XML/BI Publisher Interview Questions

XML/BI Publisher Interview Questions

1)What is BI Publisher?

It is a reporting tool for generating the reports. More than tool it is an engine that can be integrated with systems supporting the business.

2)Is BI Publisher integrated with Oracle Apps?

Yes, it is tightly integrated with Oracle Apps for reporting needs. In 11.5.10 instances xml publisher was used, in R12 we can it BI Publisher

3)What is the difference between xml publisher and BI Publisher?

Name is the difference, initially it was released on the name of xml publisher( the initial patchset), later on they have added more features and called it Business Intelligence Publisher. In BI by default we have integration with Datadefinitions in R12 instance. Both these names can be used interchangeably

4)What are the various components required for developing a BI publisher report?

Data Template, Layout template and the integration with Concurrent Manager.

5)How does the concurrent program submitted by the user knows about the datatemplate or layout template it should be using for generating the output?

The concurrent program ‘shortname’ will be mapped to the ‘code’ of the Datatemplate. Layout template is attached to the datatemplate, this forms the mapping between all the three.

6)What is a datatemplate?

Datatemplate is an xml structure which contains the queries to be run against the database so that desired output in xml format is generated, this generated xml output is then applied on to the layout template for the final output

7)What is a layout template?

Layout template defines how the user views the output, basically it can be developed using Microsoft word document in rft (rich text format) or Adobe pdf format. The data output in xml format (from Data template) will be loaded in layout template at run time and the required final output file is generated.

8)What are the output formats supported by layout template?

xls, html, pdf, eText etc are supported based on the business need.

9)Do you need to write multiple layout templates for each output type like html/pdf?

No, only layout template will be created, BI Publisher generates desired output format when the request is run

10)What is the default output format of the report?

The default output format defined during the layout template creation will be used to generate the output, the same can be modified during the request submission and it will overwrite the one defined at layout template

11)Can you have multiple layout templates for a singe data template?

Yes, multiple layouts can be defined, user has a choice here to use one among them at run time during conc request submission

12)Where do you register data and layout templates?

Responsibility: xml publisher administrator responsibility --> Home --> Data Definitions

Responsibility: xml publisher administrator responsibility --> Home -->Templates

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