1 Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 1 Nat Poe WebFOCUS Debugging Techniques

1Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 1

Nat Poe

WebFOCUS Debugging Techniques

Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 2

The strangest errors can have the simplest solutions.

Finding bugs is an acquired skill based on experience.

Introduction

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.”

-Murphy’s Law


Incorrect Output

No Report

Relational Database Considerations

Other Considerations

Contents


Incorrect Output


Defined Field Problem

Issue 1: A defined field doesn’t seem to calculate the correct value. Only Non-Sales department employees are to receive a 1% bonus.

Except for Salesthe bonus is 1%

In Sales, thereshould be nobonus


Defined Field Problem (continued)

Remove sortingfor detail report

Bonus is thesame from therecord above theSALES records



Defined Field Problem Solution


Solution: Define needs an ELSE condition.

In Sales, bonusis now correct

Always code anELSE conditionin an IF statement


Aggregation Problem

Issue 2: Adding a new field to the report changes the results.

Aggregating Salaryby Division

Salary is different


Aggregation Problem (continued)

Target a group andrun detail reports

Some employees are missing




First report useddata from EMPINFO Second report used

data from TRNHIST




Unspecified defersto the “ALL” setting




To check the ALL setting




Salaries of employeesnot taking training

were excluded



Aggregation Problem Solution


Solution: Either set ALL to ON or declare a left outer JOIN.

Note: Inner and Left OuterJOINs override the ALL setting


MATCH FILE Problem

Issue 3: Data is appearing with blank values when there should be values. The procedure is using MATCH FILE.

Blank departments and names start the report


MATCH FILE Problem (continued)

Extracting all WEemployees and thematching courses




Department and namelisted for first course only

Create a report on CRSHOLD with no sort fields.




Old file New file

Note: When using PRINT for the old file and new file, MATCH assumes there are duplicate PIN values in the old and new files, so it will match the first employee 30 in the old file to the first employee 30 in the new file. It needs a second old file employee 30 to match it to the second new file employee 30 and so forth.




Solution:

MATCH FILE Problem Solution

SUM EMPINFO fields instead

MATCH now replicates the data

Use SUM for the old file.


MATCH FILE Problem Solution (continued)

Report is now correct


Solution: Use SUM for the old file.


Incorrect average

Sort Group Calculation Problem

Correct average

Issue 4: Calculation for a subfoot is incorrect for some of the groups. The report is using a RECAP with invisible fields.


NOPRINT fields

Sort Group Calculation Problem (continued)

RECAP uses the sum of values for a sort group




Note: LET translates a word or phraseinto another word or phrase.

Use LET to“deactivate”

the NOPRINT




RECAP for CA is:10,730.00 / 10

NOPRINT fieldswill now display




Solution:

Sort Group Calculation Problem Solution

RECAP for CA is:10,730.00 / 4

CNTR should be set to 1 for each course.

Note: Delete LET whenfinished debugging!


Sort Group Calculation Problem Solution (continued)

Correct average


Solution: CNTR should be set to 1 for each course.


Incorrect Ratio Problem

Should be between1.8% and 2.6%

Issue 5: Wrong ratio displayed at the end of the report.


Incorrect Ratio Problem (continued)

Percentageswere summed




Solution:

Incorrect Ratio Problem Solution

Recalculatedthe Compute

Use Summarize instead of Column totals.


Where is the other 2%?

Incorrect Column Total Problem

Issue 6: Percentages don’t add up to 100%.


Incorrect Column Total Problem (continued)

Format changed toD6.1% for PCT ofSTAFF_CNTR

Integer field



Incorrect Total Problem (continued)

Note: The percent of total was calculated as an integer value, which truncates the decimal portion of a number. The result is then changed to the decimal format.




Solution:

Incorrect Total Problem Fixed

Counter changed to afloating decimal format

Change the format of the counter to a decimal number.


Isolate the Problem When aggregating data, look at some or all of the detail. Display data without sort fields. Check the temporary field expression syntax. Display NOPRINT fields. A different numeric format could change the results.

Common Remedies With IF…THEN…, always code an ELSE too. To control the handling of short path records, use:

The SET ALL command for an Unspecified JOIN. Declare Inner or Left Outer in the JOIN component.

In MATCH FILE use SUM for the Old file to replicate data in the New file. Use Summarize for column totals and Recompute for subtotals to

recalculate computed values in summary lines. Don’t use Integer fields when decimal results are needed in calculations.

Incorrect OutputReview


Helpful Debugging Commands

Incorrect OutputReview (continued)

To display a setting:

? SET setting

Note: Use ALL. to display the ALL setting.

To “disable” NOPRINT:

LET NOPRINT =


No Report


Multi-path Problem

Issue 7: Path error message occurs when running a report.

Error number

Note: Report is sorted by SITE, FULLNAME, and COURSESTART.


Multi-path Problem (continued)


Query the error

Detailedmessage

Add an Othercomponent


Multi-path Problem (continued)


Note: With the double arrowheads (-->>), the Reporting Server assumes multiple sites exist for each employee with an independent number of course start dates for each employee.

Delete the Othercomponent


Multi-path Problem Solution


Solution:

Changed to asingle path

Since Site is unique, specify a single path.


No Data Selected

No selection statements

Issue 8: No data appears in a report when a selection statement is added.

Some statesexceed 5,000


No Data Selected (continued)


Selection statement added


No Data Selected Solution


Solution: Screen for aggregated values.


Column Notation Problem

No data when theAvg Salary formats

were changed

Issue 9: Changing a field format loses all data for a report.


Column Notation Problem (continued)

Column notation to avoidduplicate field names


Note: Report is OK.

