PeopleTools 8.55+ - Using Oracle JET (JQuery, JQueryUI, requireJS and more) - Part 3

This post is a continuation of PeopleTools 8.55+ - Using Oracle JET to leverage open-source libraries such as JQuery, JQueryUI, requireJS, etc. - Part 1 and Part 2.

In Part 1, I described how to create a JavaScript Injection Bootstrap framework particularly useful for Fluid UI since the Branding System Options only work for Classic. Similarly, let us assume we want to add custom styles to Fluid UI. How do we achieve something like that? We could use the 'Global Override Style Sheet' (CSK_BRAND_FLUID_TEMPLATE) which is part of our custom theme (CSK_THEME_FLUID). This would work just fine if we are either overriding a existing delivered Fluid style class or if we are adding some additional custom styles to the 'Global Override Style Sheet'. But what if we want to load entire style sheets from open source libraries such as JQueryUI? What if we want a configuration that allows us to inject style sheets globally as and when new requirements come up? Wouldn't it be great to have a global style sheet injection framework similar to the 'JavaScript Injection Bootstrap' from Part 1?

Global Style Sheet Injection:

I added a couple of javascript functions to my existing bootstrap javascript object (CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS).

JavaScript Functions: getCSSUrl(cssId) and cskLoadCSS(path)



As the names suggest, getCSSUrl uses the delivered IScript_GET_CSS to return the URL of a CSS object on the web server cache directory and cskLoadCSS would inject the CSS with a specified source path to the DOM.

CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS:

Now, we should be able to use the function cskLoadCSS and getCSSURL, (e.g.: cskLoadCSS(getCSSUrl('PSJQUERY_BASE_1_8_17'));...) from any javascript (e.g.: CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS), to inject style sheets globally across the application. I will demonstrate this in a use case as part of the next section.

Fluid UI - Control + J Alternative using JQuery, JQueryUI and requireJS:

In Part 1 and 2, although we used requireJS as part of Oracle JET, we only employed it for a simple use case of loading the JQuery library. In this section, I will demonstrate how we can use requireJS for a more complex requirement where we will need to load more than one version of the JQuery library along with JQueryUI. This use case is to create an alternative and a device agnostic approach for surfacing the Control + J information to the end users in Fluid UI (click here for more details).

As I mentioned previously, my requireJS configuration was very basic and derived from a delivered example for the purposes of Part I and Part 2. In this section, I will update my requireJS configuration (CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS) based on requireJS documentation.

Update JavaScript Object: CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS



You can see that I have added the two versions of JQuery to the path mapping as jquery for version 2.1.3 (part of Oracle JET) and jquery_1_7_2 for version 1.7.2 (stored as a custom javascript object CSK_JQUERY_1_7_2_JS and added via Branding Objects). I also added jqueryUI version 1.11.4 which is available as a delivered object - PT_JQUERY_1_X_JS. Lastly, jquery-private takes care of mapping modules to use NoConflict (click here for more details).

Note: The javascripts CSK_FL_DBNAME_JS and CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS created in Part 1 and 2 will continue to work with the update version of CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS.

Next, I created an updated version of my CSK_FL_CTRL_J_JS javascript object.

JavaScript Object: CSK_FL_CTRL_J_JS



The main difference is that I am using requireJS to load jquery_1_7_2 and jqueryui as dependencies for this javascript. Also, notice that I am using cskLoadCSS function to inject the style sheet PSJQUERY_BASE_1_8_17 (delivered object that contains jQuery UI CSS Framework 1.8.17) and CSK_CONTROL_J_CSS (custom style sheet to manage some quirks with Control + J - JQueryUI Dialog styling).

Style Sheet Object: CSK_CONTROL_J_CSS



Why do we need CSK_CONTROL_J_CSS?

To handle quirks with JQueryUI styling due to using different versions of JQueryUI and JQueryUI CSS.

Quirk 1:

Quirk 2:

Load Fluid Control + J JavaScript (CSK_FL_CTRL_J_JS) using the Fluid JavaScript Injection Bootstrap:

Simply add CSK_FL_CTRL_JS to the cskInjectJS function in CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS object.

