CATS: Batch changes for prior week's records

Question

We have requirements to develop a custom application that will address what we call "Labor Cost Transfers" (LCT).   The customer does not allow employees to manually change their time in CATS for prior weeks.  Instead, they must submit an LCT request (via email) to a centralized admin group who then manually makes the change in CATS.  The new Web Dynpro application will automate requesting, approving (two levels) and reporting of these LCTs.  A new batch program will be developed using traditional ABAP to process these approved requests and update CATSDB - probably on  a weekly basis.  
On the request screen, the user will enter selection criteria (e.g. PERNR, W.E. Date, Receiver Cost Object) to identify the CATSDB data that needs to be changed.  The application will present the data in rows like the CAT2 time sheet with a Saturday thru Friday view.  The user will select the "FROM" (BEFORE) row to be changed and enter their "TO" (AFTER) data in the "TO" section below - again like the CAT2 time sheet view.
The planned design includes two new custom (Z) tables...one to hold the FROM data and the other to hold the TO data.  The FROM table is sort of like a header table that will contain the CATS data values before the change as well as the admin data associated with the request (requester, approver, status, dates, etc.).  The TO table has the CATSDB values that the requester wants the record(s) changed to.
This application will only allow the user to transfer hours from one receiver cost object to another for the same A/A type.  (In other words, they cannot move hours from one A/A type to another).  This means their change will not impact payroll.  (Such payroll adjustments will be addressed in a future project).
I'm giving this background information so that I can ask a few general questions - that may lead to more if I can any responses.
Questions:
1)  Have any of you developers been involved - or know of - similar custom applications?  If so, what approach was taken?
2)  Because the LCT request data is at the time sheet row level and the batch update program must update at the CATSDB record level, I'm thinking that I will have to use the DELETE and the INSERT BAPIs rather than the CHANGE.  Do you agree?
3)  Do you find it strange that the customer will not allow employees to change their time sheets for any prior periods?  How far back can employees change their CATS data at your site?
Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.  
Ralph

Answer 1

ktallman wrote:
Sorry. Here's the link to the similar post (with the Apple Script): http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8001104&#8001104
that apple script is actually mine, lol.
I actually added 4 custom fields in the address book, to align to the 4 from the Treo, but I see that they don't map to the iPhone. There is a date field on the iPhone for when we met, which is one of my custom fields, but I don't see a corresponding field in the Address Book.
Yes, I would like to substitute one string for another ("X-Palm-Custom3" to "Directions") everywhere it occurs in the Notes field.
ok, the following apple script will do it.
<pre style="
font-family: Monaco, 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
font-size: 10px;
margin: 0px;
padding: 5px;
border: 1px solid #000000;
width: 720px;
color: #000000;
background-color: #ADD8E6;
overflow: auto;"
title="this text can be pasted into the Script Editor">
tell application "Address Book"
repeat with per in people
set x to note of per as text
if x is not equal to "missing value" then
set note of per to do shell script "echo " & quoted form of x & "|sed 's/X-Palm-Custom3/Directions/g'"
end if
end repeat
end tell</pre>
Paste it into Script Editor and hit "run".
Thanks.
Ken