FF - Fast Formula in Complete)

8/8/2019 FF - Fast Formula in Complete)

1/105

OracleFastFormulat

User s GuideRelease 11.0

Part N o. A5834601

Enabling the Information Aget


2/105

Oracle FastFormula User s Guid e, Release 11.0

Part N o. A5834601

Copyright E Oracle Corporation 1995

All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

Primar y Auth or: John Cafolla, Juliette Fleming an d Lou ise RaffoContribu tors: Mark Callaghan, Michael OShea

This so ftware w as not deve loped for use in any nuclear, aviation, mass

transit, medical, or other inherently dangerous appli cations. It is the

customers respons ibi lity to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safe

use of such applications if the programs are used f or such purposes.

This software/ documentation contains prop rietary information of Oracle

Corpor ation; it is prov ided u nd er a license agreemen t containing restrictions on

use and d isclosure and is also protected by copyright law. Reverse engineeringof the software is prohibited.

If this software/ documentation is delivered to a U.S. Governm ent Agency of

the Depa rtment of Defense, then it is delivered w ith Restricted Rights and th e

following legend is applicable:

Restricted Rights Legend Use, du plication, or disclosure by the Governmen t is

subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS

252.2277013, Rights in Techn ical Data an d Compu ter Software (October 1988).

Oracle Corporation, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.

If this software/ documentation is d elivered to a U.S. Government Agency not

with in the Depa rtment of Defense, then it is delivered w ith Restricted Rights,

as defined in FAR 52.22714, Rights in Data General, including Alternate III

(June 1987).

The information in th is document is subject to change withou t notice. If you

find any p roblems in the d ocum entation, please report them to u s in writing.

Oracle Corporation does not w arrant th at this document is error free.

ORACLE, Oracle Alert, Oracle Financials, SQL*Plus are registered trademarks of Oracle

Corporation

Oracle Application Object Library, Oracle General Ledger, Oracle Human Resources,

Oracle Payroll, Oracle Report s, PL/ SQL, SQL*TextRetrieval are tradem arks of Oracle

Corporation.

All other produ cts or comp any n ames are u sed for identification p urp oses only,

and may be trad emarks of their respective own ers.


3/105

iContents

Contents

Preface Preface i. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About This User s Guide ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finding the Latest Information ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Assumptions iii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Do N ot Use Database Tools to Modify Oracle App licationsData iv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other Information Sources v. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About Oracle viii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thank You viii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 1 Oracle FastFormula 1 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oracle FastFormula Overview 1 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Writing a Simple Payroll Calculation 1 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Types of Input 1 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Writing More Complex Calculations 1 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Incorporating Conditions 1 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commenting your Formulas 1 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Formula Structure 1 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using the Formula Window 1 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using the Globals Window 1 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Defining Functions 1 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using Oracle FastForm ula for Payroll Calculations 1 16. . . . . . . . . . .

Accessing Input Values in Payroll Formulas 1 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Writing Efficient Payroll Calculation Formu las 1 19. . . . . . . . . . .

Writing Formulas for Element Skip Rules 1 21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


4/105

ii Oracle Human Resources UK Users Guide

Using Oracle FastFormula for Validation 1 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Examples 1 24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Using Oracle FastFormula to Define QuickPain t Repor ts 1 26. . . . . .

Using Oracle FastForm ula to Defin e Assign ment Sets 1 28. . . . . . . . .

Oracle FastFormula Reference 1 29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Constants and Variables 1 30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Constants 1 31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Variables 1 32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Expressions 1 35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arithmetic Operators 1 36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Functions 1 36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Text Functions 1 37. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Numeric Functions 1 39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date Functions 1 40. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Data Conversion Functions 1 41. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GB Functions 1 44. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comments 1 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Statements 1 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Alias Statement 1 45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Default Statement 1 46. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Inputs Statement 1 46. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Assignment Statement 1 47. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IF Statement 1 48. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Return Statement 1 50. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Compiling Formulas 1 50. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Formula Errors 1 51. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Appendix A Database Items A 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Static Database Items A 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Applicant Information A 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employee Assignment Information A 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contact Addresses A 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contact Information A 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Employee Hire Information A 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Location Details A 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Payroll Details A 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

People Addresses A 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

People Information A 15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Recruiter Information A 17. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Supervisor Information A 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date Information A 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


5/105

iiiContents

Dynamic Database Items A 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Element Database Items A 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Grade Rate Database Items A 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pay Scale Rate Database Items A 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Descriptive Flexfield Database Items A 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Key Flexfield Database Items A 25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Absence Database Items A 26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Glossary

Index


6/105

iPreface

Preface

Welcome to Release 11.0 of the O racle FastForm ula User s Guide .

This guide includes the information you need to u nderstand and use

Oracle FastFormula. It provides details of syntax for each of the

statements an d fun ctions available in FastFormu la as well as examples

of the different types of formulas you m ay want to w rite.

This preface explains how the guide is organized and introd uces other

sources of information that can help you .


7/105

ii Oracle FastForm ula User s Gu id e

About This Users Guide

The main body of information you need to und erstand Oracle

FastFormula together w ith the reference information for each comm and

or function is contained in Chap ter 1.

The Database Item Ap pendix provid es a reference source that lists all

static and dyn amic database items that are available to you in

FastFormula. This list of items provid es a simp le method of accessing

your H RMS da ta in FastFormula.

This users guide is available online

All Oracle Applications users guides are available online, in bothHTML and Adobe Acrobat format. Most other Oracle Applications

docum entation is available in Ad obe Acrobat format.

The paper and online versions of this manu al have identical content,

and you can use whichever format is more convenient.

The HTML version of this book is optimized for onscreen read ing,

and lets you follow hyp ertext links for easy access to books across our

entire library. You can also search for w ords and ph rases if yournational langu age is sup ported by Oracles Information N avigator.

The HTML docum entation is available from th e Oracle Applications

toolbar, or from a URL provid ed by your system ad ministrator. Note

that the HTML documentation is translated into over tw enty

languages.

You can order an Oracle App lications Docum entation Library CD

containing Adobe Acrobat versions of each man ual in the Oracle

App lications docum entation set. Using this CD, you can search for

information, read it onscreen, and print individual p ages, sections, or

entire books. When you p rint from Ad obe Acrobat, the resulting

printouts look just like pages from an Oracle App lications hard copy

manual.

Finding the Latest Information

For information about any new features that w ere not available when

this user s guide w as printed , look at the Whats New ? section on the

main Help menu . This information is up da ted for each new release of

Oracle FastFormula H TML Help .


8/105

iiiPreface

Assumptions

This guid e assumes you hav e a working know ledge of the following:

the p rinciples and customary practices of your business area

the p laces where FastFormula are used in the Oracle HRMSprodu ct set.

If you are not familiar with Oracle HR or Oracle Payroll we

suggest you attend the introduction or implementation training

classes for these p rodu ct available through Oracle Edu cation.

the Oracle Applications grap hical user interface.

To learn more about th is, read th e Oracle Applications UsersGuide.

See Other Information Sources below for further details of Oracle

Applications product information.


9/105

iv Oracle FastForm ula User s Gu id e

Do Not Use Database Tools to Modify Oracle Applications Data

Oracle provides p owerfu l tools you can use to create, store, change,

retrieve and maintain information in an Oracle da tabase. But if you u se

Oracle tools like SQL*Plus to mod ify Oracle Applications data, you risk

destroying the integrity of your da ta and you lose the ability to aud itchanges to your data.

Because Oracle App lications tables are interrelated, any change you

make using an Oracle App lications form can up da te many tables at

once. But when you mod ify Oracle Applications data using anything

other than Oracle Applications forms, you may change a row in one

table without making correspond ing changes in related tables. If your

tables get out of synchronization w ith each other, you risk retrievingerroneous information an d you risk u npredictable results throughou t

Oracle Applications.