Multi-set request



Both average salaryformats were changedto whole numbers




C3 – Original FormatC4 – New FormatThere are now two columns:

C1 – Original FormatC2 – New Format



Column Notation Problem Solution

Unique names for selection


Solution: Define fields with the desired format and use them instead.


Column Notation Problem Solution (continued)


Solution: Define fields with the desired format and use them instead.


Including a Non-MR Procedure

WebFOCUS Client can’t find the procedure

Web Server

WebFOCUS Client(Managed Reporting)


Issue 10: A Standard Report in Managed Reporting is trying to include a procedure on the Report Server.


Web Server



Data Source

WebFOCUSReport Server

WebFOCUSReport Server

Including a Non-MR Procedure (continued)

debug_10 resideson the WebFOCUS

Client

debug_01s resideson the WebFOCUS

Report Server




Solution:

Including a Non-MR Procedure Solution

Use –MRNOEDIT to pass commands “as is” to the Report Server.


No ReportReview

Check to see if there are any error messages. Usually fixing the first one clears up subsequent

error messages. If there are no error messages, check your selection criteria.

Common Remedies Don’t use sort fields from independent paths. Use WHERE TOTAL to screen on aggregated data. Avoid column notation by creating “shadow” fields. For Managed Reporting, use –MRNOEDIT to pass commands

directly to the Report Server.


Helpful Commands:

No ReportReview (continued)

To display additional information for an error message

? error_nbr

To pass Managed Report commands to the Report Server

-MRNOEDIT BEGINcommand …-MRNOEDIT END


Relational Database Considerations


RDBMS Response Time Problem

Sorted by length ofCategory description

Issue 11: A report is taking a long time to run. Data is retrieved from a relational database and aggregated into product categories.


RDBMS Response Time Problem (continued)


WebFOCUSaggregated

the data




Text editor tocreate tracing

statements


Command Purpose

SET TRACEOFF=ALL Turn off all current traces.

SET TRACEON=SQLAGGR… Show if RDBMS will aggregate the data.

SET TRACEON=STMTRACE… Show SQL code generated.

SET TRACEUSER=CLIENT Display traces in a Web page.

SET XRERTIEVAL = OFF Do not execute the procedure.





WebFOCUS will haveto aggregate the data





CATLEN is used as a sortfield and cannot be

converted to SQL code


RDBMS Response Time Problem Solution

Order report by column


Solution: Compute CATLEN and use Order Report By (BY TOTAL)


RDBMS Response Time Problem Solution (continued)



RDBMS willaggregate the

data


RDBMS Response Time Problem Solution (continued)

RDBMS aggregatedthe data




Relational Database ConsiderationsReview

When the RDBMS cannot aggregate the data: Individual rows are returned to the WebFOCUS

Report Server from the RDBMS. WebFOCUS Report Server will have to aggregate the data. Processing is slowed down.

Common Remedies Turn on traces to determine if the RDBMS is to aggregate

the data. Use SET XRETRIEVAL=OFF to not retrieve data when tracing. Avoid defining sort fields that will turn off aggregation; if possible,

compute them instead.

For more information, see:Course 402 – Reporting Concepts and Efficiencies for Relational Databases


Other Considerations


Parameterized Reports

Question: How can I display the value of variables?

Answer A: Use &ECHO and SET XRETRIEVAL


Parameterized Reports (continued)

Question: How can I display the value of just the variables?

Answer B: Use -? and -EXIT


Parameterized Reports (continued)Review

To control the display of Dialogue Manager variables:

-SET &ECHO = OFF|ON|ALL;

To display of Dialogue Manager variables:

-? &[&]variable

To control creating a report or not:

SET XRETRIEVAL ON|OFF

To terminate a procedure:

-EXIT


Using -EXIT

Note: Except for debugging purposes, avoid using –EXIT: • ReportCaster may not work properly.• A procedure that is included with a –EXIT will terminate

the procedure invoking it.


Profiles

Profiles are files that contain commands. Can contain any valid report server core language command. Executed every time a procedure is run in WebFOCUS.

Three types of profiles: Global Group

Executed after the global profile Can override commands found in the global profile

User Executed after the group profile Can override commands in the group profile

Commands in a procedure override commands in a profile.

Question: Why does a procedure work for one user, but not another?

Answer A: Check for Profiles

Note: Never assume a setting; establish it in your procedure.


Application Namespace, commonly referred to as APP PATH, is the search sequence used to locate the metadata and procedures needed by the WebFOCUS Report Server.

Application Namespace

Question: Why does a procedure work for one user, but not another?

Answer B: Application Namespace


Application Namespace (continued)

Question: How can I display the APP path search order?

Answer: Use APP SHOWPATH


WHENCE Command

Question: How do I know from which application the metadata is being used?

Answer: Use the WHENCE command

EMPINFO.MAS in the DEBUG application willbe used

To display from which application a file will be utilized:

WHENCE filename FOCEXEC|MASTER|ACCESS|FOCSTYLE|FOCUS


Additional Help

Question: What can I do when all else fails?

Answer: WebFOCUS Development Center

http://www.informationbuilders.com/support/wf_dev_center.html

Focal Point is a free online Q&A

Bulletin Board


Debugging is not an exact science. Never assume anything. Try to isolate the problem and work from there. Sometimes the strangest errors have the simplest solutions. Look at what is and not what you are expecting.

Debugging is an acquired skill based on experience. Learn as much as possible about the product and tools. The more you know, the more quickly you will be able solve

problems.

Review

Documents

1 Copyright 2007, Information Builders. Slide 1 Nat Poe WebFOCUS Debugging Techniques