How to enable multiple simultaneous updates of covered work items

Purpose

One cover work item may cover multiple other work items. When any one of the covered work items is opened, PRPC by default uses a conservative approach and acquires locks on the covered work item and the covering work item. This ensures that data can be updated in both objects with transaction integrity.

For example, the cover object may contain properties that count or total values in the member covered work item. Locking both at once helps keep these counts or totals in synch.

However, in some settings this conservative approach may be unnecessary and can hinder worker throughput. Your application can enable two or more covered work items to be updated simultaneously.

Development procedure

1. Copy the standard activity Work-.DetermineLockString into your application RuleSet. Choose the Applies To class that corresponds to the covered work type. Retain the Activity Name field, so that your activity overrides the standard activity.
2. This activity has a single step that sets the pxLockHandle property for the work item. Update the Properties Value column in your copy to .pzInsKey.
3. Save the updated activity. For work items of this type, opening the work item (such as with a Perform harness form) locks the work item but does not lock its cover.
4. If the application requires changes to data in the cover work item are required, open the cover work item using Obj-Open-by-Handle method (with locking).

Caution

If you implement this customization, make sure your application’s flow actions or custom rules that run during flow processing do NOT need to modify and save the cover. The cover cannot be locked before the user attempts to take action on the covered item.

	cover, lock. perform
	Understanding object locking

Process category