Business Objects as Carriers of Data AwareIM Documentation

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{{tag>Business_object data_carrier concepts}}
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====== Business Objects as Carriers of Data ======

In //**AwareIM**// the world of data management application consists of business objects. Business objects encapsulate the data that needs to be entered, retrieved, edited and processed. 

In fact, //there is no data in an ////**[[ref:glossary:aware_im|AwareIM]]**//-//configured system that exists outside of some business object//. 

In a way this model very closely reflects the real world. Business objects exist in every business - customers, accounts, orders, payments etc. The data that a business object encapsulates is represented as //attributes// of a business object. For example, an order may have the placement date, customer, line items, shipment address, shipment date, shipment number, delivery instructions, order status, etc. 

Attributes of a business object may be of different types – text, number, date, document etc (see [[2500_config_apps:0700_add_edit_attributes|Adding/Editing Attributes]] for a complete list of attribute types). 

One of the most important attribute types is a //reference// attribute type. Reference attribute type (or simply reference) reflects the fact that business objects may be linked with other related objects. For example, an order may be linked to its order line items. References are explained in detail in the [[2000_concepts:0200_basics:0400_reference_attributes|Reference Attributes]] section.

Given that business objects encapsulate the data in a data management application, the main aspects of the system related to data entry, storage, retrieval and processing boil down to the following:

  * Data entry is the process of entering of the attributes values of some business object
  * Data storage is the storage of attribute values
  * Data retrieval is finding instances of business object(s) that match a certain criteria
  * Data editing is the process of changing values of of a business object’s attributes
  * Data processing is using attribute values of business objects to create instances of other business objects and/or modify the existing attribute values.

<callout type="primary" icon="true" title="note"> In the [[ref:glossary:configuration_mode|Configuration Mode]] one can configure //definitions// of business objects and their attributes. In the [[ref:glossary:operation_mode|Operation Mode]] one can create //actual// objects filling their attributes with specific data and linking them with other objects. While there is a single definition describing a business object in the Configuration Mode, there may be many //instances// in the Operation Mode representing the same business object. For example, you can configure a ''Customer'' object and then create many instances of a ''Customer'' objects in the Operation Mode, each representing a different customer. A formal way of making the distinction between objects in the two modes is to refer to the configuration-mode object as //object definition// and to the operation-mode objects as //object instances//. This document uses the formal notation when it is necessary to avoid confusion between the two modes. When it is clear which mode is being described, the term //object// is used.</callout>

Configuration of business objects is described in detail in the [[2500_config_apps:0500_add_edit_objects|Adding/Editing Business Objects]] section.
business object data carrier concepts