XML/BI Publisher Interview Questions in Oracle APPS

• What is BI Publisher?
• BI Publisher is a reporting tool for generating the reports. It is an engine that can be             integrated with systems supporting the business.

• What is the difference between XML Publisher & BI Publisher?
• Initially it was released on the name of XML Publisher(the initial patch set), later on they have added more features and called it as Business Intelligence Publisher. 
• In BI Publisher, by default we have integration with Data definitions in R12 instance. Both these names can be used interchangeably.

• Is BI Publisher integrated with Oracle Apps?
• Answer is Yes, it is tightly integrated with Oracle Apps for reporting needs. In 11.5.10 instances XML Publisher was used, in R12 we call it BI Publisher.

• What are the various Components required for developing a BI Publisher report?
• Required Components are:
• Data Template
• Layout Template
• Integration with Concurrent Manager.

• What is a Data Template?
• Data Template 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.

• 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.

• What are the output formats supported by Layout Template?
• .xls, .html, .pdf, eText etc are supported based on the business requirement.

• How does the concurrent program submitted by the user knows about the Data Template or Layout Template it should be using for generating the output?
• The concurrent program short_name will be mapped to the Data Definition Code of the Data Template. Layout Template is attached to the Data Template, this forms the mapping between all the three.

• Do you need to write multiple layout templates for each output type like pdf/xls/html?
• Answer is No, only Layout Template will be created, BI Publisher generates desired output format when the request is run.

• Can BI publisher reports be used in OAF pages?
• XDO template utility helper java classes are provided by Oracle.

• How do you pass parameters to the XML Publisher report?
• Concurrent program parameters should be passed, ensure that the parameter name/token are same as in the Concurrent Program definition and the Data Template


• What are the various sections available in the data template?
• Parameter Section
• Trigger Section
• SQL Statement Section
• Data Structure Section
• Lexical Section

• What does lexical section contain?
• The required lexical clause of Key Flex field or Descriptive FF are created under this section

• What triggers are supported in Data template?
• Before Report and After Report

• Where is the trigger code written?
• The trigger  code is written in the PL/SQL Package which is given under defaultpackage tag of data template.

• 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.

• Can you have multiple layout templates for a singe data template?
• Answer is Yes, multiple layouts can be defined, user has a choice here to use one among them at run time during concurrent request submission.

• Where do you register data and layout templates?
• Data Definitions Navigation:: XML Publisher Administrator Responsibility>>Data Definitions
  tab.
• Data Template Navigation:: XML Publisher Administrator Responsibility>>Templates tab.

• When you want to create a report output in 5 languages, do we need have to create 5 layout templates?
• Answer is No, XML/BI Publisher provides the required translation for your templates, based on the number of languages installed in your Oracle Apps Environment.

• What is the required installation for using BI Publisher Report?
• BI Publisher Desktop tool has be installed. Using this tool you can preview or test the report before deploying the same on to the instance.

• How do you move your layout or data template across instances?
• XDOLOADER is the utility will be used. 

• What is the tool to map required data output and layout templates so that they can be tested in local machine?
• Template viewer will be used.

• Which component is responsible for generating the output in xml format before applying it to Layout Template?
• Data Engine will take Data Template as the input and the output will be generated in xml format which will then be applied on layout template.