When you use Oracle Applications forms to mod ify your d ata, Oracle

App lications autom atically checks that your changes are valid. Oracle

App lications also keeps track of who changes information. But, if you

enter information into da tabase tables using d atabase tools, you m ay

store invalid information. You also lose the ability to track who has

changed your information because SQL*Plus and other d atabase toolsdo n ot keep a record of changes.

Consequently , w e STRONGLY RECOMMEND t hat you never use

SQL*Plus, Oracle Data Brow ser, database triggers, or any ot her tool t o

modify Oracle Applications t ables, unless w e tell y ou to do so in our

manuals.


10/105

vPreface

Other Information Sources

You can choose from m any sources of information, includ ing

docum entation, training, and support services, to increase your

knowledge and und erstanding of Oracle FastFormu la.

Most Oracle Applications documen tation is available in Ad obe Acrobat

format on the Oracle Applications Documentation Library CD. We supply

this CD with every software shipm ent.

If this guide refers you to other Oracle App lications documen tation,

use on ly the Release 11 versions of those books un less we specify

otherwise.

Oracle Applications Users Guide

This guid e explains how to navigate, enter data, query, run reports, and

introdu ces other basic features of the grap hical user interface (GUI)

available with th is release of Oracle App lications. It also includ es

information on setting user p rofiles, as well as runn ing and reviewing

reports and concurrent requests.

You can access this guide online by choosing Getting Started withOracle App lications from an y Oracle App lications help file.

Related Users Guides

Oracle FastFormula is integrated into the Oracle HRMS prod uct set.

Therefore, you m ay want to refer to other HRMS user s guides w hen

you u se Oracle FastFormula.

If you d o not have the hardcopy versions of these man uals, you can

read them by choosing Library from the Help menu , or by reading

from the Oracle App lications Docum ent Library CD, or by u sing a web

browser with a URL that your system ad ministrator provides.

Oracle Payroll Users Guide

This guid e is aimed a t Payroll man agers and explains how to set upand use Oracle Payroll to pay your emp loyees and meet necessary

legislative requirements.

Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

This guide is aimed at HR man agers and explains how to set up and

use Oracle Human Resources to meet the requirements of your

enterp rise. It describes how you can represent your enterpr ise


11/105

vi Oracle FastForm ula User s Gu id e

structures, policies, and p eople on the system and use this information

to manage your h um an resources.

Oracle HRMS Implementation Guide

This guid e includes mod ular imp lementation flowchar ts and checklists

to assist with your project plann ing. It contains a sum mary of the

sequence of recomm end ed steps for imp lementing Oracle FastFormula

and Oracle Payroll. Full instructions for each imp lementation step are

contained in the User s Guide.

Oracle Applications Flexfie lds Guide

This guide p rovides flexfields p lanning, setup , and reference

information for your imp lementation team , as well as for users

responsible for the on going maintenance of Oracle App lications

prod uct data. This guid e also provides information on creating custom

reports on flexfields data.

Oracle Applications User Interface Standards

This manu al contains the u ser interface (UI) stand ards followed by the

Oracle Applications developm ent staff. It describes the UI for the

Oracle App lications produ cts and how to app ly this UI to the design of

an app lication bu ilt by u sing Oracle Forms 4.5.

Installation and System Adminis tration

Oracle Applications Installation Manual

This man ual and the accomp anying release notes provide information

you need to successfully install Oracle Financials, Oracle Public Sector

Financials, Oracle Manufactur ing, or Oracle Hu man Resources in your

specific hard ware and opera ting system software environmen t.

Oracle Applications Upgrade Manual

This man ual explains how to prepare your Oracle Applications

prod ucts for an up grad e. It also contains information on finishing the

up grade procedure for each prod uct. Refer to this manu al and the

Oracle Applications Installation Manual when you p lan to up grade your

products.


12/105

viiPreface

Oracle Applications System Administrators Guide

This man ual provid es planning and reference information for the

Oracle Applications System Ad ministrator. It contains information on

how to define security, customize menu s and online help, and m anage

processing.

Oracle HRMS Technical Reference Manual

This man ual contains database diagram s and a d escription of Oracle

HRMS da tabase tables, forms, reports, and p rograms. This information

helps you convert data from your existing ap plications, integrate

Oracle HRMS with other nonOracle app lications, and write custom

reports.

You can ord er a technical reference manu al for any p rodu ct you have

licensed. Technical reference manu als are available in paper format

only.

Other Information

Training

Oracle Edu cation offers a comp lete set of training courses to help you

and your staff master Oracle App lications. We can help you d evelop a

training plan that provid es thorough training for both your project

team and your end users. We will work w ith you to organize courses

app ropriate to your job or area of responsibility.

Training professionals can show you how to p lan your tr ainingthroughout th e implementation process so that th e right amou nt of

information is delivered to key people wh en they need it the most. You

can attend courses at any one of our m any Edu cational Centers, or you

can arrange for our tra iners to teach at you r facility. In add ition, we

can tailor standard courses or develop custom courses to meet your

needs.

Support

From onsite support to central support, our team of experienced

professionals provides the help and information you need . This team

includes your Technical Representative, Account Manager, and Oracles

large staff of consultants and sup port specialists with expertise in your

business area, man aging an Oracleserver, and your hardw are and

software environment.


13/105

v iii O ra cle Fa stFor mu la User s Gu id e

About Oracle

Oracle develops and markets an integrated line of software products

for database management, applications development, decision support,

and office autom ation, as well as a complete family of financial,

manu facturing, and hum an resource applications.

Oracle produ cts are available for mainframes, minicompu ters, persona l

computers,network comp uters, and persona l digital assistants,

allowing organ izations to integrate d ifferent comp uters, d ifferent

operating system s, different netw orks, and even different da tabase

managem ent systems, into a single, un ified comp uting and information

resource.

Oracle offers its prod ucts, along w ith related consulting, education, andsup port services, in over 140 countries around the world. Oracle

Corporat ion is the world s leading sup plier of software for information

managem ent, and is the worlds second largest software compan y.

Thank You

Thank you for using Oracle FastFormula and this user s guide.

We value your comments and feedback. At the end of this manu al is a

Reader s Commen t Form you can use to explain what you like or

dislike about Payables or this user s guide. Mail your comm ents to the

following ad dress or call us d irectly at (650) 5067000.

Oracle Applications Documen tation Manager

Oracle Corporation

500 Oracle Parkway

Redw ood Shores, CA 94065

U.S.A.

Or, send electronic mail to [email protected].


14/105

C H A P T E R

1O

1 1Oracle FastFormu la

Oracle FastFormula

racle FastFormula is a simp le way to w rite formulas using English

words and basic math ematical fun ctions. You can use information

from you r d atabase in formu las without learning the database structure

or a programm ing langu age. The following topics explain how to wr ite

formulas using Oracle FastFormula:

Oracle FastFormula Overviewassumes no know ledge of formula

wr iting or ed iting. It progressively introdu ces the features of

Oracle FastFormula u sing examples.

Using Oracle FastFormula for Payroll Calculationsexplains some

add itional considerations for using formulas in the pay roll run .

Using Oracle FastFormula for Validation explains the required

format for formulas to check element entry valu es and u ser table

entry values.

Using Oracle FastFormula to Define QuickPaint Reports explains

how you can edit the formulas generated from your definitionsof QuickPaint rep orts.

Using Oracle FastFormula to Define Assignment Sets explains how

you can view and edit the formulas generated from your

definitions of assignment sets.

Oracle FastFormula Reference is a comp rehensive reference to all

the features of Oracle FastFormula and the ru les you mu st follow

in formula w riting.


15/105

1 2 O racle FastFormula User s Gu ide

Oracle FastFormula Overview

Formulas a re generic expressions of calculations or comparisons you

want to repeat with d ifferent inpu t values. They can take inpu t from

the wind ow, da tabase, or a process, such as a payroll run. They can

return values or messages.

