does not change the component definition.

Question 36. What Is An Expert Entry?

Answer :

Expert entry enables a user to change from interactive to deferred mode at runtime for appropriate transactions

Question 37. Can You Hide A Primary Page In A Component? Reason?

Answer :

No we can not hide the primary page of a component. If the component had only one page then by making this page also invisible we wont have any component existing so we are not allowed to hide the primary page.

Question 38. Can You Place Sub Page Into Grid? If Yes How?

Answer :

Yes we can insert subpage using insert subpage. After insert subpage into main page, drag the subpage into the grid. When we save the page we are successfully able to save the page showing that we can insert a subpage into a grid.

Question 39. What Conditions Are Required To Establish Parent Child Relationship Between Two Records?what Are The Advantages With That?

Answer :

Conditions are:

• The child record should have all the key fields of parent record and at least one more key field other than the key fields of parent record.
• We should mention the parent record in the record properties of child record.
• We can not go for more than three levels of parent/child relationships.

Advantages are:

• To have referential integrity.
• No need to enter information again and again

Question 40. What Are Table Edits?

Answer :

We have prompt table edit, yes/no table edit, translate table edit as the table edits.

Question 41. In Case Of Record Level Audit What Is The Structure Of Table?

Answer :

The structure of the table in record level audit is: AUDIT_OPRID, AUDIT_STAMP, AUDIT_ACTN, AUDIT_RECNAME and can add fields from record.

Question 42. What Types Of Audits Are Supported By People Soft?

Answer :

We have field level audit and record level audit.

Question 43. Which Effective Dated Rows Can Be Retrieved In Update/display Mode, Update/display All And Correction Mode?

Answer :

• Update/display: can view current and future rows. Can update only future rows.
• Update/display all: can view history, current and future rows. Can update only future rows.
• Correction: can view and update history, current and future rows.

Question 44. What Is The Difference Between Key And Alternate Search Key?

Answer :

• KEY-It is the primary key of the record. Can be used as search key or need not be.
• Alternate search key-it is used for searching purposes.