Business Objects

WebCenter Portal can retrieve data from a REST or SQL data source using a business object, simplifying the complexities of application integration. The retrieved data can be rendered on a portal page in a data visualization using a visualization template. For example, the data can be presented in one of the built-in visualization templates, or a developer can build a custom visualization template in JDeveloper.

The main function of a business object is to simplify the source of data to present that data on a portal page. When the data source is not complex, a business object is automatically created by WebCenter Portal when a data source is selected in the Define Data Visualization wizard. For an automatically-created business object, all the attributes and methods for the data source are added to the business object. In this case, the display name and description of each attribute and method are not available for configuration. Typically, advanced users create business objects manually as a portal asset, with a limited set of attributes that are relevant for building data visualizations. Business objects can be created only at the portal level (as a portal asset), not at the application level (as a shared asset).

A business object can expose multiple scalar attributes as well as collection attributes. For REST, it can support multiple methods such as GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE, based on support from the underlying REST data source. Each business object has a reference to the corresponding data service, which in turn has a reference to the underlying data control that provides the actual model to access the back-end data source.

Out-of-the-box, no business objects exist. Business objects can be created only at the portal level (as a portal asset), not at the application level (as a shared asset).

Select icons and actions in the toolbar to work with business objects. Refer to the online help in the resulting dialogs for information and assistance.