Entity
An entity is an instance of a Dataclass, like a record of the table matching the dataclass in its associated datastore. It contains the same attributes as the dataclass as well as the data values and specific properties and functions.
Functions and properties
.attributeName : any stores the attribute value for the entity |
.clone() : 4D.Entity creates in memory a new entity referencing the same record as the original entity |
.diff( entityToCompare : 4D.Entity { , attributesToCompare : collection } ) : collection compares the contents of two entities and returns their differences |
.drop( {mode : integer} ) : object deletes the data contained in the entity from the datastore |
.first(): 4D.Entity returns a reference to the entity in first position of the entity selection which the entity belongs to |
.fromObject( filler : object ) fills an entity with the filler content |
.getDataClass() : 4D.DataClass returns the dataclass of the entity |
.getKey( { mode : integer } ) : string .getKey( { mode : integer } ) : integer returns the primary key value of the entity |
.getSelection(): 4D.EntitySelection returns the entity selection which the entity belongs to |
.getStamp() : integer returns the current value of the stamp of the entity |
.indexOf( { entitySelection : 4D.EntitySelection } ) : integer returns the position of the entity in an entity selection |
.isNew() : boolean returns true if the entity to which it is applied has just been created and has not yet been saved in the datastore |
.last() : 4D.Entity returns a reference to the entity in last position of the entity selection which the entity belongs to |
.lock( { mode : integer } ) : object puts a pessimistic lock on the record referenced by the entity |
.next() : 4D.Entity returns a reference to the next entity in the entity selection which the entity belongs to |
.previous() : 4D.Entity returns a reference to the previous entity in the entity selection which the entity belongs to |
.reload() : object reloads the content of the entity in memory |
.save( { mode : integer } ) : object saves the changes made to the entity |
.toObject() : object .toObject( filterString : string { , options : integer} ) : object .toObject( filterCol : collection { , options : integer } ) : object returns an object which has been built from the entity |
.touched() : boolean tests whether or not an entity attribute has been modified since the entity was loaded into memory or saved |
.touchedAttributes() : collection returns the names of the attributes that have been modified since the entity was loaded into memory |
.unlock() : object removes the pessimistic lock on the record matching the entity |
.attributeName
.attributeName : any
Description
Any dataclass attribute is available as a property of an entity, which stores the attribute value for the entity.
Dataclass attributes can also be reached using the alternate syntax with []
.
The attribute value type depends on the attribute kind:
- If attributeName kind is storage:
.attributeName
returns a value of the same type as attributeName. - If attributeName kind is relatedEntity:
.attributeName
returns the related entity. Values of the related entity are directly available through cascading properties, for example "myEntity.employer.employees[0].lastname". - If attributeName kind is relatedEntities:
.attributeName
returns a new entity selection of related entities. Duplications are removed (an unordered entity selection is returned). - If attributeName kind is calculated:
.attributeName
can return any type of value, depending on theget
function declaration.
Example
var myEntity : cs.EmployeeEntity
myEntity = ds.Employee.new() //Create a new entity
myEntity.name = "Dupont" // assign 'Dupont' to the 'name' attribute
myEntity.firstname = "John" //assign 'John' to the 'firstname' attribute
myEntity.save() //save the entity
.clone()
.clone() : 4D.Entity
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.Entity | ← | New entity referencing the record |
Description
The .clone()
function creates in memory a new entity referencing the same record as the original entity.
This function allows you to update entities separately. Note however that, for performance reasons, the new entity shares the same reference of object attributes as the cloned entity.
Keep in mind that any modifications done to entities will be saved in the referenced record only when the
.save()
function is executed.
This function can only be used with entities already saved in the database. It cannot be called on a newly created entity (for which .isNew()
returns true).
Example
var emp, empCloned : cs.EmployeeEntity
emp = ds.Employee.get(672)
empCloned = emp.clone()
emp.lastName = "Smith" //Updates done on emp are not done on empCloned
.diff()
.diff( entityToCompare : 4D.Entity { , attributesToCompare : collection } ) : collection
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
entityToCompare | 4D.Entity | → | Entity to be compared with the original entity |
attributesToCompare | collection | → | Name of attributes to be compared |
Result | collection | ← | Differences between the entities |
Description
The .diff()
function compares the contents of two entities and returns their differences.
In entityToCompare, pass the entity to be compared to the original entity.
In attributesToCompare, you can designate specific attributes to compare. If provided, the comparison is done only on the specified attributes. If not provided, all differences between the entities are returned.
