Log anything with JSON
I showed it at Wave and share it with all of you: when you use JSON to log, you can log anything, not just strings, you can log a Dictionary, a list, a MemberInfo, even a Databuffer. First, you need to import JSON, add these 2 rows at the top of your rule: Imports Newtonsoft.Json Imports Newtonsoft.Json.Linq Second, when you want to log, use JSON! Dim stringobj As String = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(lCenterInfo,Formatting.Indented) api.logmessage(lCenterInfo.Member.Name & ", lCenterInfo: " & stringobj) When you use ,Formatting.Indented, your log will be correctly formatted. Thanks to Matt Ha for enlightening me with JSON and RobbSalzmann for sharing how to have the JSON string correctly formatted!
Rule Rules - ONLY write rules when necessary.
Rules TIP - ONLY write / use Rules when necessary. OneStream projects should not be a contest to see who is better at writing complex rules. If you must write rules please remember: Unless specified, the calculation will run on Base Entities AND each Parent Entity. Use these lines almost always in your rules. For Base entities only use: If Not api.entity.HasChildren Then For Parent entities only use: If api.entity.HasChildren Then For ALL entities: api.Data.Calculate(“A#Account1 = A#Account2”) There are up to 6 calculation operations in the Consolidation process per Entity. Conditional statements can be added to formulas to limit which Consolidation calculation processes will do something for this formula. For Local currency only: If Api.Cons.IsLocalCurrencyforEntity Then For Translated currency only: If api.Cons.IsForeignCurrencyForEntity Then For Parent-Child Relationship levels: Api.Cons.IsRelationshipLevel returns True for Consolidation level being OwnerPreAdj, Share, Elimination or OwnerPostAdj. For best performance, use Remove Functions – Zero and No Data Can be used in a Member Formula or a Business Rule. RemoveZeros Function removes data cells with cell amount of 0 from data buffer AND removes data cells with cell status of NoData from data buffer. RemoveNoData Function ONLY removes data cells with cell status of NoData from data buffer (data cells in a Data Unit). When declaring variables in a member formula or business rule, ensure the variables are within the calculation conditions to avoid unnecessary code execution. TIP 2 - Don’t Stack api.Data.Calculate Functions. Let's say we need to calculate data for the dimension members below. What shall we do? Use a filter; don’t be afraid to create alternate groupings. Use member filters to perform the same calculation logic for multiple members. Use the hierarchy to drive calculations. Reduces the number of times the Data Unit is called into memory and the number of times data is written back to the Cube. Avoid referencing a user's workflow POV in stored formulas: Finance rules can and often do run outside the workflow. Instead of the above - do the list below. For more information: OneStream Finance Rules and Calculations Handbook. Level 2: Financial Model Rules course.Calculation Sequence of a Single Data Unit:
The items below detail the specific list of tasks that are executed for each data unit during the calculation process. Data Unit Calculation Sequence (DUCS) Clear previously calculated data If Using Hybrid Scenarios - the copy will run here Run Scenario Member Formula Run reverse translations by calculating Flow members from other Alt Cur. Input Flow members Execute Finance Business Rules (1 & 2) Run Formula Passes (1 – 4 ) Account, Flow, UD1, UD2, … UD8 (Member Formula Execution) Execute Finance Business Rules (3 & 4) Run Formula Passes (5 – 😎 Account, Flow, UD1, UD2, … UD8 (Member Formula Execution) Execute Finance Business Rules (5 and 6) Run Formula Passes (9 – 12) Account, Flow, UD1, UD2, … UD8 (Member Formula Execution) Execute Finance Business Rules (7 and 8 ) Run Formula Passes (13 – 16) Account, Flow, UD1, UD2, … UD8 (Member Formula Execution)
Business Rule Compile Error and Warnings
OneStream Platform releases will periodically include an update to the Business Rules compiler, which is noted in each version’s Release Notes. The enhancements typically make the compiler stricter in detecting syntax or other conditions, which are surfaced through Error or Warning messages. Error messages must be resolved, as the Business Rules will not complete the compile process. Warning messages are exposed to provide guidance to the Administrator. The displayed line items will still function but should be updated to support the latest compiler’s requirements. The method to resolve the Warning will vary. In some cases, a replacement function may be available, or there may be a change to a function’s properties. Example The above error message informs the Administrator of a Warning on the LookupRowFieldValue function having a property change. By reviewing the current rule, and by looking at the current Function Definition, the Administrator can determine that the property for “Criteria as a String” has been modified. The current Definition now defines the field as a dbWhere object. Old Properties LookupRowFieldValue(ByVal si As SessionInfo, ByVal dbLocation As String, ByVal tableName As String, ByVal criteriaExpression As String, ByVal fieldToReturn As String, ByVal defaultValue As String) As String To correct the condition, the Administrator is required to apply the required change. In this example, a dbWhere