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" TITLE="Return to Exploration Air Benefits">
B A C K
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How The Benefit Component Works
The Big PictureThe Exploration Air Employee Benefits application uses the component Benefit, which has two classes; BenefitList and Employee. The purpose of the methods is to encapsulate a specific function so that the ASP pages can have a defined interface to accomplish work, without concern for the details of how the work is done.Why Benefits Uses ComponentsThe use of components has two advantages for the application developer. First, as changes to the ASP pages are made, the method calls to the components do not change (unless different functionality is required from the component). This reduces the complexity of the ASP page and reduces the likelihood of introducing new bugs through modification of the existing ASP pages. The second advantage is that the methods can be called by other applications. For example, the Benefits application calls the NewBenefits method of the Employee component to create the default benefit records for a specified employee. If you had another application that you wanted to use to set up new employees, you could have the other application call the NewBenefits method to add default benefits. Design GoalsThe design goal of the component was to create methods that encapsulate a single logical function, such as add a new employee, or return a list of an employee's dependents. Some methods call other methods in order to accomplish their function, as when the Employee.AddNew method calls the Employee.NewBenefits method to add the benefit records.All of the methods in the Benefit component require passing the name of the file DSN to be used by the method. This makes it easier to use different databases from the same set of ASP pages. Architectural DetailsBoth of the classes in the Benefit component are contained in the Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) package called Benefit, and are run by Benefit.dll. This component was created in Visual Basic 5.0, and can be modified to work with other database structures because it performs a defined role of application layer between the presentation layer (in ASP pages) and the database layer (in the SQL Server database).The BenefitList ClassThe primary focus of the BenefitList class is maintaining the benefits information in the Benefits database. The component has 21 methods, which are called as needed by the ASP pages in Benefits, but could also be called by other applications.AddBenefitOverviewThe AddBenefit method creates a record in EmployeeBenefit for the specified benefit Id and employee, and a record in EmployeeBenefitDependent for each dependent of the employee.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being added lngBenefitId: Benefit Id being added, as defined in the Benefit table Methods CalledBenefitList.AddEBDStored Procedures Calledsp_AddBenefitSelect1sp_AddBenefitInsert sp_AddBenefitSelect2 Tables AffectedEmployeeBenefitEmployeeBenefitDependent Return ValueNo value returnedAddEBDOverviewThe AddEBD method adds a record to the EmployeeBenefitDependent table for the dependent specified, for every benefit the employee has. Only records for the employee are created as active status records. All other dependents' records for the employee are created as inactive, and may be activated by an employee while a change qualifier is in effect.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being added lngBenefitId: Benefit Id being added, as defined in the Benefit table lngDependentId: The dependent Id of the dependent who records are to be added for lngDependentTypeId: The type of dependent for whom records are being created, as defined in the DependentType table Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_AddEBDTables AffectedEmployeeBenefitDependentReturn ValueNo value returnedAddQualifierOverviewThe AddQualifier method adds a record to the EmployeeQualifier table to record that a qualifying event has occurred that qualifies the employee to change benefit options as needed, during a period defined in the BenefitQualifier table.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being added lngQualifierId: Qualifier Id being added, as defined in the Qualifier table datQualifierDate: The date the qualifying event occurred Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_AddQualifierTables AffectedEmployeeQualifierReturn ValueNo value returnedBenefitsForIdOverviewThe BenefitsForId method returns a Recordset listing all the benefits the employee has for the specified year.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being added intBenefitYear: Benefit year for which benefits are to be created Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_BenefitsForIdTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:BenefitId ChangeQualifierListOverviewThe ChangeQualifierList method returns a Recordset listing all change qualifiers that apply to the qualifier class, and to the benefit if specified.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which to return the qualifier Ids lngQualifierClassId: Qualifier class Id for which to return the qualifier Ids Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_ChangeQualifierList1-OR- sp_ChangeQualifierList2 Tables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing: If the benefit is specified (causing sp_ChangeQualifierList1 to run)QualifierId QualifierLabel QualifierRank ChangeDays If the benefit is not specified (causing sp_ChangeQualifierList2 to run)
CheckQualifierOverviewThe CheckQualifier method returns a Recordset listing all the qualifiers in effect for the employee and benefit specified. A valid change qualifier is required before changes can be made to the employee's benefit choices.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which a qualifier is sought lngBenefitId: Benefit Id for which a qualifier is sought Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_CheckQualifierTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:QualifierId CurrentPlanOverviewThe CurrentPlan method returns a Recordset listing the current options selected for the specified employee and benefit.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the plan information is sought lngBenefitId: Benefit Id for which the plan information is sought Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_CurrentPlanTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:BenefitLabel PlanId DependentCovered TaxStatusId TaxStatusLabel DependentTypeListOverviewThe DependentTypeList method returns a Recordset listing the dependent types.