The differences are returned as a collection of objects whose properties are:
Property name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
attributeName | string | Name of the attribute |
value | any - Depends on attribute type | Value of the attribute in the entity |
otherValue | any - Depends on attribute type | Value of the attribute in entityToCompare |
Only attributes with different values are included in the collection. If no differences are found, .diff()
returns an empty collection.
The function applies for properties whose kind is storage or relatedEntity. In case a related entity has been updated (meaning the foreign key), the name of the related entity and its primary key name are returned as attributeName properties (value and otherValue are empty for the related entity name).
If one of the compared entities is Null, an error is raised.
Example 1
var diff1, diff2 : collection
var employee, clone : cs.EmployeeEntity
employee = ds.Employee.query("ID = 1001").first()
clone = employee.clone()
employee.firstName = "MARIE"
employee.lastName = "SOPHIE"
employee.salary = 500
diff1 = clone.diff(employee) // All differences are returned
diff2 = clone.diff(employee,newCollection("firstName","lastName"))
// Only differences on firstName and lastName are returned
diff1:
[
{
"attributeName": "firstName",
"value": "Natasha",
"otherValue": "MARIE"
},
{
"attributeName": "lastName",
"value": "Locke",
"otherValue": "SOPHIE"
},
{
"attributeName": "salary",
"value": 66600,
"otherValue": 500
}
]
diff2:
[
{
"attributeName": "firstName",
"value": "Natasha",
"otherValue": "MARIE"
},
{
"attributeName": "lastName",
"value": "Locke",
"otherValue": "SOPHIE"
}
]
Example 2
var vCompareResult1, vCompareResult2, vCompareResult3, attributesToInspect : collection
var e1, e2 : cs.EmployeeEntity
var c : cs.CompanyEntity
vCompareResult1 = newCollection
vCompareResult2 = newCollection
vCompareResult3 = newCollection
attributesToInspect: = newCollection
e1 = ds.Employee.get(636)
e2 = ds.Employee.get(636)
e1.firstName = e1.firstName+" update"
e1.lastName = e1.lastName+" update"
c = ds.Company.get(117)
e1.employer = c
e2.salary = 100
attributesToInspect.push("firstName")
attributesToInspect.push("lastName")
vCompareResult1 = e1.diff(e2)
vCompareResult2 = e1.diff(e2,attributesToInspect)
vCompareResult3 = e1.diff(e2,e1.touchedAttributes())
vCompareResult1 (all differences are returned):
[
{
"attributeName": "firstName",
"value": "Karla update",
"otherValue": "Karla"
},
{
"attributeName": "lastName",
"value": "Marrero update",
"otherValue": "Marrero"
},
{
"attributeName": "salary",
"value": 33500,
"otherValue": 100
},
{
"attributeName": "employerID",
"value": 117,
"otherValue": 118
},
{
"attributeName": "employer",
"value": "[object Entity]",// Entity 117 from Company
"otherValue": "[object Entity]"// Entity 118 from Company
}
]
vCompareResult2 (only differences on attributesToInspect are returned)
[
{
"attributeName": "firstName",
"value": "Karla update",
"otherValue": "Karla"
},
{
"attributeName": "lastName",
"value": "Marrero update",
"otherValue": "Marrero"
}
]
vCompareResult3 (only differences on e1 touched attributes are returned)
[
{
"attributeName": "firstName",
"value": "Karla update",
"otherValue": "Karla"
},
{
"attributeName": "lastName",
"value": "Marrero update",
"otherValue": "Marrero"
},
{
"attributeName": "employerID",
"value": 117,
"otherValue": 118
},
{
"attributeName": "employer",
"value": "[object Entity]",// Entity 117 from Company
"otherValue": "[object Entity]"// Entity 118 from Company
}
]
.drop()
.drop( {mode : integer} ) : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
mode | integer | → | kForceDropIfStampChanged : Forces the drop even if the stamp has changed |
Result | object | ← | Result of drop operation |
Description
The .drop()
function deletes the data contained in the entity from the datastore, from the table related to its Dataclass. Note that the entity remains in memory.
In a multi-process application, the .drop()
function is executed under an "optimistic lock" mechanism, wherein an internal locking stamp is automatically incremented each time the record is saved.
By default, if the mode parameter is omitted, the function will return an error (see below) if the same entity was modified (i.e. the stamp has changed) by another process in the meantime.
Otherwise, you can pass the kForceDropIfStampChanged
option in the mode parameter: in this case, the entity is dropped even if the stamp has changed (and the primary key is still the same).
