Configurable Item - Constraints (tipcf2110m000)

With constraints, you can define a generic product model in a flexible manner. Constraints consist of a mix of formalized data recorded in the database and a number of decision rules, which can be defined by means of a constraint editor. Among other things, constraints enable you to indicate under which conditions certain combinations of options are acceptable, mandatory, or not acceptable for product features. You can also indicate which bill of material components or operations must be included or excluded, what the purchase or sales price structure for a product variant is, and so on.

In each constraint section, global or local variables can be defined, which can be supplied with certain values, with or without the help of a formula. Global variables keep their value during the whole configuration or generation process.

Constraints can be used with product features to control the configuration process. This is important for horizontal dependencies between option sets, relations between price list lines in connection with surcharges or discounts, and so on.

You can select a record and click the Text Editor button to activate the constraint editor.

You can choose Start Zoom Session on the Options menu in the constraint editor. ERP then displays a menu with the following sessions:

• Product Feature (tipcf0150m000).
• Options by Product Feature (tipcf0160m000).
• Product Features by Configurable Item (tipcf1101m000).
• Options by Product Feature and Configurable Item (tipcf1110m000).
• Constraint Validation Messages (tipcf2120m000).

You can select one of the preceding sessions, and select a record to include this record in the constraint. If you use the editor and you want to add an option to a feature, you must first select the feature before you can zoom to the Options by Product Feature (tipcf0160m000) session, or to the Options by Product Feature and Configurable Item (tipcf1110m000) session. LN displays the options that belong to the selected feature. You can then choose an option to add to this option in the editor.

A meta language that is specially devised for this purpose and that is a subset of LN is used to define constraint expressions. For online Help about the potential of this meta language, and the possibilities of the constraint syntax, refer to Constraint editor.