Defining child objects and reference objects for a primary object

Your custom tool can include child objects and reference objects on which the primary object depends. In this lesson, you define an OpenLaszlo library class for all child and reference object definitions.

Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3You must define a definition file for your child and reference object definitions, instead of defining an OpenLaszlo library class.

About this task

A child object definition describes a secondary business object. A child cannot exist without a parent object. To declare that an object has child objects of a specific type, create an instance of the child object definition as a child of the parent object definition. For example, a product description is a child object of the product in the Catalogs tool.

The reference object is a special type of child object that describes a relationship between two primary objects. For example, a merchandising association is a reference object that describes a relationship between two product objects.

The Recipe primary object has three child object definitions, RecipeDescription, RecipeIngredients, and RecipeInstruction and one reference object, RecipeAssociation.

Procedure

  1. Complete one of the following steps:
    • WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1In the Enterprise Explorer view, expand LOBTools > WebContent > WEB-INF > src > lzx > mycompany > recipe > objectDefinitions.
    • Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3In the Enterprise Explorer view, expand LOBTools > WebContent > config > mycompany > recipe > objectDefinitions.
  2. Right-click the objectDefinitions folder and select Import. Expand General and select File system.
  3. Click Next, then click Browse and navigate to the following directory:
    OptionDescription
    WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1TutorialSource\LOBTools\WebContent\WEB-INF\src\lzx\mycompany\recipe\objectDefinitions, where TutorialSource is the location where you extracted the Tutorial sample source code WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1
    1. Select the RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.lzx file.
    2. Click Finish to import the file.
    Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3TutorialSource\LOBTools\WebContent\config\mycompany\recipe\objectDefinitions, where TutorialSource is the location where you extracted the Tutorial sample source code Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3
    1. Select the RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.def file.
    2. Click Finish to import the file.
  4. Open one of the following files and examine the contents:
    • WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.lzx (common object class file)
    • Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.def (common object definition file)
    The child objects and reference objects are defined within these files.

    The following code samples show child objects and reference objects that are defined in a common object file:

    OptionDescription
    WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.lzx WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1
    
<1 class name="recRecipeIngredientsDefinition" extends="wcfChildObjectDefinition"
           idProperty="ingredientId"
           objectType="RecipeIngredients"
           creatable="true" 
           displayName="${extRecipeResources.ingredientsName_ColumnHeader.string}"
           displayNameProperty="ingredientName"
           newDisplayName="${extRecipeResources.ingredients_NewDisplayName.string}"
           propertiesClass="recManageRecipeIngredients" 
           openGroupTop="true" 
           icon="definingAttributeIcon"
           headerIcon="definingAttributeHeaderIcon" >

        <!-- Property Definition -->
        <wcfPropertyDefinition displayName="${extRecipeResources.ingredientsQuantity_ColumnHeader.string}" 
                propertyName="amount" type="number"/>            
        <!-- Create Service -->
        <wcfCreateService url="/cmc/CreateRecipeIngredients">
                <wcfServiceParam name="storeId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>              
                <wcfServiceParam name="languageId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="ingredientDesc" objectPath="RecipeIngredientsDescription" propertyName="ingredientDesc" sendEmpty="false" optional="true"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="catentryId" objectPath="RecipeIngredientsReference/CatalogEntry" propertyName="catentryId" sendEmpty="false" optional="true"/>
        </wcfCreateService>       
        <!-- Update Service -->   
        <wcfUpdateService url="/cmc/UpdateRecipeIngredients">                                   
                <wcfServiceParam name="storeId" parameterName="storeId">   
                <wcfEnablementCondition conditionId="localstoreid" propertyName="recipetype" enablementValue="Recipe"/>
        </wcfServiceParam>                
        <!-- Delete Service -->                   
        <wcfDeleteService url="/cmc/DeleteRecipeIngredients">           
                <wcfServiceParam name="storeId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="ingredientId" propertyName="ingredientId" />                   
        </wcfDeleteService>       
       
        <!-- Include all child object definition-->   
        <recRecipeIngredientsDescription/>                
</class>
        