You can use formulas to:

calculate element pay values and run results du ring payroll

processing

check that element entry values are valid for an assignmen t

check that en tries made to a user table are valid

specify the criteria for includ ing an assignment in an assignm ent

set

select the database information you w ant to d isplay in a

QuickPaint report, and perform calculations for the report

specify the rules for skipp ing an element d uring p ayroll

processing

prep are records in the format you require for the magnetic tapewr iter. For most coun tries, the Oracle localization team has

written the required formu las.

When you write a formu la, you specify for wh ich of these purp oses

you w ill use it.

In Oracle Payroll, the system generates m ost of the formulas need ed for

payroll processing, in response to your entry of information abou t your

earnings and dedu ctions. When necessary you can edit these

generated payroll formulas.

Formulas for QuickPaint reports and assignm ent sets can be generated

from criteria you enter in wind ows. You can edit these generated

formulas to add more functionality.

Writing a Simple Payroll CalculationThere are strict rules as to the word s and pu nctuation you mu st use in

a formu la so that Oracle FastFormula can correctly perform the

calculations and valida tion you require.

To start with a simp le examp le, sup pose you w anted to calculate the

pay va lue for the elemen t Wage by multiplying the nu mber of hours an

emp loyee works each w eek by his hourly rate. You could w rite this

formula:


16/105

Data Types

Using InputsStatement


wage = hours_worked * hourly_rate

RETURN wage

The first line is anAssignment statementthat simp ly assigns a value to

the elemen t Wage. The second line is aReturn statementthat passes

back the Wage value to the payroll run .

In this example, the Wage value is calculated , but it could be a constant

value, such as: wage = 200. To calculate th e Wage value, Oracle

FastFormula need s to get values for the variables hours_worked and

hou rly_rate. They are called v ariables because they can contain

different values dep end ing, in this example, on which assignment th e

payroll run is processing.

Both var iables and constants can be one of three data typ es:

numeric

text

date

The variables in th e Wage examp le are num eric.

Types of Input

We have said th at Oracle FastFormula need s to get values for the

variables hou rs_worked and hou rly_rate. There are three ways it can

get values:

it can receive them as inpu t when th e formula is called

it can find th e values in the d atabase from database items

it can u se global values, which you enter in the Globals window

To use a d atabase item or global value in your formu la, you simp ly

refer to it by nam e. You can brow se through lists of database items in

the Formu las window. To use a value passed to the formu la at run

time, you m ust w rite anInputs statement.

In our Wage examp le, supp ose that hours_worked is an inp ut v alue tothe element Wage. To pass the element inpu t values to the formula

du ring a payroll run, you define an Inpu ts statement, as follows:

INPUTS ARE hours_worked


RETURN wage

The name you u se in the Inpu ts statement mu st be the same as the

name of the element inp ut value, and mu ltiple words m ust be joined by


17/105

Using Database Items

Using Global Values

Using Local Variables


un derscores. In this example, the inpu t value hours_worked is

nu meric. If the inpu t value is not nu meric, you m ust tell Oracle

FastFormula whether it is text or date. For example:

INPUTS ARE start_date (date)

Sup pose that hou rly_rate is a standard ra te taken from the Grade Rates

table. This is an examp le of a database item. A database item has a

label, or special piece of code, telling Oracle FastForm ula th e path to

take to access the data. Oracle HRMS prod uces most of the database

items you need w ithout you taking any special action. These items

includ e both information uniqu e to your enterprise, which you hold in

flexfield segm ents, as well as stand ard information such as assignmen t

num bers and grades.

In the Formulas window, you p ick da tabase items from a list. You w ill

see that the name of the d atabase item for a grad e rate called

hou rly_rate is actually grad e_hou rly_rate_value. This is the name you

mu st use in your formu la.

By this nam ing convention, Oracle FastFormula knows that hou rly_rate

is a database item from the Grad e Rate table. But how d oes it know

which hourly_rate to use from th is table? It works this out from the

contextthe payroll run provid es for each elemen t entry. The context

identifies:

the Business Group

the elemen t and element link

the payroll and p ayroll run

the emp loyee and employee assignment.

Attention: You shou ld use an Inpu ts statement in preference

to d atabase items w here possible because th is is more efficient.

See: Writing Efficient Payroll Calculation Formu las: page 1 19.

Use global values to store information that d oes not change often, but

you refer to frequently, such as Comp any N ame, or compan ywide

percentages used to calculate certain types of bonu s. You d efine the

global value and change its value u sing the Globals wind ow.

See: Using the Globals Window : page 1 12

Local var iables exist in one form ula only. You can chan ge the valu e of a

local variable by assigning it a value in an Assignmen t statement. In

the Wage example, the variable wage itself is a local var iable. It

receives a value w ithin the formula by the Assignmen t statement:



18/105

Nested Expressions


Note: You cannot change the valu e of inpu t values, database

items, or global values within a formula.

Writing More Complex Calculations

The Assignmen t statement in the w ages examp le above uses a simple

mu ltiplication to calculate the value of the w ages element. You can a lso

use addition, subtr action, division, and a nu mber offunctions. For

example:

bonus = GREATEST(days_at_work,163) + bonus_rate

Here the function GREATEST tells Oracle FastFormula to u se the valu eof the variable d ays_at_work, if it is greater than 163, and otherw ise to

use th e constant 163.

The data type of variables and constants determines how op erators and

functions act on the values. For examp le, the ad dition opera tor (+) can

be used w ith num eric or text da ta, while division can be used with

nu meric data only.

There are special fun ctions th at convert variables from:

nu mbers to text (TO_TEXT)

dates to text (TO_TEXT)

text to date (TO_DATE)

text to nu mber (TO_NUM)

See: Functions: page 1 36

The Assignmen t statement can use as many arithm etic operators and

functions as you requ ire. Each function or calculation is one expression,

and you can nest expressions to create more comp lex calculations. You

mu st use brackets to make clear to Oracle FastFormula the order in

which the calculations are performed . For example:

ANNUAL_BONUS = trunc(((((salary_amount/100)*

bonus_percentage)/183)*(days_between(end_period_date,start_date) + 1)), 2)

Oracle FastFormula begins calculating inside the brackets and from left

to right, in the following steps:

1. salary_amount/100

2. 1.* bonus_percentage

3. 2. / 183


19/105

Using Simple

Conditions

Making Conditions

More Complex

WAS DEFAULTED


4. days_between (end_period_date, start_date)

5. 4. + 1

6. 3. * 5.

7. TRUNC(6.,2)

Notice that TRUNC is another function. It rounds a numeric value

dow n to the nu mber of decimal places specified after the comm a (two

in th is case).

Incorporating Conditions

In our simple Wage element example, only one value is returned , and it

is calculated in the same way for every assignment. How ever you may

need to p erform different calculations dep end ing on the particular

group of emp loyee assignmen ts, or the time of the year, or some other

factors. You can d o this by incorporating conditions in your formula.

For example:

IF age < 20 THENtraining_allowance = 30

ELSE

training_allowance = 0

The formula checks whether the condition (age < 20) is true or false. If

it is true, the formula p rocesses the statemen t that follows the word

THEN. If the condition is not true, the formu la ignores this statement

and processes any statem ent tha t follows the w ord ELSE. The ELSE

clause is optional.

In the examp le above, the cond ition comp ares a variable (age) to a

constant (20). The cond ition can be m ore comp lex, comp aring

expressions that contain fun ctions and a rithmetic operator s. For

example:

IF (DAYS_BETWEEN(end_period_date, start_date)+1) >= threshold

DAYS_BETWEEN is another function.

We have seen tw o comparators: less than (=). A full list of the comparators you can u se appears in the

Reference section.

See: Oracle FastFormu la Reference: page 1 29

There is a special type of cond ition called WAS DEFAULTED. Use th is

to test whether a d efault value has been placed in an inpu t value or


20/105

Combining Conditions

Incorporating Multiple

Actions based onConditions


da tabase item. Default values are placed using the Default statemen t.

