Stat 6.3 - User Guide

CSR Object Documentation (Generic Applications)

Stat is an effective source of information about the changes made to an object, but only if they are properly documented. Many processes are automated by Stat, but it is still the responsibility of developers to document their changes.

All information pertinent to a change should be readily available from the CSR. There are several areas in a CSR where you can document your changes. For instance, you can document the reason for the change in the Description tab. The information entered in the Description tab can be standardized through the use of templates. Other places to store pertinent information, such as affected modules and technical specifications, are the Detail Logs tab, the Resolution tab, and the Task/Time tab. You can also add external documents like test scripts to a CSR by inserting hyperlinks.

The Object List Table

More object-specific information is documented in the Object List table of the Objects tab, which shows all objects associated with a CSR. The Object List table shows such information as the lock status and object type, the environment in which it is locked or reserved, the assigned user, and the date when it was last modified. You can also read any comments attached to an object and access migration paths.

To sort information in the Object List, click a column heading to have the rows sorted based on that column, or click Sort. This opens the Specify Sort Columns dialog box, in which you can specify a sort order based on multiple columns.

The Flag columns display various icons that represent various types of information about an object.

Indicates the object type.

Indicates the name of the object. This is usually the common identifier for the object in PeopleSoft, such as the name of a page. In the case of a file type object, such as a COBOL program, this is the file name.

The generic application environment in which the object resides.

Indicates whether or not a locked object has been modified. Initially, the field displays the value PND prior to the Stat Central Agent locking the object and determining its modification status. If for any reason the agent cannot add the object to the CSR, it returns a value ERR.

A file object has a modified status of Unk for each environment that contains the file object in at least one of its source locations. For each environment that does not contain the file object in any of its source locations, the file object has a modified status of New. Data objects have the same modified values as file objects, meaning it displays the status Unk if it does exist in an environment and New if it does not exist.

Indicates the Stat user who has the lock on the object. This can be different from the user who owns the CSR, and it can vary by object and environment.

The last date and time that changes were made to this object in Stat, followed by the name of the user who made the changes. If the record was last modified by the Stat Central Agent, the user ID defaults to “SYSTEM.”

Object Comments

Right-clicking on a selected object on the CSR Object list opens a pop-up menu with additional functions. Select Edit Comments from this pop-up menu. This opens the Object Comments window.

In this window you can edit or add comments to an object. You should use this space to document the changes made, why they were made, and any other pertinent information. You can also cut, copy, and paste into this window. You can add comments up to 2,000 characters in length.

For objects that have been added via the Read CSR Wizard, Stat automatically inserts a comment noting the source CSR, the date and time, and the user who performed the action.

Object Archives (Generic Applications)

Using Stat, developers can take ‘snapshots’ of objects as they exist in a particular environment and archive them indefinitely in the Stat Repository. Because archive sets are stored in the Stat Repository and not a generic application environment, you can archive different versions of objects and rollback to previous versions when necessary. This effectively makes Stat the “Undo” feature of your generic application.

Once a developer locks the objects that he or she wishes to change, Stat automatically takes a snapshot of those objects before any changes occur. This is called a base archive set. The base archive set is the “pre-change” version of all the objects locked in the CSR. You can use this snapshot, like all archive sets, to restore data objects and file objects to their previous state.

As you make changes to the objects, you can also create interim archive sets. This is effectively backing up your work as you go along.

The ability to create the archive sets that include file objects and/or data objects is activated at the service domain level by your system administrator.