Business object attribute properties

The properties of the attributes of a top-level business object differ depending on whether the attribute represents a simple value, or a child or an array of child business objects.

SAPODA generates the attribute properties as described in each table.

Table 37. Simple Attributes: Top-Level Business Object

Property Name Description
Name Derived from the description of the RFC-enabled function parameter. SAPODA replaces special characters (such as periods, slashes, and spaces) with underscores.
Type Specifies the type of data. SAPODA sets the value to String.
MaxLength Specifies the field length of the RFC-enabled function parameter.
IsKey Specifies whether the attribute is the key. The first simple attribute of a business object defaults to the key attribute. The connector does not support using an attribute that represents a child business object or an array of a child business objects as a key attribute. Therefore, if the function provides only structure and table parameters, you must insert a simple attribute as the first attribute. SAPODA inserts the Dummy_key attribute as the first attribute, marks it as the key attribute, and sets appropriate values. Do not modify those values. For more information, see "Supporting BAPIs".
IsForeignKey SAPODA sets the value to false.
IsRequired Specifies whether an attribute must contain a value. SAPODA sets the value to false.
AppSpecificInfo Contains the name of the RFC-enabled function that corresponds to the associated attribute. The format is: IRFCFunctionParameterName:ERFCFunctionParameterNameFor more information on the application-specific information, see "Business object application-specific information".
Default Value Specifies the value to assign to this attribute if there is no run-time value. SAPODA does not set a value for this property.

Table 38 lists and describes the attributes that represent a child or an array of child business objects. SAPODA generates the properties described in the table below.

Table 38. Properties of an Attribute that Represents a Child or Children

Property Name Description
Name The value is the name of the structure or table parameter name. The format is: BOprefix_FunctionParameterName
Type The value is the type of child business object; in other words, the type is BOprefix_FunctionParameterName
ContainedObjectVersion SAPODA sets the value to 1.0.0.
Relationship SAPODA sets the value to containment.
IsKey SAPODA sets the value to false.
IsForeignKey SAPODA sets the value to false.
IsRequired Specifies whether an attribute must contain a value. SAPODA sets the value to false.
AppSpecificInfo Contains the name of the BAPI parameter that corresponds to the associated attribute. The format is: IFieldName:EFieldNameFor more information on the application-specific information, see "Business object application-specific information".
Cardinality Structure parameters have single cardinality (1) and table parameters have multiple cardinality (n).

Initializing attribute values

Every field in SAP has an initial value, as listed in Table 39. When the connector receives an event, the RFC Server-specific business object handler moves these values from each SAP field to its corresponding business object attribute. The business object handler retains initial values from SAP with one exception: the character data type. The business object handler converts a space in the SAP field to CxIgnore in the business object attribute. If you want any other value to be converted to CxIgnore, the component that creates the business object must perform the conversion. For example, when ICS is the integration broker, modify the map to handle this conversion.

Table 39. Initial Field Values in SAP

Data Type Description Initial Value Set by Business Object Handler
C Character space
N Numeric string 000...
D Date (YYYMMDD) 00000000
T Time (HHMMSS) 000000
X Byte (hexadecimal) X00
I Integer 0
P Packed number 0
F Floating point number 0.0

Copyright IBM Corp. 1997, 2004