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodMethods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_DependentTypeListTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:DependentTypeId DependentTypeLabel DependentTypeRank GenderListOverviewThe GenderList method returns a Recordset listing the gender types.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodMethods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_GenderListTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:GenderId GenderLabel GenderRank GetTotalCostOverviewThe GetTotalCost method returns a Recordset listing the total cost of the benefits options currently selected, summing the cost of either benefits paid for with pre-tax or benefits paid for with after-tax dollars.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the total cost is sought intBenefitYear: Benefit year for which the total cost is sought lngTaxStatusId: Tax status Id for which the total cost is sought Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_GetTotalCostTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:TotalCost GetTotalCreditsOverviewThe GetTotalCredits method returns a Recordset listing the total credits available for purchase of benefits. Any costs beyond the credit amount are deducted from the employee's pay.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the total credits are sought intBenefitYear: Benefit year for which the total credits are sought Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_GetTotalCreditsTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:TotalCredits GetTotalPaycheckOverviewThe GetTotalPaycheck method returns a Recordset listing the total paycheck after benefit costs, credits, exemptions, and tax withholding are considered.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the total paycheck is sought intBenefitYear: Benefit year for which the total paycheck is sought Methods CalledBenefitList.GetTotalCostBenefitList.GetTotalCredits Stored Procedures Calledsp_GetTotalPaycheckTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueThe value of the function is set to the value of curTotalPaycheckInactivateDependentsOverviewThe InactivateDependents method sets the record status to "inactive" for all the dependents for the specified employee and benefit.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the depenents are inactivated lngBenefitId: Benefit year for which the depenents are inactivated Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_InactivateDependentsTables AffectedEmployeeBenefitDependentReturn ValueNo value returnedListCoveredPersonsOverviewThe ListCoveredPersons method returns a Recordset listing all the persons who are covered under the specified employee and benefit.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The benefit Id for which to list the covered persons lngBenefitId: Benefit Id for which to list the covered persons Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_ListCoveredPersonsTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:DependentTypeLabel FirstName LastName PhysicianLabel ListDependentsOverviewThe ListDependents method returns a Recordset listing all the persons who are dependents of the specified employee along with information about their coverage under the specified benefit.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The benefit Id for which to list the dependents lngBenefitId: Benefit Id for which to list the dependents Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_ListDependentsTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:DependentId EBDStatus DependentTypeLabel LastName FirstName PhysicianId PhysicianListOverviewThe PhysicianList method returns a Recordset listing all the physicians.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodMethods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_PhysicianListTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:PhysicianId PhysicianLabel PlanFieldOverviewThe PlanField method returns a Recordset listing all the physicians.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngPlanId: The plan Id for which the plan field records should be returned Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_PlanFieldTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:FieldLabel FieldValue PlanInfoOverviewThe PlanInfo method returns a Recordset listing information about the specified plan.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which the plan records should be returned lngPlanId: The plan Id for which the plan records should be returned Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_PlanInfoTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:PlanLabel PlanDesc PlanCost PhysicianRequired PlanRank PlanListOverviewThe PlanList method returns a Recordset listing plans that fall under the specified benefit Id.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which the plan records should be returned Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_PlanListTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:PlanId PlanLabel PlanRank SaveDependentsOverviewThe SaveDependents method changes to "Active" the record status of all the specified records, and saves the physician Id as needed.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the dependent records should be saved lngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which the dependent records should be saved lngDependentId: The benefit Id for which the dependent records should be saved lngPhysicianId: The benefit Id for which the dependent records should be saved Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_SaveDependentsTables AffectedEmployeeBenefitDependentReturn ValueNo value returnedSummaryForIdOverviewThe SummaryForId method returns a Recordset containing all of the benefit records for the specified employee and benefit year.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the benefit records should be returned intBenefitYear: The benefit year for which the benefit records should be returned Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_SummaryForIdTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:BenefitId BenefitLabel DetailTemplate PlanLabel PlanCost TaxStatusLabel TaxStatusListOverviewThe TaxStatusList method returns a Recordset containing all of the tax status records that apply to the specified benefit Id.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which the tax status records should be returned Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_TaxStatusListTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:TaxStatusId TaxStatusLabel TaxDefault UpdateOverviewThe Update method updates the EmployeeBenefit table with the specified plan Id and tax status Id for the specified employee and benefit. Note that this is the BenefitList.Update method; there is also an Employee.Update method.