Access Client Information from an External Database
OIPA may be integrated with external systems to retrieve client information that can be displayed on the OIPA Role screen. External client information can also be attached to a policy. Information that is pulled in from an external database cannot be edited in OIPA.
Steps to Configure Access to an External Database
- Make sure that External Client in Plan Pages security is enabled (checked) in the Rules Palette.
- From Administration | Code Names, add codes for new external roles to the AsCodeRole code set in the AsCode table. If using the OIPA client search option, then add codes for external client types to the AsCodeClientType code set.
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If needed, insert authorizations for the ExternalClient page to be able to see the ExternalClientDetail screen that is used to view the details of the external client.
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Create a company level override of the ExternalClientDetailsScreen rule to configure the external client role codes and fields that are associated with each defined external role. The information in the rule is used to validate a set of keys identifying a client in the external system. The keys are returned when a new external role is created. The fields that must be configured include the following:
- Key fields that identify a client in an external system. They are retrieved from an external system when a new external role is created, and stored in the AsExternalClient/AsExternalClientField tables in the OIPA database. Later, they are used as keys in requests to an external system whenever OIPA needs to obtain external client data. The key fields are indicated by a “No” value in the ExternalSource tag, which has its KEY attribute set to “Yes”. When a new external role is created, OIPA validates returned key values for a selected external client against this rule to make sure the keys are not empty.
- OIPA-specific fields that are configured and exist in the OIPA application only. They are stored in the OIPA database. Values for these types of fields can be entered and modified on the External Client Detail screen. The OIPA-specific external client fields are indicated by a “No” value in the ExternalSource tag, which has its KEY attribute set to “No” (default value) in the ExternalClientDetailsScreen rule.
- External fields that are always returned from an external system and never stored in the OIPA database. They are indicated by a “Yes” value in the ExternalSource tag in the ExternalClientDetailsScreen rule. Fields of this type can be displayed on the External Client Detail screen but cannot be modified.
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Configure a plan level override of the PolicyScreen rule or Segment rule (for segment roles). External client roles must be added to the configuration. The class that implements the IExternalClientRowRetriever interface must be called to retrieve a row of external client data from an external system.
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If the Client Screen Search menu is needed in OIPA to search for external clients, then the ClientSearchScreen rule needs to include configuration for the client search screen for the defined external client types. The name of a class that implements the IExternalClientSearch interface should be specified using the ExternalClientSearchRetriever tag.
Implement Java Classes
After configuration is complete, integration with an external client system requires implementation of several OIPA interfaces by a Java developer. The external classes that implement the interfaces should be deployed in a shared library similar to any other extension classes.
Refer to the OIPA Extensibility document on OTN in the 11.1.0.0 library for a complete explanation of the process for implementing java classes to support external client retrieval.