object must be used to define the criteria against the target database table. New Properties LookupRowFieldValue(ByVal si As SessionInfo, ByVal dbLocation As String, ByVal tableName As String, ByVal dbWheres As List(Of DbWhere), ByVal fieldToReturn As String, ByVal defaultValue As String) As String Other Compile Issues - Namespaces The Vb.Net language in OneStream offers the designer flexibility to implement custom solutions using predefined libraries as well other compatible third-party libraries. During a Business Rules compile, there are NameSpaces in OneStream that will be implicitly compiled: microsoft.visualbasic system.linq system.collections.generic system.collections system.text OneStream also has predefined Namespaces in Business Rules, which if utilized, must not be removed from the rule to compile properly. Imports System Imports System.Data Imports System.Data.Common Imports System.IO Imports System.Collections.Generic Imports System.Globalization Imports System.Linq Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic Imports System.Windows.Forms Imports OneStream.Shared.Common Imports OneStream.Shared.Wcf Imports OneStream.Shared.Engine Imports OneStream.Shared.Database Imports OneStream.Stage.Engine Imports OneStream.Stage.Database Imports OneStream.Finance.Engine Imports OneStream.Finance.Database The solution to resolving a Namespace issue will depend upon whether the rule exists in a Member Formula or as part of a Business Rule file. When an unsupported Namespace is used in a Business Rule file, the Namespace can be added to the Imports to allow the Business Rules to compile. Member Formulas do not allow access to modify the Import section of Business Rules. If the unsupported Namespace is part of a Member Formula, then the full Namespace must be added to the affected expression or variable.Filter IC Dimension by Entity Property
A common requirement for reporting is to be able to filter the IC dimension by some property that exists only on the original Entity members. This can be achieved with a custom Member List defined in a Finance business Rule. Select Case api.FunctionType ' MemberListHeaders support is optional but good practice Case Is = FinanceFunctionType.MemberListHeaders Dim mListHeaders As New List(Of MemberListHeader) ' add the name of your list: mListHeaders.Add(New MemberListHeader("withText1")) Return mListHeaders ' Here we do the real work Case Is = FinanceFunctionType.MemberList If args.MemberListArgs.MemberListName.XFEqualsIgnoreCase("withText1") Then ' this list of members will be populated later Dim ICs As New List(Of Member) ' amend parameters as necessary here Dim dimensionName as String = "CorpEntities" Dim memberFilter as String = "E#Root.Base.Where(Text1 <> '')" ' filter the Entity dimension by some criteria Dim entities As List(Of MemberInfo) = brapi.Finance.Members.GetMembersUsingFilter(si, _ brapi.Finance.Dim.GetDimPk(si, dimensionName), _ memberFilter, _ True) ' retrieve IC members corresponding to the selected Entity members ' and push them into output list For Each entityMInfo As MemberInfo In entities if entityMInfo.getEntityProperties().isIC then ICs.Add(brapi.Finance.Members.GetMember(si, dimtypeId.IC, entityMInfo.Member.Name)) end if Next ' wrap with the MemberList object and return Return New MemberList(New MemberListHeader("withText1"), ICs) This can then be referenced in CubeViews and elsewhere like this:
How can I use a Business Rule to sort a Member List in alphabetical order?
Namespace OneStream.BusinessRule.Finance.XFR_MemberListAlphabetical Public Class MainClass '--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Reference Code: XFR_MemberListAlphabetical ' 'Description: Use a business rule to sort a member list in Alphabetical order ' 'Usage: This will put a member list of a dimension in Alphabetical order. ' Use the following on the cube view: ' E#Member.[Name of Business Rule, Name of List in Business Rule] ' e.g. E#Root.[XFR_MemberListAlphabetical, EntityAlphabetical] ' 'Created By: Robert Powers (put in XF Ref by John Von Allmen) ' 'Date Created: 5-24-2013 '--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Public Function Main(ByVal si As SessionInfo, ByVal globals As BRGlobals, _ ByVal api As FinanceRulesApi, ByVal args As FinanceRulesArgs) As Object Try 'This will put a member list of a dimension in Alphabetical order. 'Use the following on the cube view: ' E#Member.[Name of Business Rule, Name of List in Business Rule] ' e.g. E#Root.[XFR_MemberListAlphabetical, EntityAlphabetical] Dim Memberlistname As String = "Ent_Sort" Dim MemberListstart As String = "E#[Total GolfStream].base" Select Case api.FunctionType Case Is = FinanceFunctionType.MemberList If args.MemberListArgs.MemberListName = Memberlistname Then Dim objMemberListHeader = New MemberListHeader( _ args.MemberListArgs.MemberListName) 'Read the members Dim objMemberInfos As List(Of MemberInfo) = api.Members.GetMembersUsingFilter( _ args.MemberListArgs.DimPk, MemberListstart, Nothing) 'Sort the members Dim objMembers As List(Of Member) = Nothing If Not objMemberInfos Is Nothing Then objMembers = (From memberInfo In objMemberInfos _ Order By memberInfo.Member.Name Ascending _ Select memberInfo.Member).ToList() End If 'Return Return New MemberList(objMemberListHeader, objMembers) End If End Select Return Nothing Catch ex As Exception Throw ErrorHandler.LogWrite(si, New XFException(si, ex)) End Try End Function End Class End Namespace
