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A model in the Model View Controller concept holds the data and provides methods to retrieve the data from the database and to set and update data.

SAPUI5 provides the following predefined models:

  • OData model:

    Enables binding of controls to data from OData services. The OData model supports two-way (default), one-way and one-time binding modes. However, two-way binding is currently only supported for properties, and not for aggregations.

  • The JSON model can be used to bind controls to JavaScript object data, which is usually serialized in the JSON format. The JSON model is a client-side model and, therefore, intended for small data sets, which are completely available on the client. The JSON model supports two-way (default), one-way and one-time binding modes.

  • XML model:

    A client-side model intended for small data sets, which are completely available on the client. The XML model does not contain mechanisms for server-based paging or loading of deltas. The XML model supports two-way (default), one-way and one-time binding modes.

  • Resource model:

    Designed to handle data in resource bundles, mainly to provide texts in different languages. The resource model only supports one-time binding mode because it deals with static texts only.

The JSON model, XML model, and the resource model are client-side models, meaning that the model data is loaded completely and is available on the client. Operations such as sorting and filtering are executed on the client without further server requests.

The OData model is a server-side model and only loads the data requested by the user interface from the server.

You can not only define one model for your applications, but define different areas in your application with different models and assign single controls to a model. You can also define nested models, for example, a JSON model defined for the application and an OData model for a table control contained in the application.

A Web application should support several data sources, such as JSON, XML, Atom, or OData. However, the way in which data binding is defined and implemented within the UI controls should be independent of the respective data source. It is also possible to create a custom model implementation for data sources that are not yet covered by the framework or are domain-specific.


In this section:
    OData V2 Model
    The OData V2 Model enables binding of controls to data from OData services.
    OData V4 Model
    The sap.ui.model.odata.v4.ODataModel is the model implementation for consuming an OData V4 service.
    JSON Model
    The JSON model can be used to bind controls to JavaScript object data, which is usually serialized in the JSON format.
    XML Model
    The XML model allows to bind controls to XML data. It is a client-side model intended for small datasets, which are completely available on the client. The XML model does not contain mechanisms for server-based paging or loading of deltas. It supports two-way binding.
    Resource Model
    The resource model is used as a wrapper for resource bundles. In data binding you use the resource model instance, for example, to bind texts of a control to language-dependent resource bundle properties.
    Custom Model
    Custom models can be used if none of the models provided by SAPUI5 is suitable for the specific needs of an application.
    Assigning the Model to the UI
    The model instance must be assigned to the UI, that is, the framework must know about the model instance, before you can bind controls to this model instance.
    Binding Path
    Binding paths address the different properties and lists in a model and define how a node in the hierarchical data tree can be found.
    Binding Controls to the Model
    To retrieve data from the model for visualization in the UI, the controls have to be bound to the model by means of a binding path. The control itself, all properties of controls, and all multiple aggregations can be bound to a model.
    Setting the Default Binding Mode
    The default binding mode applies when a model instance is created. You can overwrite the default binding mode after model creation.
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