Result
The object returned by .drop( )
contains the following properties:
Property | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
success | boolean | true if the drop action is successful, false otherwise. | |
Available only in case of error: | |||
status(*) | number | Error code, see below | |
statusText(*) | string | Description of the error, see below | |
Available only in case of pessimistic lock error: | |||
LockKindText | string | "Locked by record" | |
lockInfo | object | Information about the lock origin | |
task_id | number | Process id | |
user_name | string | Session user name on the machine | |
user4d_alias | string | unused | |
host_name | string | Machine name | |
task_name | string | Process name | |
client_version | string | ||
Available only in case of serious error (serious error can be trying to duplicate a primary key, disk full...): | |||
errors | collection of objects | ||
message | string | Error message | |
component signature | string | internal component signature (e.g. "dmbg" stands for the database component) | |
errCode | number | Error code |
(*) The following values can be returned in the status and statusText properties of Result object in case of error:
Constant | Value | Comment |
---|---|---|
kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore | 5 | The entity no longer exists in the data. This error can occur in the following cases:kForceDropIfStampChanged option is used.Associated statusText: "Entity does not exist anymore" |
kStatusLocked | 3 | The entity is locked by a pessimistic lock. Associated statusText: "Already locked" |
kStatusSeriousError | 4 | A serious error is a low-level database error (e.g. duplicated key), a hardware error, etc. Associated statusText: "Other error" |
kStatusStampHasChanged | 2 | The internal stamp value of the entity does not match the one of the entity stored in the data (optimistic lock). This error can only occur if the kForceDropIfStampChanged option is not usedAssociated statusText: "Stamp has changed" |
Example 1
Example without kForceDropIfStampChanged
option:
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var status : object
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith")
employee = employees.first()
status = employee.drop()
switch
:(status.success)
info = "You have dropped "+employee.firstName+" "+employee.lastName) //The dropped entity remains in memory
:(status.status = kStatusStampHasChanged)
info = status.statusText
end
Example 2
Example with kForceDropIfStampChanged
option:
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var status : object
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith")
employee = employees.first()
status = employee.drop(kForceDropIfStampChanged)
switch
:(status.success)
info = "You have dropped "+employee.firstName+" "+employee.lastName) //The dropped entity remains in memory
:(status.status = kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore)
info = status.statusText
end
.first()
.first(): 4D.Entity
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.Entity | ← | Reference to first entity of an entity selection (null if not found) |
Description
The .first()
function returns a reference to the entity in first position of the entity selection which the entity belongs to.
If the entity does not belong to any existing entity selection (i.e. .getSelection( ) returns null), the function returns a null value.
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee, firstEmployee : cs.EmployeeEntity
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","H@") //This entity selection contains 3 entities
employee = employees[2]
firstEmployee = employee.first() //firstEmployee is the first entity of the employees entity selection
.fromObject()
.fromObject( filler : object )
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
filler | object | → | object from which to fill the entity |
Description
The .fromObject()
function fills an entity with the filler content.
This function modifies the original entity.
The mapping between the object and the entity is done on the attribute names:
- If a property of the object does not exist in the dataclass, it is ignored.
- Data types must be equivalent. If there is a type mismatch between the object and dataclass, ORDA tries to convert the data whenever possible, otherwise the attribute is left untouched.
- The primary key can be given as is or with a "__KEY" property (filled with the primary key value). If it does not already exist in the dataclass, the entity is created with the given value when .save() is called. If the primary key is not given, the entity is created and the primary key value is assigned with respect to database rules. The auto-increment is only computed if the primary key is null.
filler can handle a related entity under the following conditions:
- filler contains the foreign key itself, or
- filler contains a property object with the same name as the related entity, containing a single property named "__KEY".
- if the related entity does not exist, it is ignored.
Example
With the following o object:
{
"firstName": "Mary",
"lastName": "Smith",
"salary": 36500,
"birthDate": "1958-10-27T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": true,
"managerID": 411,// relatedEntity given with PK
"employerID": 20 // relatedEntity given with PK
}
The following code will create an entity with manager and employer related entities.
var o : object
var entity : cs.EmpEntity
entity = ds.Emp.new()
entity.fromObject(o)
entity.save()
You could also use a related entity given as an object:
{
"firstName": "Marie",
"lastName": "Lechat",
"salary": 68400,
"birthDate": "1971-09-03T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": false,
"employer": {// relatedEntity given as an object
"__KEY": "21"
},
"manager": {// relatedEntity given as an object
"__KEY": "411"
}
}
.getDataClass()
.getDataClass() : 4D.DataClass
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.DataClass | ← | DataClass object to which the entity belongs |
Description
The .getDataClass()
function returns the dataclass of the entity. This function is useful when writing generic code.