For examp le:

DEFAULT FOR hourly_rate IS 3.00

X = hours_worked * hourly_rate

IF hourly_rate WAS DEFAULTED

THEN

MESG = Warning: hourly rate defaulted

In this example, if the d atabase item hourly_rate is empty (NULL), the

formula uses the defau lt value of 3.00 and issues a w arning m essage.

You can combine cond itions using the logical operators AN D, OR, NOT.

Use AND if you w ant an action to occur w hen m ore than one

condition is true. For example:

IF (days_between(end_period_date, start_date) + 1) >= 183

AND employee_status = FULL TIME

THEN . . .

Use OR if you w ant an action to occur w hen an y one of two or

more conditions is true. For example:

IF stock_level < 10000

OR order_size >= 1500

THEN . . .

Use NOT if you w ant an action to occur w hen a cond ition is not

true. For example:

IF NOT (months_between(purchase_date, system_date) => 60

THEN . . .

As with Assignment statemen ts, you m ay need to use brackets to tell

Oracle FastFormula in which order to test cond itions. By default, NOT

has the highest precedence, followed by AN D then OR. So the

following condition:

IF X = 6 AND NOT Y = 7 OR P >= 6

is interp reted as:

IF (X = 6 AND (NOT Y = 7)) OR P >= 6

How you u se brackets can change d ram atically the mean ing of a

formula.

Suggestion: Use brackets whenever you create mu ltiple

conditions, so that the m eaning of the formu la is clear to other

readers.

We have seen how to make conditions more complex. You can also

make the actions performed as comp lex as you like. In our simple


21/105


example above, the result of the condition was the assignment of a

value to the variable training_allowance. As well as assigning values,

you can perform calculations and return valu es.

For example, supp ose you m ust check wheth er there are sufficient

fund s in a bank accoun t before processing a withd raw al:

INPUTS ARE acct_balance,

acct (text),

debit_amt

IF acct_balance >= debit_amt

THEN

(

new_balance = acct_balance debit_amt

RETURN new_balance

)

ELSE

(

message = Account No. + acct + Insufficient Funds

message2 = Account Balance is + TO_TEXT(acct_balance)

RETURN message, message2

)

Notice that you can return tw o variables in the same Return statem ent.

Attention: The brackets following TH EN and ELSE are

essential wh en you have mu ltiple actions based on a condition.

Withou t them , Oracle FastFormula p rocesses the first statemen t

conditionally and the other statements u ncond itionally.

Commenting your Formulas

It is good p ractice to includ e comments in your formulas to explain to

other people what the formula does.

So, for example, you can name your formula:

/* Formula: Attendance Bonus */

and write an explanation of your formula:

/* Use this formula to calculate the annual bonus forclerical staff. Employees receive either a percentage of

their salary (if they have been present for 183 or more

days in the last six months), or a pro rata bonus (if they

have been in attendance for less than 183 days in the last

six months). */

Oracle FastFormu la ignores everything betw een the comment

delimiters: / * and */ . You can place commen ts anyw here in a formula

without affecting th e formulas performance.


22/105

Alias Statement


Warning: Do not put a comm ent within a comm ent. Thiscauses Oracle FastFormula to retu rn a syntax error.

You can use a comment to explain what part of your formula does. So,

for example, you might w ant a comm ent explaining w ho d ecides the

bonus percentage:

INPUTS ARE salary_amount,

start_date (date),

end_period_date (date),

bonus_percentage /* decided at board level */

You can also use commen ts to commen t out parts of the formu la you

do n ot currently wan t to use. So, for example, you can includ e a fifth

inpu t of emp loyee_status, ensuring tha t emp loyees with a status of full

time are award ed a bonus. How ever, as you d o not yet have a range ofstatuses, you d o not currently need the fifth inp ut.


start_date (date),



/* employee_status (text) */

Formula Structure

A valid formu la has a well defined structu re. It is mad e up of

commen ts and statem ents. Oracle FastFormula ignores commen ts and

carries out th e instructions in the statem ents.

We have already looked at four typ es of statement :

Assignment statement

Inputs statement

Return statement

If statemen t

There are two other types of statement you can u se:

Alias statemen t

Default statemen t

Database items are named by th e system w hen it creates them, and

sometimes these nam es are too long to conveniently use in a formu la.

You cannot shorten th e nam e of a database item (or a global value)

itself, but you can set up an a lternative shorter nam e to use within the

formula. For example:


23/105

Default Statement

Order of Statements

1 10 Oracle FastFormula Users Guide

ALIAS as_overtime_qualifying_length_of_service AS ot_qls

In the rest of the formu la, you can use the alias (in this examp le, ot_qls)

as if it were the actual variable.

Attention: Using an Alias is more efficient than assigning th eda tabase item to a local variable with a short nam e.

Use the Default statement to set a default value for an inpu t value or a

da tabase item. The formu la uses the default value if the da tabase item

is empty or no input value is provided w hen you run th e formu la. For

example:

DEFAULT FOR hourly_rate IS 3.00

X = hours_worked * hourly_rate

IF hourly_rate WAS DEFAULTED

THEN

MESG = Warning: hourly rate defaulted

This example sets a default of 3.00 for the d atabase item h ourly_rate. If

hou rly_rate is emp ty (NULL) in the d atabase, the formu la uses the

default value of 3.00. The formula uses the WAS DEFAULTED test to

detect wh en a default value is used , in w hich case it issues a w arning

message.

Attention: You m ust u se the Default statement for databaseitems that can be empty. The Database Items window includes

a check box labelled Default Requ ired. This check box is

checked for database items that can be emp ty. The Database

Items wind ow ap pears wh en you choose the Show Items

button on the Formulas window.

Statemen ts in your formu la must app ear in the following order:

1) ALIAS statem ents (if any)

2) DEFAULT FOR statements (if any)

3) INPUT statemen t (if any)

4) Other statem ents

Using the Formula Window


24/105


" To w rite or edit a formula:

1. Set your effective date to the date when you w ant to begin using

the formula.

2. To write a new formula, enter the formulas name and select a type.

To edit an existing formula, query its nam e.

3. Choose the Edit button to open a blank Edit Formula window

where you can write a new formula, or modify an existing one.

4. If you wan t to select database items, choose the Show Items button

to display the Database Items wind ow and run a qu ery. Copy and

paste items from this window to the Edit Formula w indow.

5. When you finish writing or editing the formu la, choose the Verify

button to compile it.

Thi id ifi i f l


25/105


This process identifies any syntax errors in your formula.

6. When the formu la is verified successfully, save it.

7. Your next step depends on the type of formula:

If the formu la is of type Oracle Payroll, you m ust a ssociate itwith an element in the Formula Result Rules wind ow.

If the form ula is of typ e Element Skip, you select it in the Skip

Rule field of the Element window.

If the form ula is of type Element Inpu t Validation, you select it in

the Formula field of the Input Values window wh en you are

defining an element .

If the form ula is of type User Table Validation, you select it in theFormu la field of the Colum ns w indow wh en you are defining a

user table structure.

Test your formu la in the situation you intend to use it (such as, in a test

pay roll run) to ensure it contains no logical errors.

See Also

Defining an Elemen t (HR Users), Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

Defining an Element (Payroll Users), Oracle Payroll Users Guide

Defining an Elements Input Values, Oracle Human Resources Users

Guide

Setting Up User Tables, Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

Using the Globals Window

Use global values to store information that d oes not change often, but

you refer to frequently, as for examp le Compan y Name, or

companywide percentages used in th e calculation of certain bonu ses.You can use global values as var iables in formu las by simply referring

to the global value by nam e.

You can n ever change a global value using a formula. You change

global values in the Globals window. Global values are datetracked so

you can m ake da te effective changes ahead of time.

Global values are available to all formulas w ithin a Business Group .


26/105


" To def ine a global value:1. Set your effective date to the date when you w ant to begin using

the global value.

2. Enter a name, data type (num ber, text, or date), and value. You can

also enter a description.

