Sum function within if/then/else (xdofx:if)

Question

I'm attempting to display a total at a particular group within my report. This total is conditional and should choose to display a placeholder value or the sum of another placeholder value (in a child group).
I have been able to vary my output based on the value I want to check: FIXED_QUOTE_FLAG - I have the if/then/else working in a simplified fashion
I can display literals and some placeholders correctlly eg. print a literal value of 00110011 or the value of placeholder QUOTED_PRICE
I can also display a calculated placeholder, using sum within the group I am concerned with: sum (current-group()/ACTIVITY_CHRG)
But when I try to get everythign working together ...
I cannot get the sum to work inside the if/then/else condition. The result is NULL (blank in HTML output).
The following is the snippet which is not working correctly:
<?xdofx:if FIXED_QUOTE_FLAG = 'Y' then QUOTED_PRICE else sum (current-group()/ACTIVITY_CHRG) end if?>
Message was edited by:
gareth_adamson

Answer 1

To answer you first question, perhaps sum is not a supported function in the xdofx namespace. It's annoying when this problem comes up because xdofx namespace seems to be the only way to do if then else clauses. I'm not entirely certain on the above, but you could resort to using BI Publisher's built-in if statement.
For your problem, something like this:
<?if: FIXED_QUOTE_FLAG='Y'?>
QUOTED_PRICE
<?end if?>
<?if: FIXED_QUOTE_FLAG!='Y'?>
<?sum(current-group()/ACTIVITY_CHRG)?>
<?end if?>
EDIT:
There is a way to do if else without xdofx namespace. It is done with <?choose:?> <?when:?> and <?otherwise:?> tags. Here is example syntax copied from Tim Dexter's blog:
<?choose:?>
<?when:count(TRX_NUMBER) > 0?>
Invoice Table
<?end when?>
<?otherwise:?>
No Data Found
<?end otherwise?>
<?end choose?>
To answer the second question about a running total, you will need to use the <?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX,'var_name',var_value)?> and the <?xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX,'var_name')?>. This method of working with variables is the only method that allows you to update a variable. This makes it good for running totals. Consult the official user guide under "Creating an RTF Template" the section about using variables and calculating running totals.
So, in your problem, once you get the first part working, you will have to add that value to your running total. It will look something like this:
<?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX,'running_total',xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX,'running_total') + conditional_value)?>
Remember to initialize the running total to zero! Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Matt Soukup
Message was edited by:
Matt Soukup