Example
The following generic code duplicates any entity:
//duplicate_entity method
//duplicate_entity(entity)
declare (entity : 4D.Entity)
var entityNew : 4D.Entity
var status : object
entityNew = entity.getDataClass().new() //create a new entity in the parent dataclass
entityNew.fromObject(entity.toObject()) //get all attributes
entityNew[entity.getDataClass().getInfo().primaryKey] = Null //reset the primary key
status = entityNew.save() //save the duplicated entity
.getKey()
.getKey( { mode : integer } ) : string
.getKey( { mode : integer } ) : integer
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
mode | integer | → | kKeyAsString : primary key is returned as a string, no matter the primary key type |
Result | string | ← | Value of the string primary key of the entity |
Result | integer | ← | Value of the numeric primary key of the entity |
Description
The .getKey()
function returns the primary key value of the entity.
Primary keys can be numbers (integer) or strings. You can "force" the returned primary key value to be a string, no matter the actual primary key type, by passing the kKeyAsString
option in the mode parameter.
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith")
employee = employees[0]
info = "The primary key is "+employee.getKey(kKeyAsString)
.getSelection()
.getSelection(): 4D.EntitySelection
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.EntitySelection | ← | Entity selection to which the entity belongs (null if not found) |
Description
The .getSelection()
function returns the entity selection which the entity belongs to.
If the entity does not belong to an entity selection, the function returns null.
Example
var emp : cs.EmployeeEntity
var employees, employees2 : cs.EmployeeSelection
var info : string
emp = ds.Employee.get(672) // This entity does not belong to any entity selection
employees = emp.getSelection() // employees is Null
employees2 = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith") //This entity selection contains 6 entities
emp = employees2[0] //This entity belongs to an entity selection
info = "The entity selection contains "+string(emp.getSelection().length)+" entities"
.getStamp()
.getStamp() : integer
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | integer | ← | Stamp of the entity (0 if entity has just been created) |
Description
The .getStamp()
function returns the current value of the stamp of the entity.
The internal stamp is automatically incremented by the database each time the entity is saved. It manages concurrent user access and modifications to the same entities (see Entity locking).
For a new entity (never saved), the function returns 0. To know if an entity has just been created, it is recommended to use .isNew().
Example
var entity : cs.EmployeeEntity
var stamp : integer
entity = ds.Employee.new()
entity.lastname = "Smith"
entity.save()
stamp = entity.getStamp() //stamp = 1
entity.lastname = "Wesson"
entity.save()
stamp = entity.getStamp() //stamp = 2
.indexOf()
.indexOf( { entitySelection : 4D.EntitySelection } ) : integer
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
entitySelection | 4D.EntitySelection | → | Position of the entity is given according to this entity selection |
Result | integer | ← | Position of the entity in an entity selection |
Description
The .indexOf()
function returns the position of the entity in an entity selection.
By default if the entitySelection parameter is omitted, the function returns the entity's position within its own entity selection. Otherwise, it returns the position of the entity within the specified entitySelection.
The resulting value is included between 0 and the length of the entity selection -1.
- If the entity does not have an entity selection or does not belong to entitySelection, the function returns -1.
- If entitySelection is Null or does not belong to the same dataclass as the entity, an error is raised.
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","H@") //This entity selection contains 3 entities
employee = employees[1] //This entity belongs to an entity selection
info = "The index of the entity in its own entity selection is "+string(employee.indexOf()) //1
employee = ds.Employee.get(725) //This entity does not belong to an entity selection
info = "The index of the entity is "+string(employee.indexOf()) // -1
.isNew()
.isNew() : boolean
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | boolean | ← | True if entity has just been created and not yet saved. Otherwise, false. |
Description
The .isNew()
function returns true if the entity to which it is applied has just been created and has not yet been saved in the datastore. Otherwise, it returns false.
Example
var emp : cs.EmployeeEntity
var info : string
emp = ds.Employee.new()
if(emp.isNew())
info = "This is a new entity"
end
.last()
.last() : 4D.Entity
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.Entity | ← | Reference to last entity of an entity selection (null if not found) |
Description
The .last()
function returns a reference to the entity in last position of the entity selection which the entity belongs to.
If the entity does not belong to any existing entity selection (i.e. .getSelection() returns null), the function returns a null value.
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee, lastEmployee : cs.EmployeeEntity
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","H@") //This entity selection contains 3 entities
employee = employees[0]
lastEmployee = employee.last() //lastEmployee is the last entity of the employees entity selection
.lock()
.lock( { mode : integer } ) : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
mode | integer | → | kReloadIfStampChanged : Reload before locking if stamp changed |
Result | object | ← | Result of lock operation |
Description
The .lock()
function puts a pessimistic lock on the record referenced by the entity. The lock is set for a record and all the references of the entity in the current process.