Defining Functions

Many fun ctions are su pp lied with Oracle FastFormula. See: Functions:

page 1 36. In add ition, you can create other fun ctions as you requ ire

for use by Oracle FastFormula. Doing this involves two steps: creating

a new PL/ SQL fun ction, then registering it in the system u sing the

Define Function window.

You need to be aw are of two restrictions when creating user defined

functions. These are:

The current release of Oracle Payroll allows you to d efine

functions with IN typ e param eters only. This mean s that a user

defined function may only return one value. IN OUT and OUT

type param eters are not sup ported.

User defined functions shou ld not h ave any comm it, rollback, or

savepoint statemen ts as these could lead to data integrity

problems w ith the payroll run. In addition, they should not not

perform any d ata m anipulation as FastFormu la is intended as aread on ly tool.

Registering the Function

You register a new function by nam ing and defining it, then creating

contexts and p aram eters for it. Contexts are environment values that

do not get passed to the fun ction.

Where a fun ction requ ires a mixture of contexts (from th e


27/105


Where a fun ction requ ires a mixture of contexts (from th e

FF_CONTEXTS table) and pa ram eters, the contexts shou ld be listed

first in the fun ction head er followed by the function param eters. Only

the function parameters, however, need to be used to call the function

from FastFormu la.

For example, a function requ ires eight values: three contexts and five

parameters. All eight values are listed in the function header bu t only

the five param eters are used to call the fun ction.

There are three classes of functions you can register:

external:These are fur ther PL/ SQL functions in add ition to the

ones already delivered with FastFormula. They do not take

contexts.

formula: These fun ctions are formulas called from other

formu las. This class of function is not supp orted in Release 11.

user defined: In practice, this is the on ly class of function you

need d efine. User defined fun ctions require both contexts and

parameters.

" To register a new function for Oracle FastFormula:

1. Enter a unique name for the new function.

2. Select date, num ber or text as its data type.

3. Select external or user defined as the class of the function.

4. Enter an alias for the function name if you require an alternative

nam e for it. You can also enter a description to explain w hat the

function is for. The Alias and Description fields are both optional.

5. Enter the definition of the function. Use the format: ..

6. Save your entries.

" To enter context usage and parameter information:

1. Choose the Context Usages button.

2. In the Context Usages window, select as many context items as yourequire for the function. The data typ e for each context displays

automatically.

Note: The functionality that calls FastFormula, that is, Qu ickPaint

or Payroll Processing, determines w hat contexts FastFormu la has

access to from the FF_CONTEXTS table.

3. Save your entries. The sequence number of each context is entered

automatically when you d o this.

4. Close the Context Usages window and choose the Parameters


28/105


4. Close the Context Usages window and choose the Parameters

button.

5. In the Parameters window, select the parameters, or operands, you

require to define the fun ction. Type and class display

automatically.

6. Check the Optional checkbox if you w ant the corresponding

param eter to be optional.

7. Check the Continuing checkbox if you want the function to make

more than one call to the param eter.

Note: You cannot define a parameter a s continu ing un less you also

make it optional. How ever, an optional param eter does not have to

be continu ing.

8. Save your entries.

Using Oracle FastFormula for Payroll Calculations


29/105


Using Oracle FastFormula for Payroll Calculations

You u se Oracle FastFormula to d efine and mainta in the formu las you

need for pay and payrelated calculations.

You u se Oracle FastFormula:

wh en you w ant to edit the formulas the system generates for the

earnings types, other paym ents and d edu ctions you initiate in

Oracle Payroll. You make these edits d irectly to the generated

formula (not to a copy).

See: Using the Form ula Wind ow: page 1 10

if you d ecide to d efine an element for an earn ings or deduction

and write its formula you rself, instead of initiating the earnings

or ded uction. You w ould d o this only for an earnings or

ded uction with a highly comp lex calculation requiring a num ber

of different calls to the database.

When you receive Oracle Payroll, some formu las are predefined in

your system. You cannot m ake any changes to these formulas, but you

can copy them and mod ify the copies.

Additional Information: Refer to your Oracle Payroll manu al

for information about p redefined payroll formulas.

" To w rite formulas for elements you define:

1. Design your element and how it will be calculated.

2. Write any formulas required to validate input values (formula type

= Element Inp ut Validation).

3. Write a formu la, if required, to define the rules for skipp ing theelement d ur ing payroll processing (formula typ e = Element Skip).

4. Define the element, referencing any formu las written in steps 2

and 3

5. Write the formula or formulas for calculating the run results

(formu la type = Oracle Payroll).

6. Associate each Oracle Payroll type formu la with the element in the

Formula Result Rules wind ow, and specify wh at hap pens to theformula results for this element.

Note: You can associate several formu las with a single element,

each one for use w ith a different emp loyee assignment statu s. You

can also use the same formu la for more than one element . In this

case, if the formu la references pay or inpu t values (through the

Inputs statement), each element mu st have pay an d input values

with the same names.

See Also


30/105


Defining an Element (HR Users), Oracle Human Resources Users Guide


Accessing Input Values in Payroll Formulas

In many formulas for calculating pay, some or all of the information

you need comes from the input values of the element.

As a simp le examp le, sup pose you p ay some salaried em ployees using

a recurring element called Salary. The Salary element has an input

value called annu al_salary. You need a formu la that divides the inpu t

value into twelve parts:

INPUTS ARE annual_salary

Salary = annual_salary/12

RETURN Salary

Attention: When you u se an Inpu ts statement, you n eed to

make sure that n one of the inpu t values can h ave a value of

nu ll because this causes the formula to fail. You can avoid thisproblem by using the Default statement.

Using an Inputs statem ent is the most efficient way to access the inpu t

values of the element with w hich the formula is associated. However,

if the formu la uses the inpu t values of other elements, it mu st access

the da tabase items for them.

For examp le, if you w ant to use the inpu t value ann ual_salary in the

formula to calculate the element Bonus, you use the database item asfollows:

IF Salary_annual_salary > 20000

THEN

Bonus = bonus_rate * (sales_achieved sales_threshold)

Notice that the database item nam e is in two parts: the inpu t value

(annual_salary) name p refixed by the elemen t nam e (Salary). This is

the nam ing convention for the da tabase items of element inpu t values.

Multiple Entries of Element Input Values

When you define an element, you can enable multiple entries of the

element w ithin a payroll period.

As a simple example, supp ose you use the element Wages to pay some

weeklypaid em ployees. The Wages element has the inpu t value

hou rs_worked . Each week, you regularly make five entries for the


31/105


input value hours_worked.

To calculate Wages, you can mu ltiply the hours worked each d ay by the

emp loyees standard rate from the grad e rates table, so that your

formula looks like this:

INPUTS ARE hours_worked

Wages = hours_worked * standard_rate

RETURN Wages

Dur ing the pay roll run, the formula fires five times, creating five

separate p ay values, one for each entry.

Now consider using the database item Wages_hou rs_worked instead of

an Inpu ts statemen t. The da tabase item for an entry value sums up all

the entries made in the payroll period .

This is a great convenience wh en referring to inpu t value totals for a

payroll period . However, you m ust be sure that it is the totals that you

want to use. In this example, using the database item produ ces the

wrong result.

Wages_hou rs_worked gives a single value that is the sum of the five

entries in each weekly payroll period . When the payroll run s, the

formula fires five times, each time calculating w ages using the total

hours worked in the week.

Attention: If mu ltiple entries are enabled for an element, becareful w hen u sing database items for the elements entry

values. These database items hold the sum of all the entries.

This includ es entries mad e as ind irect formula results du ring

the payroll run.

Database Items for Numeric Values Only

Entry value database items are not created for input values with u nits

of character, da te, or time w hen m ultiple entries are enabled for the

element. This is because entry values of these types cannot be sum med

over the payroll period. Only num eric values can be summ ed.

Nu meric inpu t values are those with un its of:

Hours

Integer

Money

Number

Notice that other d atabase items, such as default, minimu m, or

maximum , may be created for nonnum eric input values.

