Properties & Data Modeling

- Day4

By Vishnu Jaiswal

Agenda

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Properties
Need of Properties
Any application may require some data objects to move along with the work object.
This can be implemented using the properties of mode List or Group.
We need to create that property in your work class where each item of that list or group belongs to a
certain data class. (more details in the properties section)

Properties:
A property rule provides a name and characteristics for data in an object. Because a property definition
is a rule, it shares the benefits of versioning, inheritance, and access control that Process Commander
provides to all rules.
Define properties in your work class hierarchy to hold data
Property Names follow the same requirements as any identifier
Alphanumeric (must start with a letter)
No spaces, dashes, dots, etc.
Case-sensitive

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Property Types and Modes

Properties have three main modes:
Single Value (built-in data types for lower-level elements), Eg: integer, decimal, true/false, etc.
Page - For nesting objects (example to follow)
Java Object
For interfacing with a lower-level Java object
For instance, from Java, an object can be passed via a parameter through a JSR-94 API.
The parameter can be accessed on the clipboard through a Java Object property.
Each mode has three designations: a single instance, a list (an array), or a group (an unordered
collection). So the three main modes can further be broken down into eleven modes
There are 11 modes of properties that are broadly categorized to 3 broad categories viz, Values, Pages
and Java Objects
All of the except one ( Single value ) is considered to be aggregate properties
Difference between Value list and value Group - In Value List value is an ordered, indexed list of
strings, sometimes called an array. In Value Group value contains one or multiple strings, unordered,
each identified by a unique text index.

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Property Types and Modes

Value modes can take any of the flowing types

Text
Integer
Identifier
Password
Double

Decimal
DateTime
Date
TimeOfDay
TrueOrFalse

A property of mode Java Object can contain any Java object while on the clipboard. If the Java class
supports the Serializable interface, a page containing this property can be saved into the Process
Commander database
PRPC standard properties are prefixed either with px or py or pz
px Computed properties that users can see on a form, but cant directly enter or change ( Such as
pxCreateDateTime). To alter this values activities can use a step method called Property-Set-Special
method
py Properties that users can enter or change via direct input ( such as pyDescription ) . To assign
these values programmatically, activities can use step method called Property-Set method
pz Properties with names that start with pz support internal system processing. Users cannot directly
manipulate pz properties. Your application may examine these values, but do not set them.

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Data Table wizard

Developers can use the Data Table editor to add, update, or delete instances of a concrete class
derived from the Data- class for which no form is defined, or other classes for which an Excel template
rule is defined. This facility allows easy entry and maintenance of data instances for classes that have
a simple structure.

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Data Table wizard contd..

Enter the name for a
new concrete class

Identify the
parent class.

Select to indicate
that this property
defines a unique
key to the class.

Optional. If the
allowable values of
this property are
defined by the key
values of another
class that has a
single key part,
identify that class
here.

Define Single
Value properties
using this array.

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Click to require that

this property have a
non-blank value.

Models
When you create a page, you can opt to specify a model rule to initialize a page
Set property values in a model
Similar to constructors in Java and C++
Does not take arguments/parameters
By convention, named pyDefault
Subclass models call superclass models that have the same name
To create a model in work class that initializes certain properties
Examine the default model for Work- before creating a model
Property values set in your model override any set by the models in Work- (and other parent)
classes
Initialize all application-specific data

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Model Chaining
This is the process to apply any model of the same name defined in parent class to the current page

Internal algorithm for this feature:

Process Commander identifies the parent of the current class using the Parent field in the class
definition, not by following full class hierarchy searches. (Thus, it uses directed inheritance first to
find the parent, then pattern inheritance.)
After identifying a parent class, the system uses rule resolution to find the model of the same
name as the current model.
The model in the highest class is applied first. The current model is applied last

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2009 Syntel, Inc.

Thank You !