Other processes will see this record as locked (the result.success
property will contain False if they try to lock the same entity using this function). Only functions executed in the "locking" session are allowed to edit and save the attributes of the entity. The entity can be loaded as read-only by other sessions, but they will not be able to enter and save values.
A locked record is unlocked:
- when the
unlock()
function is called on a matching entity in the same process - automatically, when it is no longer referenced by any entities in memory. For example, if the lock is put only on one local reference of an entity, the entity is unlocked when the function ends. As long as there are references to the entity in memory, the record remains locked.
By default, if the mode parameter is omitted, the function will return an error (see below) if the same entity was modified (i.e. the stamp has changed) by another process or user in the meantime.
Otherwise, you can pass the kReloadIfStampChanged
option in the mode parameter: in this case, no error is returned and the entity is reloaded when the stamp has changed (if the entity still exists and the primary key is still the same).
Result
The object returned by .lock()
contains the following properties:
Property | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
success | boolean | true if the lock action is successful (or if the entity is already locked in the current process), false otherwise. | |
Available only if kReloadIfStampChanged option is used: | |||
wasReloaded | boolean | true if the entity was reloaded with success, false otherwise. | |
Available only in case of error: | |||
status(*) | number | Error code, see below | |
statusText(*) | string | Description of the error, see below | |
Available only in case of pessimistic lock error: | |||
lockKindText | string | "Locked by record" | |
lockInfo | object | Information about the lock origin | |
task_id | number | Process ID | |
user_name | string | Session user name on the machine | |
user4d_alias | string | unused | |
user4d_id | number | User id in the database directory | |
host_name | string | Machine name | |
task_name | string | Process name | |
client_version | string | ||
Available only in case of serious error (primary key already exists, disk full...): | |||
errors | collection of objects | ||
message | string | Error message | |
component signature | string | internal component signature (e.g. "dmbg" stands for the database component) | |
errCode | number | Error code |
(*) The following values can be returned in the status and statusText properties of the Result object in case of error:
Constant | Value | Comment |
---|---|---|
kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore | 5 | The entity no longer exists in the data. This error can occur in the following cases:kReloadIfStampChanged option is usedAssociated statusText: "Entity does not exist anymore" |
kStatusLocked | 3 | The entity is locked by a pessimistic lock. Associated statusText: "Already locked" |
kStatusSeriousError | 4 | A serious error is a low-level database error (e.g. duplicated key), a hardware error, etc. Associated statusText: "Other error" |
kStatusStampHasChanged | 2 | The internal stamp value of the entity does not match the one of the entity stored in the data (optimistic lock). This error occurs only if the kReloadIfStampChanged option is not usedAssociated statusText: "Stamp has changed" |
Example 1
Example with error:
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var status : object
var info : string
employee = ds.Employee.get(716)
status = employee.lock()
switch
:(status.success)
info = "You have locked "+employee.firstName+" "+employee.lastName
:(status.status = kStatusStampHasChanged)
info = status.statusText
end
Example 2
Example with kReloadIfStampChanged
option:
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var status : object
var info : string
employee = ds.Employee.get(717)
status = employee.lock(kReloadIfStampChanged)
switch
:(status.success)
info = "You have locked "+employee.firstName+" "+employee.lastName
:(status.status = kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore)
info = status.statusText
end
.next()
.next() : 4D.Entity
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.Entity | ← | Reference to next entity in the entity selection (Null if not found) |
Description
The .next()
function returns a reference to the next entity in the entity selection which the entity belongs to.
If the entity does not belong to any existing entity selection (i.e. .getSelection() returns Null), the function returns a Null value.
If there is no valid next entity in the entity selection (i.e. you are on the last entity of the selection), the function returns Null. If the next entity has been dropped, the function returns the next valid entity (and eventually Null).
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee, nextEmployee : cs.EmployeeEntity
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","H@") //This entity selection contains 3 entities
employee = employees[0]
nextEmployee = employee.next() //nextEmployee is the second entity of the employees entity selection
.previous()
.previous() : 4D.Entity
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | 4D.Entity | ← | Reference to previous entity in the entity selection (null if not found) |
Description
The .previous()
function returns a reference to the previous entity in the entity selection which the entity belongs to.
If the entity does not belong to any existing entity selection (i.e. .getSelection() returns null), the function returns a Null value.
If there is no valid previous entity in the entity selection (i.e. you are on the first entity of the selection), the function returns null. If the previous entity has been dropped, the function returns the previous valid entity (and eventually null).
