Having trouble adding information to a join table

Question

I am building a Proof-of-concept HR application in Apex using the hosted site and having trouble entering information into a join table. There are three tables in my schema: Applicants, Postings, and ApplPostings
"Applicants" fields: Applicant_ID (PK), Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone, Email
"Postings" fields: Posting_ID(PK), Posting_Number, Item_Number, Posting_Date, Title, Description
"ApplPostings" fields: Appp_ID (PK), Apply_Date, appl_appl_id (FK), post_post_id (FK)
I have 5 pages in my application
1. A Report that shows all Applicants
2. A Form that shows Applicant details and allows editing
Contains 3 regions: Applicant Detail, Associated Postings, Available Postings
3. A Report that shows all Postings
4. A Form that shows Posting details and allows editing
5. A Form that allows creating an entry in ApplPostings
On page #2 (from the list above, it's p3 in my app), the "Associated Postings" region shows data from the Postings table for selected applicant per the ApplPostings table. This is the SQL:
select jp.posting_number,
jp.posting_date, jp.title
from applicants ja,
applpostings jap,
postings jp
where ja.applicant_id = jap.appl_appl_id
and jp.posting_id = jap.post_post_id
and ja.applicant_id = (:p3_applicant_ID)
The "Available Postings" region uses this SQL to show information on the remaining postings:
select jp2.posting_id, jp2.posting_number, jp2.posting_date, jp2.title
from postings jp2 where JP2.POSTING_ID
not in
(select jp.posting_id
from applicants ja,
applpostings jap,
postings jp
where ja.applicant_id = jap.appl_appl_id
and jp.posting_id = jap.post_post_id
and ja.applicant_id = :p3_applicant_id )
The Posting ID column in "Available Postings" is set up as link to page #5 (from list above, p7 in my app)
This page shows three fields: Apply_Date, appl_appl_id, post_post_id
Source information for appl_appl_id:
Source used: Always
Source type: Item
Source value or expression: p3_applicant_id
Source information for post_post_id:
Source used: Always
Source type: Item
Source value or expression: p3_posting_id
Both ID fields populate with inherited values correctly.
The problem is when I try to use the Apex generated "Apply Changes" button
Nothing happens, there is not data added to that table.
I get the "Action Processed" message, but the row is not created in the ApplPostings table.
Any suggestions on what to do next will be helpful.
Thanks,
Jody
Edited by: user10651585 on Dec 31, 2008 9:41 AM

Answer 1

Hi,
On the form, any items that represent database columns must use "Database Column" as the Source Type and the column names as the Source Value or Expression. The "Fetch Row..." and "Process Row..." processes refer to these to determine where to write the data. So your first step is to change the two page items to use these settings. Without these settings, there is nothing to write into the table - the "Action performed" message will be displayed because there is no SQL error.
Now, on your report, your link should pass in the two values needed. In the Column Link settings for the column you are linking on, you have three pairs of fields headed Item 1, Item 2 and Item 3. Each item has a Name and Value setting. Into the Name setting enter in the page 7 item names. Into the corresponding Value setting enter in the column names that contain the values these items need to receive, surrounded by # symbols (for example, #POSTING_ID#).
Then, when you click on the item in the report, you are passed to page 7 and the fields are correctly populated. As the form correctly identifies these fields as database columns, when you click Apply Changes, the insert can take place.
Andy