The SubAction action step type executes an action definition from within another action. When the sub-action has completed execution the parent action will continue. A SubAction step can execute an action once or iteratively based on various available criteria. A SubAction step is also used to execute an action in a different module.
The SubAction step type supports modularity within the actions of an application, providing for the reuse of actions that provide behaviors applicable to multiple areas of functionality. SubAction steps are also the primary means by which iterative processing can be implemented within the client application’s behavior. This step type is also the primary means of providing cross-module functionality. Using a SubAction step an action in one module may be executed from an action in another module.
A primary part of a SubAction step’s definition is the object the action it executes targets. This object should normally be within the context of the parent action’s object. As an example, if the parent action is defined for Object A, which contains a collection of Object B, the SubAction step can target an instance of Object B within that collection. The exception to this is cross-module action execution.
To execute an action across modules, the target object for the SubAction step must be an object defined in the other module. When an object from a different module is defined as the target, the actions that may be selected for the SubAction step will be those defined in that module. Execution of the parent action on the Agentry Client will then result in the action in the second module being executed as defined. The parent action will then proceed as defined after the SubAction step has completed execution.