Example
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var employee, previousEmployee : cs.EmployeeEntity
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","H@") //This entity selection contains 3 entities
employee = employees[1]
previousEmployee = employee.previous() //previousEmployee is the first entity of the employees entity selection
.reload()
.reload() : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | object | ← | Status object |
Description
The .reload()
function reloads the content of the entity in memory, according to information stored in the table related to the dataclass in the datastore. The reload is done only if the entity still exists with the same primary key.
Result
The object returned by .reload()
contains the following properties:
Property | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
success | boolean | True if the reload action is successful, false otherwise. |
Available only in case of error: | ||
status(*) | number | Error code, see below |
statusText(*) | string | Description of the error, see below |
(*) The following values can be returned in the status and statusText properties of Result object in case of error:
Constant | Value | Comment |
---|---|---|
kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore | 5 | The entity no longer exists in the data. This error can occur in the following cases: Associated statusText: "Entity does not exist anymore" |
kStatusSeriousError | 4 | A serious error is a low-level database error (e.g. duplicated key), a hardware error, etc. Associated statusText: "Other error" |
Example
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var result : object
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Hollis")
employee = employees[0]
employee.firstName = "Mary"
result = employee.reload()
switch
:(result.success)
info = "Reload has been done"
:(result.status = kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore)
info = "The entity has been dropped"
end
.save()
.save( { mode : integer } ) : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
mode | integer | → | kAutoMerge : Enables the automatic merge mode |
Result | object | ← | Result of save operation |
Description
The .save()
function saves the changes made to the entity in the table related to its dataClass. You must call this function after creating or modifying an entity if you want to save the changes made to it.
The save operation is executed only if at least one entity attribute has been "touched" (see the .touched()
and .touchedAttributes()
functions). Otherwise, the function does nothing (the trigger is not called).
In a multi-process application, the .save()
function is executed under an "optimistic lock" mechanism, wherein an internal locking stamp is automatically incremented each time the record is saved.
By default, if the mode parameter is omitted, the method will return an error (see below) whenever the same entity has been modified by another process in the meantime, no matter the modified attribute(s).
Otherwise, you can pass the kAutoMerge
option in the mode parameter: when the automatic merge mode is enabled, a modification done concurrently by another process/user on the same entity but on a different attribute will not result in an error. The resulting data saved in the entity will be the combination (the "merge") of all non-concurrent modifications (if modifications were applied to the same attribute, the save fails and an error is returned, even with the auto merge mode).
The automatic merge mode is not available for attributes of type Picture and object. Concurrent changes in these attributes will result in a
kStatusStampHasChanged
error.
Result
The object returned by .save()
contains the following properties:
Property | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
success | boolean | True if the save action is successful, False otherwise. | |
Available only if kAutoMerge option is used: | |||
autoMerged | boolean | True if an auto merge was done, False otherwise. | |
Available only in case of error: | |||
status | number | Error code, see below | |
statusText | string | Description of the error, see below | |
Available only in case of pessimistic lock error: | |||
lockKindText | string | "Locked by record" | |
lockInfo | object | Information about the lock origin | |
task_id | number | Process id | |
user_name | string | Session user name on the machine | |
user4d_alias | string | unused | |
host_name | string | Machine name | |
task_name | string | Process name | |
client_version | string | ||
Available only in case of serious error (serious error - can be trying to duplicate a primary key, disk full...): | |||
errors | collection of objects | ||
message | string | Error message | |
componentSignature | string | Internal component signature (e.g. "dmbg" stands for the database component) | |
errCode | number | Error code |
status and statusText
The following values can be returned in the status
and statusText
properties of Result object in case of error:
Constant | Value | Comment |
---|---|---|
kStatusAutomergeFailed | 6 | (Only if the kAutoMerge option is used) The automatic merge option failed when saving the entity.Associated statusText: "Auto merge failed" |
kStatusEntityDoesNotExistAnymore | 5 | The entity no longer exists in the data. This error can occur in the following cases: Associated statusText: "Entity does not exist anymore" |
kStatusLocked | 3 | The entity is locked by a pessimistic lock. Associated statusText: "Already locked" |
kStatusSeriousError | 4 | A serious error is a low-level database error (e.g. duplicated key), a hardware error, etc. Associated statusText: "Other error" |
kStatusStampHasChanged | 2 | The internal stamp value of the entity does not match the one of the entity stored in the data (optimistic lock). This error can only occur if the kAutoMerge option is not usedAssociated statusText: "Stamp has changed" |
Example 1
Creating a new entity:
var status : object
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var info : string
employee = ds.Employee.new()
employee.firstName = "Mary"
employee.lastName = "Smith"
status = employee.save()
if(status.success)
info = "Employee created"
end
Example 2
Updating an entity without kAutoMerge
option:
var status : object
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith")
employee = employees.first()
employee.lastName = "Mac Arthur"
status = employee.save()
switch
:(status.success)
info = "Employee updated"
:(status.status = kStatusStampHasChanged)
info = status.statusText
end
Example 3
Updating an entity with kAutoMerge
option:
var status : object
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var employees : cs.EmployeeSelection
var info : string
employees = ds.Employee.query("lastName = :1","Smith")
employee = employees.first()
employee.lastName = "Mac Arthur"
status = employee.save(kAutoMerge)
switch
:(status.success)
info = "Employee updated"
:(status.status = kStatusAutomergeFailed)
info = status.statusText
end
.toObject()
.toObject() : object
.toObject( filterString : string { , options : integer} ) : object
.toObject( filterCol : collection { , options : integer } ) : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
filterString | string | → | Attribute(s) to extract (comma-separated string) |
filterCol | collection | → | collection of attribute(s) to extract |
options | integer | → | kWithPrimaryKey : adds the _KEY property;kWithStamp : adds the _STAMP property |
Result | object | ← | object built from the entity |
Description
The .toObject()
function returns an object which has been built from the entity. Property names in the object match attribute names of the entity.
