Class EntityDescriptor

This is the main entity descriptor class that contains all the information about a given entity.

The system automatically creates these entitydescriptors for all entities in the system dynamically from their EntityDefinition and associated attributes

Inheritance
System.Object
EntityDescriptor
Implements
Inherited Members
System.Object.Equals(System.Object)
System.Object.Equals(System.Object, System.Object)
System.Object.GetHashCode()
System.Object.GetType()
System.Object.MemberwiseClone()
System.Object.ReferenceEquals(System.Object, System.Object)
Namespace: LemonEdge.Core.Descriptors
Assembly: API.dll
Syntax
public class EntityDescriptor : IQueryableItem
Remarks

The system uses this to understand the schema and other settings of an entity to dynamically interact with it at run time, this includes:

  • Database Updates: Creates and upgrades the database table, auditing, permission and associated tables. Also maintains all constraints, indexes, functions and stored procedures.
  • Auditing: Automatically audits all changes against an entity
  • Querying: Using the schema from this descriptor can understand how users can query and join the data into other queries. Integrates with all querying tools.
  • Import/Export: Ensures the system can automatically take care of importing/exporting all data associated with this entity
  • UI: Can dynamically create grids and views for the entity from simply listing the required properties
This and much more is automatically taken care of by the system from evaluating this descriptor class for an entity.

All entities are accesible from EntityDescriptorFactory

Fields

HISTORY_TABLENAME_POSTFIX

The table name postfix given to the history table that all entities also have created for them

Declaration
public const string HISTORY_TABLENAME_POSTFIX = "_History"
Field Value
Type Description
System.String

Properties

AutoCreateClusteredIndexes

Indicates if the system will automatically create clustered indexes on the sql database table for this entity

Set from AutoClusteredIndexes

Declaration
public bool AutoCreateClusteredIndexes { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

AutoCreatePrimaryKey

Indicates if the system will automatically create the unique primary key index for this table

Set from AutoCreatePrimaryIndex

Declaration
public bool AutoCreatePrimaryKey { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

ContainsPermissions

Indicates if this entity contains its own definition of permissions, or false if it inherits permissions through relationships from parent entities

Declaration
public bool ContainsPermissions { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

CustomToString

Indicates the class implementation of this entity has its own custom string implementation and the system should not automatically generate one returning the label property value

Set from CustomToString

Declaration
public bool CustomToString { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

DefaultColor

The default color to use for this entity in the entity structure mapping diagram

Set from EntityColor

Declaration
public Color? DefaultColor { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Nullable<System.Drawing.Color>

DefaultIconID

The default icon for this entity to be used in the UI

Set from DefaultEntityIcon

Declaration
public Guid DefaultIconID { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Guid

DontPromoteFromCanvas

By default all entities can be promoted from a canvas into the real system. This can be overriden to prevent that behaviour

Set from DontPromoteFromCanvas

Declaration
public bool DontPromoteFromCanvas { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

EntityType

The entity class that implements the InterfaceType that describes this entity

Our auto-code designers, or tools, can create this code for you

Declaration
public Type EntityType { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Type

HasAutoIncColumn

Returns true if any of the Properties in this entity are set as having a AutoIncrementColumn

Declaration
public bool HasAutoIncColumn { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

HelpURL

An optional url that holds a help file describing the purpose and functionality of this entity record

Set from HelpURL

Declaration
public string HelpURL { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

Indexes

A list of all indexes against this entity descriptor

Set from EntityIndex

Declaration
public TableIndex[] Indexes { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
TableIndex[]

InheritsFrom

Holds the entity this entity inherits from, if any

Declaration
public EntityDescriptor InheritsFrom { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
EntityDescriptor

InheritsFromName

If InheritsFrom holds a value this returns its ItemName

Declaration
public string InheritsFromName { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

InheritsPermissions

Returns true if any of the Relationships on this entity descriptor are set to inherit permissions from that relationship

Declaration
public bool InheritsPermissions { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

InterfaceType

The interface type that holds the definition for this entity

Declaration
public Type InterfaceType { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Type

