Resources

The Resources table (md_resource) is in the User Management System (UMS). Resources are defined as 'entities' that contain or receive information. A resource may represent a program, a menu or a module.

The following list describes the naming standards that apply to resources:

• General Naming Conventions
  • All generic application resource names begin with the database name (e.g. ibis, meta).
  • For views, the resource name must match the view name. As such, the entity is the table name.
  • Resource descriptions are set to null for generic resources.

• Individual Resource Naming Conventions
  • Individual resource names begin with the database name;
  • Identify the entity within the database; and,
  • Optionally, include the intended usage.
  • Syntax: database_entity[.usage]
  • Examples: ibis_sucu.su13_customer_master, ibis_icpl.im18

• Alias Resource Naming Conventions
  • Alias resource names include the .link suffix.
  • Example: meta_user_menu.link

• Resource Group Naming Conventions
  • Resource group names include the _menu suffix.
  • Examples: ibis_home_menu (PointForce Home menu), meta_ums_menu (User Management System menu)

• Related Resource Group Naming Conventions
  • Related resource group names are defined as root-view-name.resources, where root-view-name represents the view name for the root parent table in the current subject area (e.g. ibis_acct_pipeline.resource).
  • Related resource group descriptions are defined as root-view-title Resources, where root-view-title represents the view description for the root parent table in the current subject area (e.g. Open Orders).

• Resource Module Naming Conventions
  • Resource module names include the _module suffix.
  • Examples: meta_ums_module (User Management System), meta_rule_module (Rules)

The Add Permissions action is applicable to the Resources view. Use this action to associate associate selected resources to roles, while at the same time specifying the types of operations that this combination of role and resource should have. Press Control while clicking on one or more records to select each record for processing. Press Shift and click on two separate records to select all records appearing within that range inclusively.

The following list defines every field available in the resources (md_resource) table in alphabetical order:

• Applications - this field is not maintainable. Applications is an expression column that provides details of the session applications currently registered as open for this resource. When the field is personalized in the Details page, the information is embedded into the page and may not be modified.

• Attributes - this field is not maintainable. The attributes field is an expression column that displays the resource attributes embedded in the page.

• Created By - displays the name of the user who created the record you are viewing or maintaining. May not be overridden.

• Created On - displays the date on which the record that you are creating or maintaining was created. May not be overridden. May also represent the creation date of the records you are attempting to retrieve.

• Database Name - the database associated with this resource. The system will default the database name based on the resource entered. If the system is unable to determine a database name to use, it will be defaulted to meta.
  • This field is validated against the databases table.

  • If any metadata view uses the resource, you will not be able to change the associated database.

• Description - an expression column that displays the text associated with the assigned description literal key.

• Description Literal Key – the literal key for the resource's description. Note: The description literal key or the overridden description must be specified; otherwise, an error occurs.

• Execute - an expression column that enables the user to execute the resource directly from the User Permission Summaries view.

• External Name - the resources external name.

• Extra Attributes - a CLOB-type field used to store additional JSON information.

• In Resource Group - this field is not maintainable. The In Resource Group field is an expression column that indicates whether or not the resource is included in one or more resource groups. If it is, then a Yes value is displayed; otherwise, the field remains blank.
  • The Yes is rendered as a hyperlink that brings you to a view showing the parent resource group(s).

• Modification Counter - this field is not maintainable. The date and time a given record was last modified.

• Modified By - this field is not maintainable. The user or system process that last modified the record.

• Modified On - this field is not maintainable. The date on which the record was last modified.

• Note - this is an optional field. It is designed for user-defined information about the current entity.
  • The information is available to the metadata administrator.

• Overridden Description - an override to the resource's description.
  • Users are given the option of creating new views from existing views through Personalization. When they do so, they are prompted for a description of the new view. The supplied description will be stored in this field and the Description Literal Key field will be set to null.

  • Note: This field is blank when the 'Client Specific Text' field is populated. Entering a description in this field will override the description in the 'Client Specific Text' field.

• Resource Name - this field is maintainable in creation mode only. The unique identifier for the resource.

• Type - indicates the type of resource. Valid options include:
  • Resource Group - display as folders in the menu system; group both individual and other group resources together.
  • Individual Resource (default) - displays as "items" (not folders) in the menu system; lead you to the views that allow you to access your data.
  • Resource Module (this option is not used at this time)

  Note: This value cannot be modified if the resource is used as a parent resource in Resource Group Items.

  Warning: We strongly recommend that you never modify the Type field as modifications may cause you to lose the resource.

• URL - the Uniform Resource Locator. This field is automatically populated when a new view is created. As a result, URL information only exists when the type is set to Individual Resource; when the type is Resource Group, this field is set to null.
  • Macros, delimited by braces, may be used within the URL. You can have as many macros as is required within a URL. The value within the braces may consist of any system environment variable. At runtime, the macro value is replaced by a value that is defined within the system environment variable.

  • For example, a URL with {meta.engine_url}?resourceName=ums_user with the system environment variable meta.engine_url containing http://www.tecsys.com/meta/metaEngine as its value will result in a runtime URL of http://www.tecsys.com/meta/metaEngine?resourceName=ums_user.

  • Some commonly used system environment variables used in the URLs are listed below.

    URL Macro	Description
    {general.base_url}	Will be replaced internally with the base URL for all Web application resources.
    {portal.home_url}	Will be replaced internally with the base URL for the application portal. A good example of where this can be used is when defining resource synonyms.
    {meta.engine_url}	Will be replaced internally with the base URL for the metadata engine servlet.
    {meta.base_url}	Will be replaced internally with the base URL for the metadata engine.
    {resource.base_url}	Will be replaced internally with the base URL for all Web application resources.

For the functionality of each action (i.e. button) available on this view, refer to the About the Actions topic.