If no filter is specified, or if the filterString parameter contains an empty string or "*", the returned object will contain:
- all storage entity attributes
- attributes of the
relatedEntity
kind: you get a property with the same name as the related entity (name of the many-to-one link). Attribute is extracted with the simple form. - attributes of the
relatedEntities
kind: attribute is not returned.
In the first parameter, you pass the entity attribute(s) to extract. You can pass:
- filterString: a string with property paths separated with commas: "propertyPath1, propertyPath2, ...", or
- filterCol: a collection of strings: ["propertyPath1","propertyPath2";...]
If a filter is specified for attributes of the relatedEntity kind:
- propertyPath = "relatedEntity" -> it is extracted with simple form: an object with property __KEY (primary key).
- propertyPath = "relatedEntity.*" -> all the properties are extracted
- propertyPath = "relatedEntity.propertyName1; relatedEntity.propertyName2; ..." -> only those properties are extracted
If a filter is specified for attributes of the relatedEntities kind:
- propertyPath = "relatedEntities.*" -> all the properties are extracted
- propertyPath = "relatedEntities.propertyName1; relatedEntities.propertyName2; ..." -> only those properties are extracted
In the options parameter, you can pass the kWithPrimaryKey
and/or kWithStamp
selector(s) to add the entity's primary keys and/or stamps in extracted objects.
Example 1
The following structure will be used throughout all examples of this section:
Without filter parameter:
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject()
Returns:
{
"ID": 413,
"firstName": "Greg",
"lastName": "Wahl",
"salary": 0,
"birthDate": "1963-02-01T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": false,
"managerID": 412,
"employerID": 20,
"photo": "[object Picture]",
"extra": null,
"employer": { // relatedEntity extracted with simple form
"__KEY": 20
},
"manager": {
"__KEY": 412
}
}
Example 2
Extracting the primary key and the stamp:
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject("",kWithPrimaryKey+kWithStamp)
Returns:
{
"__KEY": 413,
"__STAMP": 1,
"ID": 413,
"firstName": "Greg",
"lastName": "Wahl",
"salary": 0,
"birthDate": "1963-02-01T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": false,
"managerID": 412,
"employerID": 20,
"photo": "[object Picture]",
"extra": null,
"employer": {
"__KEY": 20
},
"manager": {
"__KEY": 412
}
}
Example 3
Expanding all the properties of relatedEntities
:
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject("directReports.*")
{
"directReports": [
{
"ID": 418,
"firstName": "Lorena",
"lastName": "Boothe",
"salary": 44800,
"birthDate": "1970-10-02T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": true,
"managerID": 413,
"employerID": 20,
"photo": "[object Picture]",
"extra": null,
"employer": {
"__KEY": 20
},
"manager": {
"__KEY": 413
}
},
{
"ID": 419,
"firstName": "Drew",
"lastName": "Caudill",
"salary": 41000,
"birthDate": "2030-01-12T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": false,
"managerID": 413,
"employerID": 20,
"photo": "[object Picture]",
"extra": null,
"employer": {
"__KEY": 20
},
"manager": {
"__KEY": 413
}
},
{
"ID": 420,
"firstName": "Nathan",
"lastName": "Gomes",
"salary": 46300,
"birthDate": "2010-05-29T00:00:00.000Z",
"woman": false,
"managerID": 413,
"employerID": 20,
"photo": "[object Picture]",
"extra": null,
"employer": {
"__KEY": 20
},
"manager": {
"__KEY": 413
}
}
]
}
Example 4
Extracting some properties of relatedEntities
:
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject("firstName, directReports.lastName")
Returns:
{
"firstName": "Greg",
"directReports": [
{
"lastName": "Boothe"
},
{
"lastName": "Caudill"
},
{
"lastName": "Gomes"
}
]
}
Example 5
Extracting a relatedEntity
with simple form:
coll = newCollection("firstName","employer")
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject(coll)
Returns:
{
"firstName": "Greg",
"employer": {
"__KEY": 20
}
}
Example 6
Extracting all the properties of a relatedEntity
:
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject("employer.*")
Returns:
{
"employer": {
"ID": 20,
"name": "India Astral Secretary",
"creationDate": "1984-08-25T00:00:00.000Z",
"revenues": 12000000,
"extra": null
}
}
Example 7
Extracting some properties of a relatedEntity
:
col = newCollection
