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About Attribute Domains

When you define an attribute, you must define the domain of possible values for the attribute.

About Defining Attribute Domains

There are the following methods for defining the domain:

• List of values. You can list the specific values the attribute can have. When users configure a product, they select one of the values from a drop-down menu. For example, the attribute Color could have the list of values red, green, or blue.

  A special case of a list of values domain is a list of values that contains only one value. This is useful for creating attributes that you use for managing resources. For example, you could create an attribute called slots-consumed for a product class of computer expansion cards. Typically, each card requires one expansion slot. You would create a list of values containing only the number 1, and would set 1 as the default value. You could then write rules that subtract the value of this attribute from a resource called slots-available each time the user picks an expansion card.

  Parametric search can be used to search for attribute values.

  Attribute-based pricing can only use attribute values that have been defined as elements in a list of values (LOV). Attribute-based pricing requires the discrete values that appear in an LOV.

• Free form. This domain allows free form user input. During runtime, it provides a blank field where the user can make any desired entry.

  Parametric search cannot be used to search for attribute values.

• Business Component (Buscomp) field. This domain is defined by a field in a business component. For example, you can define an attribute called Account and associate it with the Name field in the Account business component. When users configure a product, they see an attribute called Account. They can then open a picklist and select the desired account. This domain type can be used only for products that are configured in Siebel Configurator selection pages.

  Parametric search cannot be used to search for attribute values.

This chapter covers the list of values and free form domain types. For information about the Business Component field type, see Product Attributes with Business Component Domains.

Domain Data Types

The data type you specify in the attribute definition determines how the application interprets the values in the domain. For example, you define an attribute with a list of values domain. You define the attribute values to be 1, 5, 10. To write configuration rules that perform numeric computations using these values, you must select the data type Integer or Number when defining the attribute.

The domain of an attribute can be one of the following data types:

• Boolean. Use this data type when the user's input is true or false, yes or no. If you specify the Integer data type for these inputs, the application assigns 1 for True or Yes inputs. False and No are assigned 0.
• Number. The attribute value can be any positive or negative real number. In Boolean expressions, numbers greater than 0 are interpreted as true. Omit commas when specifying the domain. For example, enter 10,000 as 10000.
• Integer. The attribute value can be any positive or negative whole number. If a computation results in a fractional amount, the result is rounded to the nearest whole number. In Boolean expressions, integers greater than 0 are interpreted as true. Omit commas when specifying the domain. For example, enter 10,000 as 10000.
• String. The attribute value can be letters, numbers, or any combination. Attributes with this data type cannot be used as operands in a computation or as the result of a computation. The only arithmetic operator that can be used with this data type is = (equals). For example, you can write rules that test if the user has picked a specific string from a list of values.
• Date. The attribute value is interpreted as a date and must be in the correct date format. The system administrator sets date format defaults. Arithmetic computations using dates is not supported. For example, you cannot increase or decrease a date using a computation. All comparison operations are supported for dates. For example, you can compare two dates and determine whether one is earlier than (<), later than (>), or the same as (=) another date. Data type mismatches cause the user's input to be rejected, or can cause indeterminate results. For example, comparing a date data type to an integer data type.