Change / Update Behavior Type 3
The service updates the database fields for a business object only if the corresponding elements are explicitly contained in the incoming request. If a request does not contain an optional element, the corresponding field in the database is not updated (the only exception to this is when a value is updated automatically as a result of changes to other data). For list type elements, only list entries that are detailed in the incoming request are changed or deleted. Those entries not detailed in the incoming request remain unchanged.
Optional elements are processed as follows:
If an optional element is not transferred with the request, the corresponding database field is not updated.
If an optional element is transferred, but does not contain a value, the element is processed and the corresponding database field is set to the initial value.
For example:
An order contains a bill-to address that differs from the ship-to address, and items 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. In the request message for a change operation, item 10 is to be changed and item 30 is to be deleted. The bill-to address and the other items are to remain unchanged.
The request message has to contain line items 10 and 30 only, with the appropriate actionCode value. The unchanged line items and bill-to address do not have to be contained in the request. Note that if the bill-to address were to be removed, the request message would have to contain the corresponding element (or its child elements) without value or with the value 'nil' (represented as attribute xsi:nil=true in the XML message).