col.push("employer.name")
col.push("employer.revenues")
employeeObject = employeeSelected.toObject(col)
Returns:
{
"employer": {
"name": "India Astral Secretary",
"revenues": 12000000
}
}
.touched()
.touched() : boolean
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | boolean | ← | True if at least one entity attribute has been modified and not yet saved, else false |
Description
The .touched()
function tests whether or not an entity attribute has been modified since the entity was loaded into memory or saved.
If an attribute has been modified or calculated, the function returns true, else it returns false. You can use this function to determine if you need to save the entity.
This function returns false for a new entity that has just been created (with .new( )
). Note however that if you use a function which calculates an attribute of the entity, the .touched()
function will then return true. For example, if you call .getKey()
to calculate the primary key, .touched()
returns true.
Example
In this example, we check to see if it is necessary to save the entity:
var emp : cs.EmployeeEntity
emp = ds.Employee.get(672)
emp.firstName = emp.firstName //Even if updated with the same value, the attribute is marked as touched
if(emp.touched()) //if at least one of the attributes has been changed
emp.save()
end // otherwise, no need to save the entity
.touchedAttributes( )
.touchedAttributes() : collection
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | collection | ← | Names of touched attributes, or empty collection |
Description
The .touchedAttributes()
function returns the names of the attributes that have been modified since the entity was loaded into memory.
This applies for attributes of the kind storage
or relatedEntity
.
In the case of a related entity having been touched (i.e., the foreign key), the name of the related entity and its primary key's name are returned.
If no entity attribute has been touched, the method returns an empty collection.
Example 1
var touchedAttributes : collection
var emp : cs.EmployeeEntity
touchedAttributes = newCollection()
emp = ds.Employee.get(725)
emp.firstName = emp.firstName //Even if updated with the same value, the attribute is marked as touched
emp.lastName = "Martin"
touchedAttributes = emp.touchedAttributes()
//touchedAttributes: ["firstName","lastName"]
Example 2
var touchedAttributes : collection
var emp : cs.EmployeeEntity
var company : cs.CompanyEntity
touchedAttributes = newCollection()
emp = ds.Employee.get(672)
emp.firstName = emp.firstName
emp.lastName = "Martin"
company = ds.Company.get(121)
emp.employer = company
touchedAttributes = emp.touchedAttributes()
//touchedAttributes: ["firstName","lastName","employer","employerID"]
In this case:
- firstName and lastName have a
storage
kind - employer has a
relatedEntity
kind - employerID is the foreign key of the employer related entity
.unlock()
.unlock() : object
Parameter | Type | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Result | object | ← | Status object |
Description
The .unlock()
function removes the pessimistic lock on the record matching the entity in the datastore and table related to its dataclass.
For more information, please refer to Entity locking section.
A record is automatically unlocked when it is no longer referenced by any entities in the locking process (for example: if the lock is put only on one local reference of an entity, the entity and thus the record is unlocked when the process ends).
When a record is locked, it must be unlocked from the locking process and on the entity reference which put the lock. For example:
e1 = ds.Emp.all()[0]
e2 = ds.Emp.all()[0]
res = e1.lock() //res.success = true
res = e2.unlock() //res.success = false
res = e1.unlock() //res.success = true
Result
The object returned by .unlock()
contains the following property:
Property | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
success | boolean | True if the unlock action is successful, false otherwise. If the unlock is done on a dropped entity, on a non locked record, or on a record locked by another process or entity, success is false. |
Example
var employee : cs.EmployeeEntity
var status : object
var info : string
employee = ds.Employee.get(725)
status = employee.lock()
... //processing
status = employee.unlock()
if(status.success)
info = "The entity is now unlocked"
end