Results:

To invoke the "Troubleshooting Information" dialog, all we have to do is to press the mouse (PC/Mac) or touch the screen (mobile devices) - anywhere on the webpage - continuously for 5 seconds!

PeopleTools 8.55+ - Using Oracle JET (JQuery, JQueryUI, requireJS and more) - Part 2

In my recent post (click here), I detailed how we could use Oracle JET to safely and efficiently take advantage of some the common open source libraries such as JQuery, JQueryUI, requireJS, etc. I also created a cleaner version of my JavaScript Injection Bootstrap and used it to inject a custom javascript (which uses JQuery) to add an environment specific header for both Fluid and Classic in PeopleTools 8.55.

In this post, I want to continue with that process and re-write the configurable image replacement technique that I described for PeopleTools 8.54 (click here for more details).

IScript for Image Object Source URL Resolution:
 
Reference to the previous version of the IScript: Click here.

Since using meta-HTML such as %Image and %JavaScript does not work in JavaScript objects, I created my own version of  an IScript which returns the URL referencing an image object on the web server (loaded on the cache directory).

WEBLIB_FL_CSK.ISCRIPT1.FieldFormula - IScript_CSK_GET_IMG

PeopleCode for reference:

Function IScript_CSK_GET_IMG
  
   Local string &img = %Request.GetParameter("img");
  
   &url = %Response.GetImageURL(@("Image." | &img));
   %Response.RedirectURL(&url);
 
End-Function;

Create a custom javascript function and add it to the JavaScript Injection Bootstrap (CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS):

This function would help us to mask some of the details to access the preceding IScript to get the Image URL (similar to the getScriptURL function which I borrowed from Jim Marion's blog).

Function Name: getImageURL


Let us add this function to the JavaScript Injection Bootstrap:

Configurable JavaScript for Image Replacement (CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS):

Object Name: CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS

This javascript object CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS is a re-write of my previous version which was called CSK_FL_IR_JS. You will notice that I am using requireJS to load the JQuery library that I need for this function execution. I am also using the getImageUrl function which I previously detailed to get the URL of the custom images. These URLs will be used to override the corresponding delivered counterparts. Right now, I have two examples for image replacement: 1) Replace the delivered Favorite Icon with a custom image (CSK_LOGO_FAVICON) and replace the delivered 'Processing' icon for Fluid with a custom image (CSK_PROCESSING_FMODE).

LOGO_FAVICON (delivered):

CSK_LOGO_FAVICON (custom):

PT_PROCESSING_FMODE (delivered):

CSK_PROCESSING_FMODE (custom):

Similarly, we can configure additional image replacements by simply appending code to the CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS javascript object.

Load Image Replacement JavaScript using the Fluid JavaScript Injection Bootstrap:

Simply add CSK_OVERRIDE_IMAGE_JS to the cskInjectJS function in CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS object.

Results:

PeopleTools 8.54+ - Branding System Options - Additional JavaScript Objects

I noticed something interesting with the Branding System Options - Additional JavaScript Objects feature in PeopleTools 8.54+ environments that allows us to inject javascripts in all Classic pages/components.

If we add javascript objects to the Branding System Options, then it is possible that the javascript could fire more than once.

For the purpose of this demonstration, the javascript just does a simple print to the console.

Let us see this in action.

As you can see above, I first navigated to the Classic Homepage and found that the javascript may have fired more than once - notice the 2 preceding the 'Hello...' message in the Console. Let us now inspect the document elements and find our script in the DOM.

Classic Homepage:

You can see that there are 3 occurrences of the script name (CSK_CLASSIC_TEST_JS) in the DOM. The first one is in the head element (which is probably the expected location), the second one is again in the head element (with an ID of HC_UX_SRCH_PLT_GBL_8_HAScript) and the last one is in the body under HC_UX_SRCH_PLT_GBL pagelet which I am assuming is part of the Company Directory pagelet.

 Now, let us navigate further to a Classic component. We can see in the console again that the javascript has fired more than once.

Let us now inspect the document elements and find our script in the DOM.

Classic Component:

You can see that there are 2 occurrences of the script name (CSK_CLASSIC_TEST_JS) in the DOM. The first one is as expected in the head element and the second one is in the 'Target Content' frame.