Writing Efficient Payroll Calculation Formulas


32/105

Formula Format

Variable Names and

Aliases

Input Statements


The following statemen ts are true as general gu idelines for typ ical

payroll runs:

The longer an elements formula, the longer its processing time.

The more elements entered for an assignm ent, the longer its

processing time.

One element associated w ith a lengthy formula usually processes

faster than two related elemen ts each associated w ith a short

formula.

The overall nu mber of elemen ts and form ulas in the system has

little effect on p rocessing efficiency. It is the n umber of elements

per assignment that affects processing time.

Use comm ents and w hite space freely when entering formulas. This

makes the formulas easier to read and und erstand , and has no effect on

performance or memory usage. Use ind entation for the same reason,

especially when you a re using brackets to control the order of

processing.

It is good p ractice to includ e the following information in a comment atthe beginning of a formula:

formula title and short statement of its pu rpose

description of formula inputs

list of variables and constants that may requ ire up da ting

description of the inpu t values of the elemen t that receives the

formulas direct result explanation of the formulas calculations

adm inistrative information such as the nam e, address and

telephone num ber of an office administering the earn ings,

ded uction, or charge the formu la affects

the d ates of formula m odifications, the nam es of those entering

the ed its, and possibly the reasons for change

Use names that are brief yet meaningful to improve read ability. Name

length has no effect on performance or mem ory usage. Use Aliases if

the names of database items or global values are long.

Use Inpu t statements rather than database items wh enever possible.

This improves formula p rocessing by as much as a factor of ten. It

speeds up th e runn ing of your p ayroll by elimina ting the need to access

the d atabase for the inpu t values.

Inefficient:


33/105

Date Literals

Single Expressions

Database Items


Salary = Salary_annual_salary / 12

RETURN Salary

Efficient:

INPUTS ARE Annual_salary

Salary = Annual_salary / 12

RETURN Salary

Use the TO_DATE function only w hen th e operan d is a variable.

Inefficient:

Start_date = TO_DATE ( 12JAN1992 )

Efficient:

Start_date = 12JAN1992 (date)

Use a single expression in straightforward formulas w here this does

not lead to confusion.

Inefficient:

Temp = Salary / Annualizing_factor

Tax = Temp * 3

Efficient:

Tax = (Salary / Annualizing_factor) * 3

Do not refer to da tabase items un til you need th em. People sometimes

list at the top of a formula all the database items the formu la might

need , thinking th is helps Oracle FastFormula p rocess more qu ickly.

However, this in fact slows p rocessing by causing u nnecessary

da tabase calls.

Inefficient:

S = Salary

A = Age

IF S < 20000 THEN

IF A < 20 THEN

Training_allowance = 30

ELSE


Efficient:

IF Salary < 20000 THEN

IF Age < 20 THEN


ELSE



34/105

Balance D imensions


The first examp le always causes a database fetch for Age w hereas the

second only fetches Age if Salary is less than 20000.

Wherever p ossible, use balance dimensions for single assignm ents only

in formulas. Multiple assignm ents require more calculation, leading toslower processing time. The nu mber of genu ine mu ltiple assignmen ts

in a payroll is not norm ally high, and the presence of a small num ber

does n ot lead to any significant increase in overall p rocessing time.

There could be a p roblem, however, if you u nnecessarily link balance

dim ensions for mu ltiple assignments into general formulas.

Writing Formulas for Element Skip Rules

If your p ayroll policies require period ic or conditional p rocessing of an

element, you can write a formula to d efine when the run should

process the elemen t and w hen it shou ld skip it. For example, your

formula could sp ecify:

process the Union Fees element every three p eriods, or process the Union Fees elemen t every run u nless the

Union _Fees_Paid balan ce is greater than 10 000.

You can associate only on e element skip rule formu la with each

element. You must write and validate the formu la before you define

the element so tha t you can select the formu la from a list on the

Element wind ow.

" To w rite a formula defining a skip rule:

1. Select formula type Element Skip in the Formulas window.

2. Use as many input values as you require. The formula must set

and return a local variable of type text, and th is variable mu st be

called skip_flag.

If the retu rned value of this variable begins with the letter y (suchas Yes), all processing for the element is skipp ed. Oth erw ise the

element p rocesses as normal.

The following example of a skip ru le formula d efines that th e

Union Fees elemen t is not processed if the Union Fees Paid


35/105


Union Fees elemen t is not processed if the Union_Fees_Paid

balance is greater than 10 000:

IF Union_Fees_Paid > 10000

THEN

skip_flag = yesELSE

skip_flag = no

RETURN skip_flag

Using Oracle FastFormula for Validation


36/105


You can use Oracle FastFormula to validate u ser entries into the

element inpu t values, and to user tables that you d efine. In both cases,

you m ust w rite and validate the formula before you d efine the element

or table, so that you can select the formula from a list in the Elemen twind ow or Columns window.

In the Formu las wind ow, select formu la type Element Inp ut Validation

or User Table Validation.

When w riting either type of formula, you m ust observe the following

rules:

There must be one inp ut value, of type text, and it m ust be called

entry_value.

The formula must set and return a local variable giving the

status of the validation (success or error). This variable mu st be

called formu la_status and have the value s (success) or e

(error).

Opt ionally, the formula can also return a text variable giving an

explanatory message. The return ed message variable mu st be

called formula_message and can contain any text. It can be

return ed w ith both successful and un successful statuses.

The formu la mu st not return any other results.

For an element inpu t value validation formula, you mu st also observe

the following rules:

You cannot use the elements other pay an d inp ut va lues in the

formula.

You cannot retu rn a value to another p ay or inpu t value.

All entry values are stored in the database as text items. Therefore, if

you w ant to validate an entry value as a d ate or num ber, you m ust use

Oracle FastFormulas conversion function to convert the text into a

da te or num ber type variable. For example:

TO_NUM (entry_value)

TO_DATE(entry_value,DDMONYYYY)

Examples


37/105

Checking an Element

Entry


The formula below checks that th e entry value of the Salary element

does not exceed 200 000.

Classification TypePriority

Value Name Type Valid

Salary

Earnings R2500

Pay Value FMoney

Figure A 1Salary Element

/* Formula Name: Salary Range */

/* Formula Type: Element Input Validation */

INPUTS ARE entry_value (text)

IF TO_NUM(entry_value) > 200000

THEN(

formula_status = e

formula_message = Too much money . . . try again!

)

ELSE

(

formula_status = s

formula_message = Fine

)

RETURN formula_status, formula_message

Checking a User Table

Entry

The formula below checks that the ded uction entered in the Un ion A

column of the Union Du es table is betw een 10.00 and 20.00.


38/105

y


/* Formula Name: Union A Dues Validation */

/* Formula Type: User Table Validation */

INPUTS ARE entry_value (text)IF TO_NUMBER(entry_value) < 10.00 OR

TO_NUMBER(entry_value) > 20.00

THEN

(

formula_status = e

formula_message = Error: Union A dues must be between

$10.00 and $20.00.

)

ELSE

(

formula_status = s

formula_message =

)

RETURN formula_status, formula_message

See Also

Defining an Element (HR Users), Oracle Human Resources Users Guide


Defining an Elements Input Values, Oracle Human Resources Users

Guide

Setting Up User Tables, Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

Using Oracle FastFormula to Define QuickPaint Reports

I th D fi Q i kP i t R t i d t d t b it


39/105


In the Define QuickPaint Report w indow, you can paste database items

from a list into the Report Definition area and enter free text to label the

da ta. When you save your Qu ickPaint Report definition, a formu la is

generated autom atically.

Formulas generated from QuickPaint do not include cond itional logic

or calculations. You m ay w ant to ad d th ese features, for example to

sum up compensation elements or to report different da ta for different

assignments.

Attention: If you w ant to add features to a generated

QuickPaint formu la, you m ust copy the formu la and ed it the

copy. If you ed it the original, your edits will be overwritten if

the formu la is regenerated from the Qu ickPaint definition.