2 <class name="recRecipeAssociationDefinition" extends="wcfReferenceObjectDefinition"           
        creatable="true" 
        objectType="RecipeAssociation" 
        idProperty="associationId"
        copyProtected="false"
       referencedTypes="Product, InheritedProduct"> 
        <!-- Create Service -->
        <wcfCreateService url="/cmc/CreateRecipeAssociation" sendAll="false"> 
                <wcfServiceParam name="storeId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="catentryId" objectPath="CatalogEntry" propertyName="catentryId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
        </wcfCreateService>
        <!-- Delete Service -->
        <wcfDeleteService url="/cmc/DeleteRecipeAssociation" sendAll="false">
                <wcfServiceParam name="storeId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="catentryId" objectPath="CatalogEntry" propertyName="catentryId"/>
                <wcfServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
        </wcfDeleteService>                         
              
</class>
    Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3RecipeCommonObjectDefinition.def Feature Pack 2Feature Pack 3
    1 <ChildObjectDefinition definitionName="recRecipeIngredientsDefinition"
		idProperty="ingredientId"
		objectType="RecipeIngredients"
		creatable="true"
		displayName="${extRecipeResources.ingredientsName_ColumnHeader}"
		displayNameProperty="ingredientName"
		newDisplayName="${extRecipeResources.ingredients_NewDisplayName}"
		propertiesDefinitionName="recManageRecipeIngredients"
		openGroupTop="true"
		icon="definingAttributeIcon"
		headerIcon="definingAttributeHeaderIcon">

	<!-- Property Definition -->
       <PropertyDefinition
		displayName=
			"${extRecipeResources.ingredientsQuantity_ColumnHeader}"
		propertyName="amount"
		type="number"/>
	<!-- Create Service -->
	<CreateService url="/cmc/CreateRecipeIngredients">
		<ServiceParam name="storeId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
		<ServiceParam name="languageId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="ingredientDesc"
			objectPath="RecipeIngredientsDescription"
			propertyName="ingredientDesc" sendEmpty="false" optional="true"/>
		<ServiceParam name="catentryId"
			objectPath="RecipeIngredientsReference/CatalogEntry"
			propertyName="catentryId" sendEmpty="false" optional="true"/>
	</CreateService>
	<!-- Update Service -->
	<UpdateService url="/cmc/UpdateRecipeIngredients">
		<ServiceParam name="storeId" parameterName="storeId">
			<EnablementCondition conditionId="localstoreid"
				propertyName="recipetype" enablementValue="Recipe"/>
		</ServiceParam>
	</UpdateService>
	<!-- Delete Service -->
	<DeleteService url="/cmc/DeleteRecipeIngredients">
		<ServiceParam name="storeId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
		<ServiceParam name="ingredientId" propertyName="ingredientId"/>
        </DeleteService>       

	<!-- Include all child object definition-->   
	<ChildObjectDefinition baseDefinitionName="recRecipeIngredientsDescription"/>
</ChildObjectDefinition>

2 <ReferenceObjectDefinition definitionName="recRecipeAssociationDefinition"
	creatable="true"
	objectType="RecipeAssociation"
	idProperty="associationId"
	copyProtected="false"
	referencedTypes="Product, InheritedProduct">
	<!-- Create Service -->
	<CreateService url="/cmc/CreateRecipeAssociation" sendAll="false">
		<ServiceParam name="storeId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="catentryId" objectPath="CatalogEntry"
			propertyName="catentryId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
	</CreateService>
	<!-- Delete Service -->
	<DeleteService url="/cmc/DeleteRecipeAssociation" sendAll="false">
		<ServiceParam name="storeId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="catentryId" objectPath="CatalogEntry"
			propertyName="catentryId"/>
		<ServiceParam name="recipeId" parentProperty="true"/>
	</DeleteService>
</ReferenceObjectDefinition>
    1 recRecipeIngredientsDefinition
    Used as a child object of Recipe to represent the ingredient. It has three properties: name, amount, and unit of measurement. Ensure that you define the amount property explicitly, because it is a numerical type. Properties of type string do not need a definition. It has its own create, update, and delete services, which are defined in Tutorial: Creating a BOD service module. It also has one child object, Ingredient description.
    2 recRecipeAssociationDefinition
    The reference object definition of Recipe, which builds the reference relationship between Recipes and products. It has only create and delete services, which are defined in Tutorial: Creating a BOD service module
  5. WebSphere Commerce Version 7.0.0.0Feature Pack 1Right-click the LOBTools project and select Build OpenLaszlo Project.