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id for which the information should be updated lngBenefitId: The benefit Id for which the information should be updated lngPlanId: The plan Id selected under the benefit lngTaxStatusId: The tax status Id to be applied to the benefit Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures Calledsp_UpdateTables AffectedEmployeeBenefitReturn ValueNo value returnedThe Employee ClassThe primary focus of the Employee class is maintaining the employee information in the Benefits database. The class has nine methods, which are called as needed by the ASP pages in Benefits, but could also be called by other applications.AddDependentOverviewThe AddDependent method adds a dependent's information to the Benefits database. It inserts records into the Dependent and EmployeeDependent tables, and calls BenefitList.AddEBD to add records to the EmployeeBenefitDependent table.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being added lngDependentTypeId: The type of dependent being added, as defined in the DependentType table strFirstName: The first name of the dependent strLastName: The last name of the dependent strMiddleName: The middle name of the dependent strDependentSSN: The Social Security Number of the dependent lngDependentGenderId: The gender of the dependent, as defined in the Gender table datDependentBirthdate: The birthdate of the dependent Methods CalledBenefitList.AddEBDStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedDependentEmployeeDependent EmployeeBenefitDependent Return ValueNo value returnedAddEmployeeDependentOverviewThe AddEmployeeDependent method creates a record for the employee in the Dependent table and in the EmployeeDependent table.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedDependentEmployeeDependent Return ValueNo value returnedAddNewOverviewThe AddNew method creates a new record for the specified Windows NT user name. It inserts a record into the Employee table with the Windows NT user name set to the value passed in, which was retrieved from the server variables by the ASP page. It then calls other methods to add the employee dependent record, new benefits records, and a change qualifier that will allow the new employee to change benefit choices.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodstrNTUserName: The Windows NT user name retrieved from the server variables by the ASP page intBenefitYear : The benefit year currently in effect lngQualifierId : The Id of the qualifier that represents adding a new employee datQualifierDate : The date the new employee was added Methods CalledEmployee.AddEmployeeDependentEmployee.NewBenefits BenefitList.AddQualifier Stored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedEmployeeDependent EmployeeDependent EmployeeBenefitDependent EmployeeQualifier Return ValueNo value returnedGetDependentsOverviewThe GetDependents method returns a Recordset containing information on the specified employee's dependents.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:DependentId DependentTypeLabel LastName FirstName MiddleName DependentBirthdate GenderLabel DependentSSN GetForIdOverviewThe GetForId method returns a Recordset containing information on the specified employee.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:DependentId FirstName LastName MiddleName KnownAs NTUserName DependentSSN DependentGenderId DependentBirthdate Address1 Address2 City State PostCode Country HomePhone BusinessPhone Fax PeriodEarnings Exemptions LookupEmployeeOverviewThe LookupEmployee method returns a Recordset containing the EmployeeId of the current user.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodstrLogonUser: The Logon_User value returned by the browser, containing the Windows NT user name of the current user Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedNo tables affectedReturn ValueA Recordset is returned containing:EmployeeId NewBenefitsOverviewThe NewBenefits method creates a new record for each benefit for the year specified, for the specified employee.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee intBenefitYear : The benefit year currently in effect Methods CalledBenefitList.AddBenefit Stored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedEmployeeBenefitReturn ValueNo value returnedRemoveDependentOverviewThe RemoveDependent method marks a dependent's records as status "Delete". This method is used in removing a dependent from an employee's records.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: The file DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: The employee Id of the employee whose dependent is being removed lngDependentId: The dependent Id of the dependent who is being removed Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedEmployeeDependentEmployeeBenefitDependent Return ValueNo value returnedUpdateOverviewThe Update method updates demographic information for the specified employee, setting fields to the specified values. Note that this is the Employee.Update method; there is also a BenefitList.Update method.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: File DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngEmployeeId: Employee Id of the employee whose record is being updated lngDependentId: Dependent Id of the employee's dependent record strFirstName: Employee first name strLastName: Employee last name strMiddleName: Employee middle name strKnownAs: Employee nickname strDependentSSN: Employee SSN lngDependentGenderId: Employee Gender Id datDependentBirthdate: Employee birthdate strAddress1: Employee address line 1 strAddress2: Employee address line 2 strCity: Employee city strState: Employee state strPostCode: Employee postal code strCountry: Employee country strHomePhone: Employee home phone strBusinessPhone: Employee business phone strFax: Employee fax number strEmail: Employee email address lngExemptions: Employee number of exemptions Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedEmployeeDependent Return ValueNo value returnedUpdateDependentOverviewThe UpdateDependent method updates demographic information for the specified dependent, setting fields to the specified values.Input ParametersstrFileDSN: File DSN that should be used in executing this methodlngDependentId: Dependent Id of the dependent record being updated strDependentSSN: Dependent SSN lngDependentGenderId: Dependent Gender Id datDependentBirthdate: Dependent birthdate Methods CalledNo methods calledStored Procedures CalledNo stored procedures calledTables AffectedDependentReturn ValueNo value returned
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