ObjectExtender User's Guide and Reference


Choosing an approach to persistence

There are different ways to begin using ObjectExtender:

Shortcuts: As mentioned, from an existing model, you can generate a default schema and vice versa. Generating models from schemas , and schemas from models is accomplished by using the ObjectExtender tools. The Model Browser has a menu option for generating schemas, and the Schema Browser has one for generating models. Consider this: if you have an existing database, you could import your schema, generate your model from your schema, define the data store map, and then use the code generation services.

The following discussion assumes you are using ObjectExtender to build an object model from scratch. That is, you are defining the model, schema, and data store map, and then using the code generation services. Rather than a concrete example to follow, these highlights are intended to help you undertstand the overall process for using ObjectExtender.

Creating the data services layer automatically or manually

Before we begin, a first consideration is how the data services layer will be built. The data services layer is created using code generation services after you define a model, schema, and data store map. You can use the code generations services to create a complete set of data services when persisting to relational databases. The code is complete and ready to run. You can fine tune it if necessary. If you are not persisting to a relational data store, however, then you need to write your own data services, but not completely from scratch. You can use the code generation services to create code stubs which you can then complete according to the requirements of your data store.


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