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Creating and Changing SubnodesLocate this document in the navigation structure

Context

Business Object Builder (BO Builder) provides you with a wizard for creating a subnode.

Procedure

  1. Starting the Wizard
    Note

    You can assign subnodes only to the following node types:

    • Extensible nodes that are created in the business object that is currently open

      The system marks these black in the Node Browser navigation.

    • Extensible nodes that are created in the business object enhancement (enhancement) that is currently open

      The system marks these blue in the Node Browser navigation.

    • Extensible nodes that are created in the base object of the enhancement

      The system marks these black in the Node Browser navigation.

    Open the business object or the enhancement in which you want to create a subnode. In the Node Browser navigation, choose the node that you need to extend with a new subnode. To start the Create Subnode wizard, choose Create Subnode in the context menu of the node.

  2. Name and Description

    In this step, you enter the name and the description of the subnode.

    Input Field

    Description

    Parent Node Name

    This is the node to which the subnode is assigned. The parent node name is entered automatically.

    Node Name

    The name of the subnode must be unique in the business object. If the subnode is created in an enhancement, it must start with the namespace or the prefix of the enhancement. This ensures that the entities of different enhancements are clearly separated.

    The namespace or prefix must be completed with a node name.

    Example

    <namespace or prefix>_<node name>

    Description

    Enter a short description of the subnode.
  3. Attribute Extension

    In this step, you choose whether or not the subnode can itself be enhanced.

    Caution

    This step is displayed only if the enhancement, to which the subnode is assigned, is configured extensible.

    To make sure the subnode can itself be enhanced with the entities listed below, select the Node is extensible checkbox:

    Later on, you can add the following entities to a subnode:

    • Additional determinations

    • Consistency validations

    • Actions

    • Action validations

    • Queries

    • Subnodes

    If you need to make the subnode extensible with supplementary node attributes, you can use the Persistent Extension Include option and the Transient Extension Include option. Enter a name in the Persistent Extension Include field or copy the naming proposals and create the structure using forward navigation.

    Note

    To configure the structures specified in the Persistent Extension Include and Transient Extension Include fields extensible, choose from the following categories when creating the structures:

    • Can be Enhanced (deep)

    • Can be enhanced (character-type or numeric)

    • Can be enhanced (character-type)

  4. Attributes

    Each node consists of several attributes. There are the following attribute types:

    Input Field

    Description

    Persistent Structure

    The system stores these in the database. To create the structure, use forward navigation and activate it to continue the wizard.

    Transient Structure

    These only hold in memory. You must maintain the structures that contain these attributes. To create the structure, use forward navigation and activate it to continue the wizard.

    In the Persistent Structure field, enter the name of the structure that contains the persistent attributes of the subnode, and in the Transient Structure field, enter the name of the structure that contains the transient attributes of the subnode. You can alternatively copy the naming proposal of the wizard. When activating a structure you can choose from the following enhancement categories:

    • Can be enhanced (deep)

    • Can be enhanced (character-type or numeric)

    • Can be enhanced (character-type)

    • Cannot be enhanced

    Note

    If you update just the Transient Structure field, the node is called a transient node. Subnodes of transient nodes must only have transient attributes and no persistent attributes. Therefore, for a subnode that is assigned to a transient parent node, the Persistent Structure field is automatically hidden in this screen.

    Caution

    If you have already defined a Persistent Extension Include you must specify it in the Persistent Structure as an inclusion. This same condition also applies to Transient Extension Include.

    Example

    The ITEM_DETAILS subnode in the ITEM parent node contains more information about items. The persistent attributes are DEPTH, WIDTH, HEIGHT, and COLOR. The attribute CAPACITY is a transient attribute, because it can be calculated out of DEPTH, WIDTH, and HEIGHT at runtime.

  5. Database Types

    All entities of this screen are automatically created by the wizard. Therefore we recommend you continue without changing the proposed names.

    Entry Field

    Description

    Combined Structure

    The combined structure combines the transient structure, the persistent structure, and a key include used to identify each node instance. All attributes of the subnode are represented by the structures' components.

    Combined Table Type

    The combined table type consists of lines of the combined structure.

    Database Table

    The database table contains the data of the persistent attributes of all subnode instances.
  6. Finishing the Wizard

    To create the subnode and finish the wizard, see Finishing the Wizard in Creating and Changing a Business Object.

Results

  • The system adds the new subnode to the enhancement model or to the business object model and displays it in the Node Browser navigation of the node.

  • The system generates the combined structure and the combined table type.

    For a persistent subnode, the system also creates the database table. Already existing entities are not overwritten.

  • The constants interface of the enhancement is regenerated and contains a unique constant identifying the subnode.

    The consumer needs the constant to access the data of the node.

After you have created a subnode, you can change the following specifications:

  • Node Name

  • Description

  • Persistent Structure

  • Transient Structure

  • Combined Structure

  • Combined Table Type