Valuemation Object Type Customizer

The Object Type Customizer is a customization tool where the Valuemation Object Types are created and configured. It is a place where the connection between the actual data and Valuemation is defined. All the other Customizers build on and refine the information from the Object Type Customizer.

Note: The Object Type Customizer is primarily accessed from the Customization Browser.

There are two types of Object Types which can be managed using the Object Type Customizer:

• Persistent Object Types

  A Persistent Object Type is an object type based on the existing database table or view. There is a real connection between the Valuemation business object and the physical database object. This type of Object Type is stored in the database. See also 'Creating a New Persistent Object Type' chapter.

  Note: The Persistent Object Type can also have transient attributes.

• Transient Object Types

  A Transient Object Type is a collection of data which is used by the application (usually to perform a certain operation) but unlike the Persistent Object it does not get stored in the database. The Transient Object Type determines the structure of a particular Transient Object. See also 'Creating a New Transient Object Type' chapter.

  Example: The context menu for a Contract catalog provides the Generate Payments function. Calling the function opens the Generate Payments window, where the user specifies data for the Generate Payments operation. Once the operation is carried through, this collection of data is no longer needed and will not be stored anywhere in a database.

When creating a new Object Type, you simply select the required attributes from the particular table in the database. The selected attributes make up a new Object Type. You can also edit the existing Object Types in various ways. For example, it is possible to add another attribute (which already exists in the database), set different mandatory fields or change the field length of an attribute within Valuemation. The Object Type Customizer will automatically update the necessary links to other technical tables.

The Object Type Customizer comprises several tabs which are used for:

• Specifying the source database parameters (a table name, the database scheme, the database session etc.).
• Selecting the required database columns (attributes) for a new Object Type.

• Assigning the Object Type to one or more Valuemation business modules.

New Object Type with a New Table

A table must exist in the database prior to the Persistent or Transient Object Type creation. However, you can also create a new (persistent) Object Type together with a new database table and thus define the connection between an Object Type and a database table at the same time. Once created, the Object Type is added to the list of the existing Object Types.

The starting point of this procedure is in the Object Type Browser of the Customization Browser. See also the 'Object Type Browser in Detail' topic.

To follow the whole process, see the 'Creating a New Object Type together with a Table' topic.