IsAddInEntityDescriptor

Indicates this entity descriptor is loaded as an addin

Declaration
public bool IsAddInEntityDescriptor { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsBaseEntity

Returns true if this entity implements IBaseObject

Declaration
public bool IsBaseEntity { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsCustomEntityDescriptor

Indicates this entity descriptor is loaded as a custom entity

Declaration
public bool IsCustomEntityDescriptor { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsCustomOrAddInEntityDescriptor

Indicates this entity descriptor is not part of the "core" system and rather is loaded as an addin/custom dll

Declaration
public bool IsCustomOrAddInEntityDescriptor { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsInheritingEntity

Returns true if this entity implements IInheritingObject

Declaration
public bool IsInheritingEntity { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsSetCopier

Indicates if this entity implements the ISetCopier interface

Declaration
public bool IsSetCopier { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsSP

Indicates this queryableitem can only be queried from within a stored procedure. For entity descriptors this is always false.

Declaration
public bool IsSP { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

IsStandingDataEntity

Indicates this entity is part of the standing data/configuation for the system It should be loaded on application startup as part of the cache. Do not use for tables of large data sets

Declaration
public bool IsStandingDataEntity { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

ItemName

The name the system should use when referring to an instance of this entity.

This should contain alpha numerical characters only, not spaces or other special characters

Set from ItemName
Declaration
public string ItemName { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

ItemNameWithReplicatedDescriptor

Returns the item name for this entity including any replicated descriptor from ReplicatedFrom

Declaration
public string ItemNameWithReplicatedDescriptor { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

LabelColumn

Holds the name of the property that holds the label to be used for any instance of this entity in the ui. Not required, items can have no label, though standing data entities should avoid not having one.

Set from LabelColumn

Declaration
public string LabelColumn { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

Name

The name of this queryable item Holds the itemname with replicated descriptor if there is one

Declaration
public string Name { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

OldTableNames

A list of tablenames this entity used to have

Set from TableName

Declaration
public IEnumerable<EntityDefintionOldInfo> OldTableNames { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<EntityDefintionOldInfo>

ParentToAnyRelationships

A list of relationships that can have any parent as the target of the relationship

Declaration
public EntityRelationship[] ParentToAnyRelationships { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
EntityRelationship[]

PivotInfo

Holds pivot information if this entity is defined as having pivot information from EntityHasPivotAttribute

Declaration
public PivotTableInfo PivotInfo { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
PivotTableInfo

Properties

A list of all the properties against the interface/entity defined by this entitydescriptor

Declaration
public ColumnDescriptor[] Properties { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
ColumnDescriptor[]

Relationships

A list of all relationships from this entity to other entities in the system

Set from PropRelationship attributes

Declaration
public EntityRelationship[] Relationships { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
EntityRelationship[]

ReplicatedColumn

If this entity is replicated from another entity, this holds the column that refers to the entity type it is replicated from

Declaration
public ColumnDescriptor ReplicatedColumn { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
ColumnDescriptor

ReplicatedFrom

Holds the entity this entity is replicated from, if any

Declaration
public EntityDescriptor ReplicatedFrom { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
EntityDescriptor

ReplicatedFromName

If ReplicatedFrom holds a value this returns its ItemName

Declaration
public string ReplicatedFromName { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

SelectWithNoLock

Indicates this table should always select information from it with no locking. This can be set for performance reasons for tables that do not update, such as audit tables.

Set from SelectWithNoLock

Declaration
public bool SelectWithNoLock { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

SetName

The name the system should use when referring to a collection of these entities

This should contain alpha numerical characters only, not spaces or other special characters

Set from SetName
Declaration
public string SetName { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

SetNameWithReplicatedDescriptor

Returns the set name for this entity including any replicated descriptor from ReplicatedFrom

Declaration
public string SetNameWithReplicatedDescriptor { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TableName

The table name for this entity descriptor

Set from TableName

Declaration
public string TableName { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TableNameHistory

Holds the table name for this entities audit history table

Declaration
public string TableNameHistory { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TableNameWithoutPrefix