Example

In this examp le, the generated Qu ickPaint formula has been ed ited to

add Line 09, which totals the inpu t values used in the report.

LINE01=

LINE02= Pay Items Value this Period

LINE03=

LINE04= Salary Value : + TO_TEXT(trunc((SALARY_ANNUAL/12),2))

LINE05= Item 1 Value : + TO_TEXT(ITEM_1_PAY_VALUE)

LINE06= Item 2 Value : + TO_TEXT(ITEM_2_PAY_VALUE)

LINE07= Bonus Value : + TO_TEXT(BONUS_AMOUNT)

LINE08= __________________

LINE09= Total : + TO_TEXT(trunc((

(SALARY_ANNUAL/12)+ITEM_1_PAY_VALUE+ITEM_2_PAY_VALUE+BONUS_AMOUNT)

,2))

LINE10=LINE11=

LINE12=

RETURN LINE01, LINE02, LINE03, LINE04, LINE05, LINE06, LINE07,

LINE08, LINE09, LINE10, LINE11, LINE12,

" To make a copy of a QuickPaint formula:

1. In the Formula window, query your QuickPaint formula. It has the

same nam e as your QuickPaint report.

2. Choose the Edit button. Select and copy the formula in the Edit

Formu la window.

3. Choose New Record from the Edit menu.

4. Enter a name for your edited copy and select the type QuickPaint.

5. Paste the text of the QuickPaint formu la into the Edit Formula

window.

6. Save your work.


40/105


See Also

Defining Qu ickPaint Reports, Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

Using Oracle FastFormula to D efine Assignment Sets

You d efine an assignm ent set in the Assignmen t Set wind ow You can


41/105


You d efine an assignm ent set in the Assignmen t Set wind ow. You can

select da tabase items that you can use to define your set. When you

choose the generate bu tton in the Assignmen t Set wind ow, a formula is

generated from the criteria you entered.You shou ld not normally need to ed it assignment set formu las.

If you enter m ultiple criteria to d efine an assignm ent set, the conditions

that are generated a re joined by AN D or OR. You m ight want to edit

the formula to change the brackets in the generated cond itions. This

changes the order in w hich the cond itions are tested.

To view an assignment set formu la, query it in the Formu la wind ow.

The formu la type is Assignment Set and the formu la name is the sameas the assignm ent set name. To edit an assignm ent set formu la, make a

copy, as for a Q uickPaint formu la.

See Also

Creating an Assignm ent Set, Oracle Human Resources Users Guide

Oracle FastFormula Reference

Formulas comp rise statements an d comments Statemen ts are


42/105


Formulas comp rise statements an d comments. Statemen ts are

instructions telling Oracle FastFormu la how to p rocess constants an d

variables, which are the basic information un its in a formula. The two

key typ es of statement, w hich describe the formulas calculations, arethe Assignm ent statement and the If statement. These statements can

include expressions,wh ich manipu late constants and variables using

arithmetic operators an d functions. The operator s and fun ctions you can

use and th e results they give dep end u pon the d ata type of the

constants and variables. In If statements, one expression can be

comp ared to another using comparators to create a condition. Conditions

can be combined using logical operators.

An examp le of each of these formula comp onents is identified in th esamp le formula in Figure A 2. There are rules about how you u se

each of these components, and th ese rules are explained in this

reference section.

Figure A 2Components in a Sample Formula


43/105


/* Formula: Attendance Bonus */

/* Use this formula to calculate the annual bonus for

clerical staff. Employees receive either a percentage

of their salary (if they have been present for 183 or

more days in the last six months, or a pro rata bonus

if they have been in attendance for less than 183

days in the last six months). */


start_date (date),



employee_status (text)

IF (days_between(end_period_date, start_date) + 1) >= 183

AND employee_status = FULL TIME

THEN

ANNUAL_BONUS =

trunc((( salary_amount/100 )* bonus_percentage ),2)

ELSE

ANNUAL_BONUS = trunc (((((salary_amount/100)*

bonus_percentage)/183)*(days_between(end_period_date,

start_date) + 1)), 2)

RETURN ANNUAL_BONUS

function

constant

variable

comment

expression

arithmetic

comparator

logical

Assignment

If statemen t

statement

Returnstatement

Inputsstatement

condition

operator

operator

Constants and Variables

Every piece of information that you can man ipu late or use in a formu la

is a constant or a variable.

The data typ e of a constant or variable describes wha t kind of data th e

constant or variable holds. Generally, you u se constant an d va riables

of the same data typ e in an expression.

Constants

Constants are actual values you use in a formu la. Oracle FastFormula

di l h h h ldi h i i bl


44/105

Numeric Constants

Text Constants

Date Constants


uses constants directly rather than holding th em in a variable.

There are three types of constant:

numeric

text

date

Enter nu meric constants without quotes. Precede negative nu mbers

with a minu s sign (). Num bers may have a decimal comp onent after a

decimal point. Do not use exponen ts and floating point (scientific)

notations. So, for examp le, you cannot use 22 or 10e1.24 as num eric

constants. Do not use comm as or spaces in a number. So, for example,

you cannot u se 10,000 or 10 000.00 nu meric constants.

Examples of valid nu meric constants are:

63

3.55

2.3

0.33

.2

10000

Enclose text constants in single quotes. They may conta in spaces. You

can represent the single quote character in a text constant by w riting it

twice (). Note th at this is not the same as th e dou ble quote ().

Examples of valid text constants are:

J. Smith

P ODon nell

1234

Manager

12 Glebe Lane

The Bonus this year is 23%Date constants contain a d ate. Enclose dates in single quotes and

follow immediately with the word d ate, in brackets. Use the format

DDMONYYYY.

Examples of valid da te constants are:

12MAR1989 (DATE)

4FEB1989 (date)

Variables

You use variables in a form ula to access information. Variables can have

f tl h i l


45/105

Local Variables

Global Values


frequently changing values.

The data typ e of a variable determines the typ e of information the

variable holds: numeric

text

date

You d o not have to tell Oracle FastFormula w hat typ e you w ant a

variable to be. It works this out by seeing how you use the variable.

For examp le, if you set a var iable to J. Smith, Oracle FastFormula

know s it is a text variable.

Oracle FastFormula also warn s you if you try to p erform any

inconsistent operations, such as trying to add a nu mber to a text string.

There are three classes of var iable in Oracle FastForm ula:

Variables that occur in a single formu la only.

Values that can occur in any formula.

Items that exist in the app lications database.

The variable class determines how a formula uses it.

Local variables occur in a single form ula on ly. You can chan ge a local

variable within the formu la by assigning a value to it using an

Assignment statement.

You can u se local variables to store data in a formu la. You m ight want

to hold data temp orarily while you perform some other calculations, orto pass da ta back to the app lication.

Below is an example showing the u se of a local variable, annual_leave.

/* Formula: Annual Leave Formula */

IF years_service >= 10

THEN

annual_leave = 25

ELSE

annual_leave = 20 + FLOOR (years_service/2)

RETURN annual_leave

Global values are visible from w ithin any formu la. Use global values to

store information th at does not change often, but you refer to

frequently, such as compan y nam e, or a location allowance that applies

to many em ployees. Global values are datetracked so you can make

da te effective changes ah ead of time.

Local Variable

Global Value

Database Item

You can n ever change a global value using a formula. You alter global

values using the Globals window. The global value is the same across

all formu las within a Business Group .


46/105

Database Items


See: Using the Globals Window : page 1 12

Below is an example using a global value.

/* Formula: HAZARD ALLOWANCE FORMULA */

IF basic_hours > hazard_limit

THEN

hazard_allowance = 2.30

ELSE

hazard_allowance = 2.00

RETURN hazard_allowance

In this example, hazard _limit is a global value, which has been preset toreflect the point at wh ich w orkers hazard paym ent increases.

Database items exist in the app lication database and h ave a label, hidden

from users, that the system uses to find the data.

There are two types of database item:

Static da tabase items are pred efined . They includ e stand ard

types of information, such as the sex, birth d ate, and w orklocation of an em ployee, or the start and end dates of a pay roll

period.

