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Major Business Object Types

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The full set of business object types and their relationships is illustrated in Figure 78.

Figure 78.  Details of User Interface Architecture

The following user interface object types are introduced in Figure 78:

• Business Component. A business component is a logical entity that associates columns from one or more tables into a single structure. Business components provide a layer of wrapping over tables, causing applets to reference business components rather than the underlying tables. This design creates convenience (all associated columns together in one bundle), developer-friendly naming, and the isolation of the developer role from the database administrator role.
• Field. A field object definition associates a column to a business component. This is how columns from tables are assigned to a business component and provided with meaningful names that the customer developer can change. Alternately, a field's values can be calculated from the values in other fields in the business component. Fields supply data to controls and list columns in the Web interface.
• Business Object. A business object implements a business model (logical database diagram), tying together a set of interrelated business components using links. The links provide the one-to-many relationships that govern how the business components interrelate in the context of this business object.

  NOTE:  The object type called Business Object is not to be confused with the general category called business object types. Business Object is one of the object types in the Business Objects layer. Similarly a business object, which is one kind of object definition, is not the same as the category "business object definitions."

• Business Object Component. A business object component object definition is used to include a business component and, generally, a link in the business object. The link specifies how the business component is related to another business component in the context of the same business object.
• Link. A link implements a one-to-many relationship between business components. The Link object type makes master-detail views possible. A master-detail view displays one record of the master business component with many detail business component records corresponding to the master. A pair of links also may be used to implement a many-to-many relationship.
• Multi-Value Link. A multi-value link is used in the implementation of a multi-value group. A multi-value group is a user-maintainable list of detail records associated with a master record. The user invokes the list of detail records from the master record when it is displayed in a list or form applet. For example, in an applet displaying the Account business component, the user can click the Select button to the right of the Address text box to see a pop-up window displaying multiple Address records associated with the currently displayed account.
• Join. A join object definition creates a relationship between a business component and a table that is not the business component's base table. The join allows the business component to build fields using columns from the non-base (joined) table. The join uses a foreign key in the business component to obtain rows on a one-to-one basis from the joined table, even though the two do not necessarily have a one-to-one relationship. For example, an Account can have multiple Contacts, and each Contact identifies one Account in its foreign key. This makes it possible to generate, by means of a join between Contacts and Accounts, a list of Contacts with Account information about each.
• Join Specification. Join Specification is a child object type of Join that provides details about how the join is implemented within the business component.
• Business Service. A business service is a reusable module containing a set of methods. It provides the ability to call its C++ or script methods from customer-defined scripts and object interface logic, through the invoke-method mechanism.
• Table. A table object definition is the direct representation of a database table in a DBMS. It has column and index child object definitions that represent the table's columns and indexes. Table, column, and index object definitions within Siebel Tools provide a detailed picture of all of the tables, columns, and indexes in use in the DBMS.
• Column. A column object definition represents one column in the database table. Database columns in a database table are represented by the column object definitions that are children of the corresponding table object definition. Each column in the table has a corresponding column object definition.
• Index. Each index object definition identifies a physical index file in the DBMS.
• Page Tab. A page tab object definition associates a screen to the page tab's parent application object definition and includes it as a tab in the Tab bar.
• Find. A Find object definition adds a type of record to search for to the Find dialog box for the application.
• Application Find. An Application Find object definition associates a find to the application, adding it to the Find dialog box for that application.
• Find Field. A Find Field object definition adds a search field to a find.
• Find View. A Find View object definition adds a view to the list of possible views that can be presented in response to a find.

For more information on object types, their usage, and their properties, see Object Types Reference.

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