Holds the table name for this entity without the dbo prefix

Declaration
public string TableNameWithoutPrefix { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TableNameWithoutPrefixHistory

Holds the table name for this entities audit history table without the dbo prefix

Declaration
public string TableNameWithoutPrefixHistory { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TopName

If this queryable item has a subid, then the name holds the overall name, but topname holds the name of the queryable item type at the top level For instance with entities, with transactions in entities id holds the id for transactions, and name would hold transaction with permissions in entities id holds the id for permissions, sub id would hold the entity against which it holds permissions, name would hold Entity_Permission and topname would hold Permissions so we know the type is permissions

Declaration
public string TopName { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

TrackAllChanges

Returns true if any of the Properties have been marked with DBTrackChangesAttribute

Declaration
public bool TrackAllChanges { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Boolean

TypeID

The unique type id for this entity. Every entity definition in the system must have a unique global id for that entity type

Declaration
public Guid TypeID { get; set; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Guid

TypeSubID

If this entity has been replicated from another entity descriptor, the sub type holds the replicated entity globally unique type id

Declaration
public Guid? TypeSubID { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.Nullable<System.Guid>

UniqueKey

The unique key of this entity descriptor which is a combination of its TypeID and ReplicatedFrom TypeID if it has one

Declaration
public string UniqueKey { get; }
Property Value
Type Description
System.String

Methods

BelongsToDescriptor(IBaseEntity)

Returns true if the specified item belongs to this entity descriptor.

This includes taking into account if this descriptor is replicated from a replicated entity descriptor

Declaration
public bool BelongsToDescriptor(IBaseEntity item)
Parameters
Type Name Description
IBaseEntity item

The item to check if this entity descriptor describes everything about it.
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

True if the specified item belongs to this entity descriptor.

CreateNew<T>(UserInfo)

Creates a new instance of the EntityType for this entity while also setting any properties to their configured hardcoded or formula default values

Declaration
public Task<T> CreateNew<T>(UserInfo createdBy)

    where T : IBaseEntity
Parameters
Type Name Description
UserInfo createdBy

The currently logged in (or active) user that is creating this new item
Returns
Type Description
System.Threading.Tasks.Task<T>

A new instance of the EntityType for this entity while also setting any properties to their configured hardcoded or formula default values
Type Parameters
Name Description
T

CreateParentRelationshipForParentType(EntityRelationship, EntityDescriptor)

Creates a relationship from the specific relationship to any parent and the specific parent entity type

Declaration
public EntityRelationship CreateParentRelationshipForParentType(EntityRelationship parentToAnyRelationship, EntityDescriptor parentType)
Parameters
Type Name Description
EntityRelationship parentToAnyRelationship

The relationship that can have any antity as a parent target
EntityDescriptor parentType

The entity to be the target of the relationship
Returns
Type Description
EntityRelationship

A new specific relationship from the source entity to the specific parent entity

CreateRelationships(EntityDescriptor, ICustomObject, IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty>, IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor>)

Creates all the relationships for the entitydescriptor created for a custom object

Declaration
public static void CreateRelationships(EntityDescriptor desc, ICustomObject obj, IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty> props, IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor> customDescriptiors)
Parameters
Type Name Description
EntityDescriptor desc

The entity descriptor that describes a custom object
ICustomObject obj

The custom object
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty> props

All properties for the custom object (which include relationship definitions)
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor> customDescriptiors

All other entity descriptors in the system (including other custom object entity descriptors)

CreateTempFrom(ICustomObject, IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty>)

Creates a temporary entitydescriptor for the specified auto-code designed ICustomObject

Declaration
public static EntityDescriptor CreateTempFrom(ICustomObject customObj, IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty> props)
Parameters
Type Name Description
ICustomObject customObj

The auto-code designed custom object
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<ICustomObjectProperty> props

The properties designed against this custom object
Returns
Type Description
EntityDescriptor

A temporary entitydescriptor for the specified auto-code designed ICustomObject

GetFields(IReadOnlyCache)

