Creating and Maintaining Business Object Documents (BODs)

Use the following process to build or change a Business Object Document (BOD) XML via metadata defined in system forms. BOD elements are often mapped to objects in system tables or collections, although certain elements may be specified as literals or calculated values that are not tied to any table or collection.

In the Replication Documents form, you specify the general structure and conventions used by the BOD. Specify when the BOD is used through either the Replication Document Outbound Cross References form or the Replication Document Inbound Cross References. Then use the Replication Document Elements and Replication Document Attributes forms to define the elements (BOD tags) and the attributes of those elements, and map the elements and attributes as required.

BOD Structure and Usage

1. On the Replication Documents form, specify the document name, used only for internal reference. The actual BOD XML document name is specified by the BOD Noun and BOD Verb fields in the Primary Tab.
2. Enter information about the IDO used to build the BOD. If no existing IDO collection fits the purpose of the BOD, you can define a new IDO collection or custom load method specifically for the BOD.
3. Click either the Inbound Cross-Refs or Outbound Cross-Refs button to go to one of the following forms, where you can specify how the BOD is used:
   • For outbound BODs (those generated by this application), use the Replication Document Outbound Cross References form to enter information about how this BOD is triggered.

     Examples

     NOTE: Do not use this option if this application is used only to facilitate integration between two other applications.
   • For inbound BODs (those generated by some external system that will update some data in this application), use the Replication Document Inbound Cross References form to enter information about which replication document to use with a particular BOD Noun and Verb.

BOD Header

1. On the Replication Documents form, click the Add BOD Headers Element button to automatically generate the header elements required for any BOD.
2. The Replication Document Elements form displays with the appropriate header elements added.

   The BOD_Name/ApplicationArea/BODID element contains the NID in this format:

   NIDID(DerBODID)?BODNOUN()&verb=BODVERB()

   In most cases, you do not need to edit this element. However, if you want the NID's location value populated, change the NIDID macro to LNIDID. (Click here for more information about these macros.)

   When you create the associated IDO or Custom Load Method used to populate the BOD, you must include a property named DerBODID that contains the key value for the BOD. For example, for the PurchaseOrder BOD, you must define a DerBODID property that contains the purchase order number.

   Save the records and close the form.

3. The Attributes form displays with the appropriate attributes automatically defined for the header elements. Save the records and close this form.
4. If this BOD is used to publish deleted data, change the ValueExpresson of the ActionCode attribute on the ActionExpression element of the header from "Replace" to "Change".

BOD Body

1. On the Replication Documents form, click the Elements button to open the Replication Document Elements form again. This time you will be adding elements to the body of the BOD, to produce all the necessary tags for the BOD.
2. For each element (tag), set up the following:
   • For the BOD Tag Name, enter the actual tag included in the XML.
   • Specify whether the value of the element is a literal value, a dynamic subcollection, or a property (that is, mapped to a data element in an IDO collection). If you are adding a dynamic subcollection, see Adding a Collection of Elements from a SQL Table or IDO to a BOD for more information.
   • If the value is a literal, enter the Value Expression. If the value is a dynamic subcollection, enter the Dynamic Subcollection IDO Name. If the value is a property, enter the Property Name. The property name you enter is a property on the IDO listed on the parent BOD form, or a property on a subcollection IDO linked to that IDO.
   • If the value is an explicit "To" logical ID, select Is To Logical ID.
   • On the Subcollections tab, specify information about any custom load methods, filters, overrides, or Link By information for subcollections.
3. If any element includes an attribute - that is, the BOD tag looks like this:

   <element attribute=xxx>
   		

   then click the Attributes button to display the Replication Document Attributes form, filtered for the current element. (Notice that the element's sequence number is displayed for reference.)

   Specify the following for the attribute:

   • for the Attribute Name, enter the actual attribute included in the XML. The attribute name is case-sensitive.
   • Specify whether the value of the attribute is a literal value or a property (that is, mapped to a data element in an IDO collection).
   • If the value is a literal, enter the Value Expression. If the value is a property, enter the Property Name. The property name you enter is a property on the IDO listed on the parent BOD form, or a property on a subcollection IDO linked to that IDO.

Tips for Constructing the Body

• An XML document inbound to this application from an application that does not use the Infor BOD format must include the following XML element:

  <DocumentData TargetSite="target_site" SourceSite="source_site" Verb="verb" Noun="noun">
  		

• When building BODs for applications that do use the Infor BOD format, be aware of the following:
  • For the main ID element in the Noun section of the BOD (this is often, but not always, called DocumentID):
    • Specify the BOD Tag Name.
    • Set Value Type to Literal.
    • Set Property Name to DerBODID.
  • For reference elements, the ID should be populated with the key value (DerBODID) used by the BOD being referenced.
  • If the BOD is used to publish deleted data, only two elementsin the Noun section of the body need to be mapped: the main ID element and the status element.

  • All values published in an ID element or reference ID element must have leading spaces trimmed. If an ID element is populated with concatenated columns of data each column of data must have leading spaces trimmed.

    The following example shows concenation and trim logic:
    
    ltrim(VendVch.vend_num) + '~' + ltrim(cast(VendVch.voucher as nvarchar(7)))

    If vend_num = 200 and voucher = 5000 then the value published would look like this:
    
    200~5000

• If a parent tag contains no data and has no attributes, you do not need to define an element record for it in the metadata. If a child tag element is defined in the Elements form, the system automatically generates the parent tag in the XML. For example, if you define metadata for

  ProcessCustomerPartyMaster/DataArea/CustomerPartyMaster/Location/Name

  but you have not defined metadata for the parent

  ProcessCustomerPartyMaster/DataArea/CustomerPartyMaster/Location

  the system includes any missing parent tags in the XML, like this:

  <DataArea>
    <CustomerPartyMaster>
       <Location>
         <Name>MyCo</Name>
       </Location>
    </CustomerPartyMaster>
  </DataArea>               

• When an element is populated with multiple columns of data concatenated together, the approved concatenation character is ~ (tilde). For example, if concatenating cust_num and cust_seq together to be published together as one value in an element, specify it as follows:
  
  cust_num~cust_seq

  If cust_num = C000001 and cust_seq = 5 then the value published looks like this:
  
  C000001~5

• Use the Documentation tabs and fields on the various forms to enter implementation information for the BOD and its elements and attributes. This information can be used to create data mapping/implementation reports.
• You can create a Custom Load Method whose source is a view that contains all the information you need in the BOD. The CLM returns the result set of the view. This may produce speed improvements over using an IDO.
  NOTE: If this application is used only to facilitate integration between two other applications, then the CLM in this application runs a corresponding CLM (via a remote method call) in the actual application.

Next Step

After you define the replication document mappings for a BOD, you must set up replication for it. See Replicating Data as BODs to Other Infor BOD-Enabled Applications. Or, if you are defining generic (non-Infor) BOD XML documents, see Replicating Data to External Systems That Do Not Use Infor BOD Formatted XMLs.

If you update a replication document for a BOD that has been replicated previously, you should restart the ReplQListener service to clear the cache of old metadata for the BOD.

Generating Replication Document Scripts

Use the Repl Doc Script Generator form if you want to generate a replication document script and then, optionally, check the script into a source code control system. This allows you to include your custom replication document information in system upgrades.

Related Topics

Deleting BODs

Viewing Received and Sent BODs

Replicating Data as BODs to Other BOD-Enabled Applications

Replicating Data to External Systems That Do Not Use Infor BOD Formatted XMLs

Adding a Collection of Elements from a SQL Table or IDO to a BOD

Behind the Scenes: How the System Generates a BOD