What is the problem?

Well, there is nothing wrong with the way it works. In some cases, it may be desired that the javascript gets fired several times, once per header, pagelet, target frame, etc.

But it is good to keep this in mind when we are trying to inject javascript libraries into the application which we generally want to load only once per page. In such cases, we might find some inconsistent results if we use the Branding System Options. In such scenarios, it is probably best to utilize requireJS - one of the most popular frameworks around for managing dependencies between modules which is now delivered with 8.55 as part of Oracle JET. Click here for an example of how to use requireJS in PeopleTools 8.55+ applications.

PeopleTools 8.55+ - Using Oracle JET (JQuery, JQueryUI, requireJS and more) - Part 1

If you followed some of my previous posts related to Fluid Branding, you would have noticed that I complained a fair bit about 8.54 and 8.55 not delivering jQuery by default for Fluid UI. Although, I still think that it is a missing feature in 8.54, I found that Oracle has delivered something better in 8.55. This is not really mentioned in great detail anywhere, but if you look on the web server, you will find that Oracle JET (Oracle JavaScript Extension Toolkit) is available. For those who are not aware, it is like a package of all the commonly used open-source js and css libraries put together. In addition to the open-source libraries, Oracle JET also contains a set of Oracle contributed js libraries.

Web Server:

Oracle JET usage in charts:

I also noticed this in a few Fluid pages containing charts, when I inspected the DOM elements. I have not seen widespread usage in other areas.

If you have read some of my previous Fluid Branding posts (Part 5B and Part 5C) where I described how I created a Fluid JavaScript Injection Bootstrap and few other advanced Branding topics using JavaScript and JQuery, you would notice that I hacked (for lack of a better term) my way through the requirements. I will admit that my js code was probably not the most efficient. In this post and perhaps other follow up posts (Part 2 and Part 3), I plan to revisit some of the javascript and rewrite the logic using Oracle JET (e.g.: Fluid JavaScript Injection Bootstrap and Environment Specific Header for Non-Prod databases).

In the following sections, I intend to cover the topic of using JQuery and JQueryUI libraries safely in conjunction with requireJS - available in Oracle JET on PeopleTools 8.55+ applications. When I say 'safely', I mean to safely manage dependencies using requireJS. Jim Marion has already written about how to achieve this in an 8.54 environment (and probably in several other posts on his blog where he covered the usage in previous tools versions as well).

If you are a fan and a follower of Jim Marion's PeopleSoft Journal blog (like myself) and if you are wondering why he has been relatively quiet (for his standards) in the past few months, he has been blogging all along at a ferocious pace and putting out some great content on Oracle JET in his new blog Jim's JavaScript Journal - tailored for javascript and Oracle JET applicable to all users and not specific to PeopleSoft!!! :)

Global JavaScript Injection Bootstrap for Fluid UI:

My requirements for this bootstrap are still the same as in 8.54. Since there was and still is no way to inject custom javascripts globally in Fluid, I want to create a least intrusive and highly configurable bootstrap to easily inject javascripts on the fly.

Step 1: Create a custom javascript object for the Bootstrap code

Navigation: Navigator > PeopleTools > Portal > Branding > Branding Objects (JavaScript Tab)

Note: This javascript object needs to be added online so that it provides a configuration to inject additional javascript objects.

Object Name: CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS


- This javascript object might seem a lot lengthier than my previous version but it should be cleaner and a lot more efficient.
- getScriptUrl: I borrowed this function from Jim Marion's post. It provides a nice and clean way to derive the URL for a javascript object.
- cskLoadJS: I improvised this function from the delivered loadScript function (PT_CHART_LOAD). It helps with adding a javascript (with URL to the source code) as a script element to the DOM - head section.
- cskInjectJS: I created this function just to separate the actual configuration to add/load a list of custom javascripts. Right now it only has one custom javascript.
- Immediately invoked javascript code:

1.  Load requireJS: The first thing I do is to load requireJS. You will notice that I am not referencing any object from the database (as a javascript object) and instead I am pointing directly to the require.js library on the web server where Oracle JET resides. Much easier to render directly from the web server!
2. Load CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS: Next I load a custom javascript object (again added online so it can be updated in the future). My requirejs.config is very simple at this stage and I only included couple of library paths (JQuery and JQueryUI). We could configure additional paths in the future based on other requirements.
3. You will notice that I am passing cskInjectJS as a callback function parameter to cskLoadJS function when I load the CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS object. This would ensure that cskInjectJS would get fired after the CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS javascript is loaded.