Returns all fields that can be queried from this queryable item

Declaration
public Task<IEnumerable<IQueryableFieldInfo>> GetFields(IReadOnlyCache cache)
Parameters
Type Name Description
IReadOnlyCache cache

A local context cache
Returns
Type Description
System.Threading.Tasks.Task<System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<IQueryableFieldInfo>>

For all entities this returns all properties that exist in sql against this entity, unless this entity implements a EntityDescriptorTemplateExtender in which case it returns the fields

GetIDsFromUniqueKey(String)

Parses a unique key to return the TypeID and Replicated Type ID (if there is one)

Declaration
public static (Guid TypeID, Guid? ReplicatedSubID) GetIDsFromUniqueKey(string uniqueKey)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String uniqueKey

A unique key from an UniqueKey
Returns
Type Description
System.ValueTuple<System.Guid, System.Nullable<System.Guid>>

GetInheritingDescriptors()

Returns a list of all entities in the system that inherit from this entity

Declaration
public IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor> GetInheritingDescriptors()
Returns
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor>

A list of all entities in the system that inherit from this entity

GetItemNameWithReplicatedDescriptor(String, String)

Returns the name of the item name to use from an entity descriptor item name, and the item name from another entity descriptor that holds the replicated item name

Replicated entitydescriptors are created for each entity descriptor in the system. For instance the permissions entity descriptor is replicated for every entity in the system

Declaration
public static string GetItemNameWithReplicatedDescriptor(string itemName, string replicatedFromItemName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String itemName

The name of the item from an entity descriptor
System.String replicatedFromItemName

The name of an item from the replicated entity descriptor. Can be null if no replicated descriptor.
Returns
Type Description
System.String

The item name to use for the replicated entity descriptor

GetParams(IReadOnlyCache)

Returns all parameters that need to be used in order to call this queryable item

Declaration
public Task<IEnumerable<IQueryableParamInfo>> GetParams(IReadOnlyCache cache)
Parameters
Type Name Description
IReadOnlyCache cache

A local context cache
Returns
Type Description
System.Threading.Tasks.Task<System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<IQueryableParamInfo>>

For all entities this includes the following parameters: AccountID, CanvasID, TeamID, and LastUpdated

GetReplicatedDescriptors(Boolean)

Provides all descriptors that have been replicated from this one

Declaration
public IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor> GetReplicatedDescriptors(bool createTempIfNoExistForReplicator)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Boolean createTempIfNoExistForReplicator

If a replicating descriptor isn't created for this descriptor (i.e. not all entities have a permission replicated for them if they inherit permissions instead) setting this flag to true would return a temporary one anyway for reference.
Returns
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<EntityDescriptor>

GetReverseRelationships(Boolean)

Returns a list of all relationships from other entities in the system that have this entity as a target

Declaration
public IEnumerable<EntityRelationship> GetReverseRelationships(bool includeParentToAnyRelationships = true)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Boolean includeParentToAnyRelationships

Indicates relationships that can have any parent entity as a target should also be included
Returns
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<EntityRelationship>

A list of all relationships from other entities in the system that have this entity as a target

GetSetNameWithReplicatedDescriptor(String, String)

Returns the name of the set name to use from an entity descriptor set name, and the set name from another entity descriptor that holds the replicated set name

Replicated entitydescriptors are created for each entity descriptor in the system. For instance the permissions entity descriptor is replicated for every entity in the system

Declaration
public static string GetSetNameWithReplicatedDescriptor(string setName, string replicatedFromItemName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String setName

The name of the set from an entity descriptor
System.String replicatedFromItemName

The name of an item from the replicated entity descriptor. Can be null if no replicated descriptor.
Returns
Type Description
System.String

The set name to use for the replicated entity descriptor

GetSQLToSelectFrom(Int64, IEnumerable<(IQueryableParamInfo Param, String SQLValue)>)

Returns the sql function/table to call to return the data for this queryable item

Declaration
public string GetSQLToSelectFrom(long accountID, IEnumerable<(IQueryableParamInfo Param, string SQLValue)> sqlParams)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Int64 accountID

