Precondition vs Validation

The combination of the Validation Type and Priority selected on the Configurable Validation table determines the flow and controls execution of validations. Precondition comes in play when a large set of validations are defined on a business object and belongs to a common condition that can be checked as a precondition before evaluating validations. This option is very useful and avoids negative performance impact by allowing execution of validations only when necessary.

The following diagram depicts the control flow and use of preconditions.

1. Validation - Name check to prevent numbers 2. Validation - Transaction Date check 3. Precondition - Department should be ‘100’ or ‘200’ STOP 4. Validation - Check for appointment ID > 3 5. Validation - Check for Person Action Code/Employment Type combination valid Priority and Validation Type: Combination of the Priority and the Validation Type determines the flow. Preconditions can be moved to the right “spot” using the Priority. This is not limited to the first step. A Precondition is for the entire set of validations defined on the business object and will stop evaluation of remaining conditions in the Priority order if the Precondition is not met. Validations cannot be grouped within a Business Object by Precondition.