Ø Interfaces are used to integrate external systems and data conversion in Oracle Applications.
Ø These can be used to either transfer data from Oracle Applications to a flat file or data from legacy system to Oracle Applications.
Ø Used extensively at the time of data conversion from legacy/old systems to a fresh implementation of Oracle Applications.
Ø Used also at regular intervals when data transfer is from live systems if the system is not represented in Oracle Applications implementation.
TYPES OF INTERFACES
Ø Two major types of Interfaces
- Inbound: To transfer data from external systems to Oracle Applications.
- Outbound: To transfer data from Oracle Applications to external systems.
Ø Two other distinctions of Interfaces
- Open Interface: If interface logic is provided by Oracle Applications, it is called an Open Interface.
- Custom Interface: If the interface logic needs to be developed by the implementation team it is called Custom Interface.
OPEN INTERFACE LOGIC
Ø The data from source application is loaded into a database table (called Interface Table).
Ø The provided program logic validates the records.
Ø Any errors are transferred into another table (called Error Table).
Ø The correct records are then transferred through a process into destination application table.
INTERFACE COMPONENTS
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Ø Source Application
- You obtain data from a source application to pass on to a destination application for further processing and/or storage.
Ø Source Data Issues
- Type of file, Size, Frequency of upload, Record length (variable or fixed), Delimiter, Data type of each field, Any unwanted data, Naming convention, Unique ness of file, Location of file and access on the file.
Ø Destination Application
- You send data to destination application so that the application can perform further processing and/or storage.
Ø Interface Table
- For inbound interfaces, the interface table is the intermediary table where the data temporarily resides until it is validated and processed into the destination application.
Ø Identifier Columns
- Uniquely identify rows in the interface table and provide foreign key reference to both the source and destination applications.
Ø Control Columns
- Control columns track the status of each row in the interface table, as it is inserted, validated, rejected, processed, and ultimately deleted.
- WHO Columns are also called control columns.
Ø Data Columns
- Stores the data that is being converted.
Ø Required Columns
- Required Columns store the minimum information needed by the destination application to successfully process the interface row.
Ø Derived Columns
- Derived columns are created by the destination application from information in the required columns