Object Name: CSK_REQUIRE_CFG_JS


Step 2: Add custom code to PT_HEADERPAGE.Activate (Page Activate PeopleCode)

This step is the same as what I did in 8.54. PT_HEADERPAGE is a header page that is part of all Fluid UI components and is mainly used for navigation purposes. We will be adding a line of code to inject our bootstrap javascript using peoplecode.

Custom PeopleCode:

/* CSK Custom Javascript Bootstrap for Fluid - Start */
AddJavaScript(HTML.CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS);
/* CSK Custom Javascript Bootstrap for Fluid - End */

Step 3: Add CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS to the custom Homepage Header (Classic)

Step 2 takes care of the Fluid UI and associated components. Although, in 8.55, the navigation header is unified and consistent across Classic and Fluid, the way Classic and Fluid get rendered are slightly different. The PT_HEADER page object is not used in Classic. This means that step 2 would have no effect in the Classic homepages and components. We could just add CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS to the Branding System Options (as I previously showed in my Branding 8.55 post). But I want to avoid that because I found that adding scripts to Branding System Options could invoke them more than once which is not desired in this case (I will write about this topic in a separate post later). Alternatively, I simply add CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS to my custom homepage header configured on my theme (refer: Branding 8.55 - Part 1).

Step 4: Inject Javascript

Now that we have our custom javascript object (CSK_FL_BOOTSTRAP_JS) injected into all Fluid UI and Classic homepages and components, we can use that as a configuration to further inject other javascript objects.

 
Right now, I only added one javascript object CSK_FL_DBNAME_JS (which I will describe in the next section) to cskInjectJS. But you can see how we can easily inject additional javascript objects as needed.

Creating an environment specific header for Non-Production databases:

In the previous section, I described how to create a javascript injection bootstrap for Fluid. I used Oracle JET to load JQuery and JQueryUI while managing dependencies using requireJS. Now, let us see an example of how we can inject a custom javascript using the bootstrap. The custom javascript is a rewrite of my previous javascript (created for 8.54 and extended for 8.55), to create an environment specific header for Non-Production databases.

Object Name: CSK_FL_DATABASE_JS


You can see how I used requireJS to take care of loading JQuery for me. All I am doing is mentioning the libraries that I need and let requireJS do the dependency management! A lot cleaner!

Note: Please remember to add the custom styles to both the Classic - Theme Style Sheet (CSK_BRAND_CLASSIC_TEMPL_FLUID) and the Global Override Style Sheet for Fluid (CSK_BRAND_FLUID_TEMPLATE). Refer Branding PT 8.55 - Part III for more details.

Results:

Classic:

Fluid:

Notes:

1. Details of the environment used for this post: HCM 9.2 - PUM Image 17 - PeopleTools 8.55.03.
2. If you find any inconsistent results while going through any of the steps detailed in this post then please make sure you bounce your web and app servers and purge the cache.

PeopleTools 8.54+ - Branding - Part 4E - Customizing DEFAULT_THEME_TANGERINE_ALT Theme (Continued)

In my previous post (Branding Part 3), there were a series of questions/comments on how to add an external link to the Classic Branding header in PeopleTools 8.54.

In this link, I demonstrated how we could add an external link and open it in a new window using the Header definition.

But what if we wanted to add the 'New Window' link that is generally available at the component level to the Classic Branding header in PeopleTools 8.54? Assuming that is what the following comment suggests.

The steps would be very similar to adding an external link but we would be using javascript instead of using a static URL.

Adding 'New Window' link on the Classic Branding Header in PeopleTools 8.54:

- Add an element to the Header definition under pthdr2syslinks.

- Add JavaScript in URL attribute under the Static URL section.

Note: The 'Target' attribute value does not matter and we can leave it as the default (_top).

Custom JavaScript for reference:



- Element Properties - Set Order.

Results: