Maps an entity so it can appear in the data structure. When filled with data (from a service or by a user), it will contain data rows of either all or only of the selected columns.
You can create an entity either as a root entity under the data structure element or by creating a sub-entity under another entity. A Sub-entity can be only created if the parent entity has an existing relationship to another entity.
Attributes
| AllColumns | Indicates if the data structure should contain all the fields defined in the source entity. If True, then the data structure will be populated by all the fields defined in the chosen Entity (except those that have Set AllColumns to True if you want to define data structures, which will be used for entering data using Screens. The Newly added field to the source entity will automatically add a field to all the data structure entities. This way you will not have to add the field manually to all the data structures. Set AllColumns to False whenever you are sure that no more fields will be needed unless explicitly specified. This is true for Data Lookups or for Reports. Data Lookups need only two columns: Key and Text. So defining a lookup data structure with just these 2 fields will result in faster processing. Similarly, reports have a fixed set of defined fields. The report does not dynamically display more data. So setting fields explicitly to the data structure results in loading only those columns needed for the report from the database. |
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| Caption | Not used. |
| Entity | Defines which Data Entity will provide its fields and filters to the data structure entity. In case this is a root entity in this data structure, you can choose from all the entities defined in the model. If you are creating a sub-entity (under another entity), you can choose the available relationships of the parent data structure entity's source entity. |
| RelationType | This attribute is important when loading data using a data service. RelationType defines a type of link between an entity and a sub-entity inside the data structure. See below for different types. |
RelationType Options
| Normal | All data will be loaded to both the parent and the child entity. |
| FilterParent | Data to the parent entity will be loaded only if there exists at least 1 record in the child entity. |
| NotExists | When a child entity is linked with NotExists (set AllFields = False because this entity will not be used for returning data, only for filtering) the parent entity will only return those records for which no record exists in the child entity. |
| LeftJoin | The child entity will be loaded in a single database call together with the parent entity using a LEFT JOIN SQL clause. You need to access the child entity fields in the parent entity by adding a Data Structure Field to the parent entity and specifying the Entity attribute. Then you will be able to choose a field from the linked child entity. |
| InnerJoin | Same as LeftJoin but using an INNER JOIN SQL clause. |