Dynamic da tabase items are generated from your definitions of:

elemen ts

balances

absence types

grade rates and pay scale rates

flexfield segments

The name of your element, pay and inp ut va lues, balance, absence

type, grad e rate, pay scale rate, or flexfield segmen t becomes part of

the nam e of the generated d atabase item. This helps you identify the

da tabase item you need when you display a list of all available items in

the Formulas window.

Definitions of flexfield segments only become d atabase items w hen you

initiate the Declare Descriptive Flexfield process from the Submit

Requests window. The other definitions become database items

immed iately when you save them to the database.

See:

Static Database Items: page 2

Dynam ic Database Items: page 29.

Database items are specific to the contextin which you use them. For

example using the database item hourly rate gives the app ropriate


47/105

Rules for Determining

Variable Class and

Data Type

Naming Variables


example, using the database item hourly_rate gives the app ropriate

hou rly rate for the specific assignment being processed.

Like global values, database item va lues cannot be changed within aformula.

The rules that determ ine the data type and class of variables in a

formula are:

1. The variable can be an input you name in the Inputs statement. For

example:

INPUTS ARE salary_amount,start_date (date)

frequency (text)

If you do not specify the variable type in th e statement, Oracle

FastFormu la assumes it is num eric.

2. If the variable is not an input, Oracle FastFormula looks in the list

of global values the first time the variable occurs. If the var iable is

in the list, Oracle FastFormula d etermines the d ata typ e from th ere.3. If the variable is not in the list, Oracle FastFormula searches the list

of database items. Again , if it is in the list, Oracle FastFormu la

knows the data type.

4. Finally, if Oracle FastFormula d oes not find the variable in either

the global values or the d atabase items, then it treats the variable as

a local variable. It determ ines the da ta type from the w ay you use

the variable.Notice that if the variable is either a global value or a d atabase item,

then any attemp t in your formula to alter the value of the variable

causes an error.

If the var iable is a local variable, it d oes not contain a va lue w hen it is

first used in the formu la. Therefore you mu st assign a value to the

variable before you try to use it in a condition or expression. If you fail

to assign a value, Oracle FastFormula fails wh en you attemp t to verifyor run the formu la.

Suggestion: To avoid a failure, assign values to your localvariables when they first appear in your formula.

Variables have nam es compr ising one or more word s. The words mu st

be joined by underscores. The words must each start with an

alphabetic character (AZ) and can be followed by a lphan um eric

characters (AZ, 09). The maxim um size of a variable name is 80

characters.

Oracle FastFormu la is not sensitive to case. So, for examp le, the


48/105


p

var iable called EMPLOYEE_NAME is the sam e as the var iable

Employee_name.

There are a nu mber of word s you cannot u se as the names of variables.

These reserved words are:

ALIAS AND ARE AS

DEFAULT DEFAULTED ELSE EXECUTE

FOR IF INPUTS IS

NOT OR RETURN THEN

USING WAS

Any w ord consisting only of digits (that is, that could be treated asa number)

You m ay find tha t the name of a database item or global value is too

long to use conveniently in your formula. You can set up an

alternative, shorter name for use within a formula. You set this up

using the Alias statemen t.

See: Statem ents: page 1 45

Expressions

Expressions combine constants and variables with arithm etic operators

(+, , *, / ) and functions to return a value of a certain da ta type. For

example, the expression (3 + 2) return s a value of 5, and is of

num eric data type.

The format of an expression is:

SUBEXPRESSION [operator SUBEXPRESSION ...]

This means tha t a num ber of subexpressions can combine in a single

expression. For examp le, the subexpressions (3 + 2) an dMONTHS_BETWEEN(start_date, end_date) can combine in a

single expression as follows:

(3 + 2) + MONTHS_BETWEEN(start_date, end_date)

Expressions can also be used inside functions, as in th e following

example:

salary = GREATEST(minimum_wage, (hourly_rate * hours_worked))

Data Type of

Expressions

The rules for determ ining the data type of an expression are simple.

Operand s in an expression are normally of the same data typ e, and this

is normally the data type of the expression as a whole. For examp le, in

the following expression all the operan ds are numeric and the


49/105


the following expression all the operan ds are numeric and the

expression itself is numeric:

GREATEST(minimum_wage, (hourly_rate * hours_worked))

There are some exceptions to this. For examp le:

DAYS_BETWEEN(date1, date2)

MONTHS_BETWEEN(date1, date2)

These have d ate operands, but return a nu meric value.

So the expression:

4 + days_between(start_date, todays_date)

return s a nu meric result.

Arithmetic Operators

An expression may contain arithmetic operators, wh ich determ ine how

variables and constants are manipu lated. For example, the operator

+ indicates that two items shou ld be ad ded together.

The division, subtraction, and mu ltiplication op erators can only beused w ith num eric operand s. The operand s can be variables,

constants, or subexpressions. A formu la error occurs if:

the result of subtraction is too large a negative num ber

the result of m ultiplication is too large

the second operan d of a division evaluates to zero

In both cases, too large here is determ ined by the n ormal limits in the

ORACLE database.

The addition operator can be used w ith num eric or text operand s. If

the resu lt is greater than 240 characters, a formu la error occurs.

Notice that you enclose text constants in single forward quotes on ly (),

not double quotes (). For example, the statements:

string1 = will

result_string = Pigs + string1 + fly

set the local variable result_string to Pigs w ill fly.

Functions

Oracle FastFormula provides fun ctions that manipu late data in

different ways. Some functions work on only one type of data, some

can work on two, others work on all three data types.

The fun ctions are described below, separated into the three d ata typ es

and fun ctions that convert between data types. Where a function

return s a different da ta type result than the data typ e of its operan ds,

the d escription explains this.


50/105

GET_LOOKUP_

MEANING

GET_TABLE_VALUE

GREATEST


the d escription explains this.

The general form of a function is:

NAME OF FUNCTION(operand, operand, . .)

Notice that, as with the operator s, the operand s of a function can be

variables, constants, or comp lete expressions. If the op erand is a text

string, you mu st enclose it in quote m arks.

Text Functions

GET_LOOKUP_MEANING(lookup_type , lookup_code)

The GET_LOOKUP_MEANING function enables Oracle FastFormula

to translate a lookup code into a meaning. This can be used for any

descriptive flexfield items or d eveloper flexfield items tha t are based on

lookups.

Example

GET_LOOKUP_MEANING (ETH_TYPE, PEOPLE_GB_ETHNIC_ORIGIN)

GET_TABLE_VALUE(table_name, column_name, row_value [,effective

date])

The GET_TABLE_VALUE function retu rns the valu e of a cell in a

userdefined table. The three text operan ds, wh ich iden tify the cell

(table_name, column_name, and row _value), are mand atory. The dateoperan d is optional. If it is not supplied, the function returns the cell

valu e as of the effective date.

You cann ot use th is fun ction in formu las for u ser table validation or

QuickPaint reports.

Example:

GET_TABLE_VALUE(WAGE RATES, Wage Rate, Rate_Code)

GREATEST(expr, expr[, expr] . . .)

GREATEST_OF(expr, expr[, expr] . . .)

The GREATEST function compares the values of all the text string

operan ds. It return s the value of the operand tha t is alph abetically last.

If there are tw o or more op erand s that m eet the criteria, Oracle

FastFormu la returns the first.

LEAST LEAST(expr, expr[, expr] . . .)

LEAST_OF(expr, expr[, expr] . . .)

The LEAST function comp ares the va lues of all the text string


51/105

LENGTH

SUBSTRING

UPPER


p g

operan ds. It return s the value of the operand that is alph abetically

first. If there are two or m ore operand s that meet the criteria, Oracle

FastFormu la returns the first.

LENGTH(expr)

The LENGTH function retu rns the num ber of characters in the text

string operand expr.

Note: The data typ e of the result of this fun c

Documents

FF - Fast Formula in Complete)