Module-Level Data Definitions Overview

Within the module level of the application project in Agentry there are definitions for both data and user interface encapsulation. The data-focused definition types include those for business entity encapsulation, data capture, and data synchronization between the Agentry Client and Agentry Server.

Most of the data definitions at the module level have child definitions of their own. Each child definition encapsulates some aspect of the parent’s behavior related to the data for which it was defined. This can include the values for the parent definition, or the methodology for data synchronization.

Following is an illustration representing the structure of the module-level data definitions within the application project. This includes the definitions within the module provided to encapsulate data storage or synchronization, as well as the child definitions to each. Excluded from this graphic are the user interface definitions within the module. Note that this separation is for discussion purposes only. Within the application project structure, all child definitions to the module exist at the module level with no distinction made between them in the Agentry Editor in relation to whether they are data or user interface definitions.



A common child definition to objects, transactions, and fetches are the properties. A property is a variable data value stored within the parent definition. The purpose for these values differs depending on the parent definition, but the property definition type itself is the same among all three.

Many of the child definitions to the module-level data definitions are referred to as “step usage definitions.” This term describes a definition that references a step definition within the same module. This reference provides the context to the step, specifying why and when it should be executed by the Agentry Server during synchronization. Any child definition to a module-level definition that includes the term “Step” in its name is a step usage definition. The creation of a step usage definition requires that the step to be used exists first.

As illustrated in this graphic, the step definition itself is defined for different types of processing. Steps are defined for a specific system connection within the application. The step definition has a type that matches the system connection type. The step will then contain a component matching that type, such as a SQL statement or Java logic. HTTP-XML steps include two child definitions that define the arguments passed to the HTTP server with the step request, and mappings between the data returned from that request to the data components of the mobile application.

The data definitions illustrated and described here are displayed, modified, and exposed to the mobile application uses via the module-level user interface definitions. The data definitions must exist before the user interface definitions can be created, as the UI definitions will need to reference the data definitions they display.

Parent topic: Agentry Language Reference