HFM Java API Part 1: Getting Started

Ok, Kscope16 went by and the conference was awesome. My summer holiday is also far gone and it was nice even though the weather could have been better (but hey, I live in Finland, not in Spain or Florida so some fluctuations are expected). After getting back to work in August I have been very busy helping a couple of customers who have gone live with their new HFM 11.1.2.4 environments or are in the process of doing so. But now it's time to update the blog again!

I did a presentation about the new HFM Java API in Kscope16 and was glad to hear that many developers are already using it to achieve some cool things - like Ricardo and Rodrigo of DEVEPM.com with their ODI KM (how's the paper doing guys? ;). I decided to release my short "Getting Started" document to public to make it slightly easier for to people to pick up JDeveloper and get their first project built using the Java API.

Link: Set Up New HFM API Project In JDeveloper (PDF document)

After getting the IDE ready you can start developing code for your Java program. In the next post I will concentrate on the coding part and show you examples of common tasks in HFM such as extracting data and running consolidations.

Tidy Up WebLogic Server After EPM System Installation

Here are two recommended tasks for WebLogic Server you can perform to make your fresh EPM installation more production-ready:

• Remove the Demo CA certificate that is installed with WebLogic for development and testing purposes
• Specify the Listen Address so WebLogic will only bind to the production network interface (instead of all interfaces including backup and management networks which is the default behavior) 

Read on to see how to carry out these changes.

Copying HFM Applications On The Command Line

The command line version of the HfmCopyApplication utility - called HfmCopyAppCmd - is a useful but often overlooked tool. Some potential uses for HfmCopyAppCmd include:

• Scheduled copies of HFM applications - for example monthly synchronization between Production and Development environments
• Scheduling long-running copy processes to get them performed during the night time
• Creating a batch file to copy several HFM applications in a sequence - useful for migrations

Customize the OHS Home Page

If your EPM 11.1.2.x configuration uses Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) as the front-end web server you have probably seen the page shown below. This is the Fusion Middleware welcome page that OHS is configured to display as its home page by default.

The OHS welcome page

The welcome page may be confusing to end users as it talks about Fusion Middleware but doesn not mention EPM or Hyperion at all so you might want to customize it to include some more appropriate content. Here are four easy steps to accomplish this: