Application development and business objects

Business objects can be categorized in the following ways:

Solution domain objects

Define the entities that make up a solution or application. Solution domain objects are understood by the business users, and often map to physical objects in the real world, but cannot map to objects in code.

Implementation objects

The objects that are manifested as code, for example, a Java™ class. The following points describe examples of implementation objects:

Content Cortex objects

Implementation objects that are represented as a set of Java classes within FileNet® APIs. These objects include Document, Folder, WorkflowDefinition, WorkObject, ClassDescription, and more. These objects are used to manipulate data that is stored in the databases and file systems that are managed by Content Platform Engine. Content Cortex tools make it easy to customize the behavior of these objects in graphical user interfaces. For example, as defined earlier in this document, new types of documents that have custom properties and default security can be created without custom programming. In many cases, using the platform objects is sufficient for building applications.

Application objects

Implementation objects that solve specific business needs. These objects are often an aggregation of the Content Cortex objects and are typically run in the classic business tier of a web application as Java objects. These objects can also use core application server capabilities, such as JDBC, and interact with packaged applications or other custom components that are developed in-house. Application developers typically create application objects by creating new Java classes or subclassing the Java classes delivered in the platform.