Creating business objects

When no system data toolkit variable types or business objects match your specifications, you can create custom variable types called custom business objects.

Before you begin

To complete the following steps, you must have write access to a process application or toolkit in the Process Center repository. Access to process applications and toolkits is controlled by users who have administrative rights to the repository.

About this task

In Process Designer, you can create a custom business object by using a base business object or by defining a new complex structure.

Note: When you create a new custom business object in a process application, that object is available for all BPD and services included in the process application. If you want to share a custom business object across process applications, create or store the custom object in a toolkit and then create a dependency on that toolkit from the process applications that require the variable.

Procedure

  1. In Process Designer, open your process application.
  2. In the library, expand Data and click Business Object. The New Business Object window opens.
  3. In the Name field, type a name for the custom business object and click Finish.
    Remember: Names of business objects are case sensitive.
  4. In the Behavior section, select a definition type from the Definition Type list.
    Simple Type
    Creates a new business object using an existing type such as String, Decimal, and Integer and further constraints based on pattern, length, or value. A simple type created with the business object editor should not be initialized before use with a business process or service unlike a complex type. If you do initialize a simple type using the new keyword then you will receive a runtime error.
    Complex Structure Type
    Creates a new complex business object by specifying the parameters for the structure.
  5. Select a type in the Definition Type list.
    • If you selected Simple Type, select the type of your business object in the Type list and specify a validation rule in the Validation section.
    • If you selected Complex Structure Type, add the required parameters by clicking Add, and set values for Names and Variable Types in the Parameter Properties section.
  6. Select the Shared Object check box if the business object and its values should be accessible to other instances at run time. The business object will become a shared object.
  7. To save your custom business object, click Save.

What to do next

You can declare new variables of the type you just created.