The account id this sql is being generated for
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<System.ValueTuple<IQueryableParamInfo, System.String>> sqlParams

The valuesof any sql parameters used to call this queryable item
Returns
Type Description
System.String

For all entities this returns the call to the default function for this entity, unless this entity implements a EntityDescriptorTemplateExtender in which case it returns the sql call

GetTableNameWithReplicated(String, String)

Returns the name of the table to use from an entity descriptor tabe name, and the table name from another entity descriptor that holds the replicated table name

Replicated entitydescriptors are created for each entity descriptor in the system. For instance the permissions entity descriptor is replicated for every entity in the system

Declaration
public static string GetTableNameWithReplicated(string tableName, string replicatedTableName)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String tableName

The name of the table from an entity descriptor
System.String replicatedTableName

The name of a table from the replicated entity descriptor. Can be null if no replicated descriptor.
Returns
Type Description
System.String

The table name to use for the replicated entity descriptor

IsCoreOrPartOfSpecificCustomAssembly(IEnumerable<Assembly>)

Indicates if this entity is part of the core or a set of specific assemblies (usually the ones currently loaded through addins)

Declaration
public bool IsCoreOrPartOfSpecificCustomAssembly(IEnumerable<Assembly> customAssemblies)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<System.Reflection.Assembly> customAssemblies

A list of specific assemblies the entity can be a type from
Returns
Type Description
System.Boolean

True if this entity is part of the core or a set of specific assemblies (usually the ones currently loaded through addins)

NonInheritedProperties()

A list of all Properties against this interface/entity that is not inherited from a base type

Declaration
public IEnumerable<ColumnDescriptor> NonInheritedProperties()
Returns
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<ColumnDescriptor>

A list of all Properties against this interface/entity that is not inherited from a base type

ReplicateForAll(String, String, Int64, IEnumerable<(IQueryableParamInfo Param, String SQLValue)>)

If this queryable item is being replicated for all then this returns a sqlselect string for each replication

Declaration
public IEnumerable<string> ReplicateForAll(string dbKeyForEntityDescriptors, string originalSQLToSelectFrom, long accountID, IEnumerable<(IQueryableParamInfo Param, string SQLValue)> sqlParams)
Parameters
Type Name Description
System.String dbKeyForEntityDescriptors

The db key this sql is being generated for
System.String originalSQLToSelectFrom

The original sql to select from
System.Int64 accountID

The current account id this sql is being generated for
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<System.ValueTuple<IQueryableParamInfo, System.String>> sqlParams

The valuesof any sql parameters used to call this queryable item
Returns
Type Description
System.Collections.Generic.IEnumerable<System.String>

If this entity is ReplicatedFrom then this returns the generated sql for each different entity that is also replicated from the same replicated entity

ShallowClone<T>(UserInfo, IBaseEntity)

Creates a new item that has the same values for all entity defined properties as the specified sourceItem

Declaration
public Task<T> ShallowClone<T>(UserInfo createdBy, IBaseEntity sourceItem)

    where T : IBaseEntity
Parameters
Type Name Description
UserInfo createdBy

The currently logged in (or active) user that is creating this new item
IBaseEntity sourceItem

The item to copy all defined property values from
Returns
Type Description
System.Threading.Tasks.Task<T>

A new item that has the same values for all entity defined properties as the specified sourceItem
Type Parameters
Name Description
T

ToString()

Returns the SetName for this entity descriptor

Declaration
public override string ToString()
Returns
Type Description
System.String

The SetName for this entity descriptor
Overrides
System.Object.ToString()

Explicit Interface Implementations

IQueryableItem.ID

The unique id of this queryable item. Holds the unique type id of this entity

Declaration
string IQueryableItem.ID { get; }
Returns
Type Description
System.String

IQueryableItem.SubID

The sub id for this queryable item. Will hold the replicated id if there is one.

Declaration
string IQueryableItem.SubID { get; }
Returns
Type Description
System.String

Implements

Extension Methods