UD8 Dynamic Calc - Retrieve Data From Another Application
Hello, I wanted to post this here since this came up at the Wave Conference in Vegas last week. Below is a snippet you can leverage to pull data from another application via a UD8 dynamic calc. This approach uses the CreateSessionInfoForAnotherApp BRApi to create a session in another application with the current user's credentials which ultimately enables you to execute any BRApi function (such as the GetDataCellUsingMemberScript BRApi) against another application in the same environment. This technique can be especially useful when looking to report on data that lives in two applications (in the same environment) in cube views and quick views. 'define the other application name you wish to connect to - this must be an app that lives within the same environment 'the user must also have access to the application to authenticate to it Dim otherAppName As String = "SomeOtherApp" 'create the session info to the other app and store it globally in memory Dim otherAppSeshInfo As SessionInfo = globals.GetObject("OtherAppSeshInfo") If (otherAppSeshInfo Is Nothing) Then otherAppSeshInfo = BRApi.Security.Authorization.CreateSessionInfoForAnotherApp(si, otherAppName, OpenAppResult.Success) globals.SetObject("OtherAppSeshInfo", otherAppSeshInfo) End If 'get the POV intersection from the CV and swap out the UD8 none member with the name of this UD8 reporting member Dim povMemberScript As String = api.Data.CreateMemberScriptBuilder(True, True, True, True).GetMemberScript().Replace("U8#GetDataFromAnotherApp", "U8#None") 'return the POV cell amount from the other application Return BRApi.Finance.Data.GetDataCellUsingMemberScript(otherAppSeshInfo, api.Pov.Cube.Name, povMemberScript).DataCellEx.DataCell.CellAmount Regards, Nick Kroppe Advanced Application Solutions OneStream Software[How to] Log into a file instead of the Error Log
Logging with OneStream is great but when we all use the Error Log at the same time, things can get messy very quickly. Moreover, logging in a file instead of the Error Log can be very convenient when logging kickouts. The initial setup can be a little involving but once you get a knack out of it, logging in a file is as easy as using the Error Log. In this post, I will show you how to do the initial setup and then how to log into a file instead of the Error Log only when there is an exception or every time. This rule and methodology is the result of the genius work of Matt Ha and I am very thankful he shared it with us. Initial Setup In order to log into a file, you need to import a Public Business Rule, it will be called by the logger and it is available in this post (GS_GlobalHelper.xml). Side note, remember that in order to make a BR Public, you need to change the setting for ‘Contains Global Functions for Formulas’ to True. Setup of the BR to log into a file In order to call a Public function, you need to Reference it in your Business Rule You also need to add it to your Imports: Imports OneStream.BusinessRule.Finance.GS_GlobalHelper.MainClass The Logger function needs 2 variables to be declared and set, I like to do it at the very top of my rule #Region "Logging Variables" Dim bVerboseLogging As String = True Dim logger As New Text.StringBuilder #End Region Then, you need to add 2 Private Functions to your rule, this is where you set your naming convention (if you want to add the data and time or anything else) and the folder name where you want your files to be stored. Private Sub StoreLoggerOnSession(ByVal si As SessionInfo, ByVal api As FinanceRulesApi, ByRef globals As BRGlobals) ' Multithread-safe way to store logger to session Dim globalLogger As Text.StringBuilder = globals.GetObject("globalLogger") If globalLogger Is Nothing Then globals.SetObject("globalLogger", logger) Else globalLogger.AppendLine(logger.ToString) End If End Sub Private Sub WriteSessionLogToFileShare(ByVal si As SessionInfo, ByVal api As FinanceRulesApi, ByRef globals As BRGlobals, ByVal logName As String) ' Write logger stored on session to application database Dim globalLogger As Text.StringBuilder = globals.GetObject("globalLogger") If globalLogger IsNot Nothing Then WriteLogger(si, api, globalLogger, logName, "TestLogs", DateTime.Now.ToString("yyyy-MM-dd-hh-mm")) End If End Sub In the end, your rule should look like this: Logging into a file when there is an Exception You can write to a file instead of the Error log when an Exception happens, in this case, update the Exception Catcher at the end of your Main Function. Catch ex As Exception logger.AppendLine(ex.Message) If bVerboseLogging Then StoreLoggerOnSession(si, api, globals) WriteSessionLogToFileShare(si, api, globals, "MyRule") Throw ErrorHandler.LogWrite(si, New XFException(si, ex)) End Try Logging anything into a file Of course, you can also log anything you would usually log to the Error Log in a file instead. Use the “logger” instead of the Error Log. 'Log to the Error Log api.LogMessage("Logging to the Error Log with the api") brapi.ErrorLog.LogMessage(si, "Logging to the Error Log with the brapi") 'Log to a file logger.AppendLine("Logging to a file").AppendLine #Region "Push logs to the File Explorer" If bVerboseLogging Then StoreLoggerOnSession(si, api, globals) WriteSessionLogToFileShare(si, api, globals, "MyRule") #End Region Results This is what you get in the Error Log And this is what you get in the File Explorer:
