Best Practices: Claim Processing Through Apex Batch

However, if there are a large number of claims, then it is necessary to process claims in batches. In TPM, Apex batches are used to process a large number of claims.

Considerations for Apex Batch Processing

An Apex Batch class implements three methods:

• start
  • Defines the scope of the apex batch. This method returns every record that the Apex Batch processes.
  • The result is partitioned into lists of up to <batchsize> records.
  • The object cgcloud__Payment__c records are selected and returned.
• execute
  • Processes one of the lists of items provided by the start method.
  • Here the main logic of the Apex Batch is executed.
  • This method is called for each partition.
• finish
  • Used to finalize monitoring and cleanup resources, if any, that are not automatically closed.

Define Batch Scope

Method: List<sObject>/QueryLocator start(BatchableContext)

• Avoid adding system internal fields to the list of selected fields for the claims to select. For example, fields used for Version Handling. Fields that should be excluded are:
  • cgcloud__Version__c
  • cgcloud__Offplatform_Version__c
  • cgcloud__Skip_Version_Update__c
• This hint is not only relevant for claim processing, but also for the processing of other versioned objects.

  • cgcloud__Promotion__c

  • cgcloud__Account_Plan__c (a.k.a. CBP)

  • Assortment

Manipulating Claims

Method: execute(BatchableContext, List<SObject>)

• If payments are updated with the batch, avoid using the scoped record instance. Instead, create a new object instance where only the fields are set that identify the record (id field) and needs to be updated.
• This prevents an accidental overwrite of fields that are outdated. For example, if the field is managed and set by a trigger such as version fields.

Calculating Claims

Method: execute(BatchableContext, List<sObject>), finish(BatchableContext)

• The automatic claim calculation through trigger is not considered when payments are updated in a Batch Context. The payments must be scheduled directly through a callout.
• If claims should be calculated within a batch that also manipulates the claim, the claim calculation must not rely on a version that was previously loaded. For example, by the start method.

  • The Scheduling of the Calculation must be executed in a queueable or future method and not in the same transaction because callout after DML statements are not allowed.

  • Before a payment calculation is scheduled, reload the version to get the current value.

• If the batch only schedules payments for calculation and does not update the claim, then load the version field into the scope.