Application foundation

To create a Platform Web application foundation, you define application components. Component definitions consist of properties and attributes, and for some components, subcomponents (child components). Platform stores component definitions as metadata. With the appropriate permissions, external applications can access application metadata using SOAP or REST. See Using SOAP or REST to integrate with Platform for more information.

This section introduces and describes components that lay the foundation for a Platform application:

  • Applications: A container for a logical grouping of objects, exposed to users through menus, and, optionally, portals.
  • Objects: The core component of Platform applications, each object defines the structure for data of a particular type. Objects and relationships between objects create the application data model. Platform stores object data as records.
  • Fields: The core component of objects, each field defines characteristics such as data type for a discrete piece of data. Users enter record data into fields, such as Name and Address.
  • Relationships: Link objects together. For example, a shipment might be related to the individual ordered items that comprise that shipment.
  • Pages, and menus: Pages make up the user interface of a Platform application. When you create an object, Platform creates a set of pages for creating, viewing, and editing records. Menus are the navigation controls associated with pages. Platform creates pages and menus for you, but you have the option to customize them and to create others to enhance the experience of your end users.
  • Portals: Within an application, a way to expose all or subsets of Platform application functionality to end users and other external entities. Instead of logging into Platform to access application functionality, users log into the portal, which can be integrated into your website. You create the portal pages and control the user experience.
  • Calendar: A built-in application that contains task and event records that you can use to coordinate work for yourself and/or for a group of Platform users.

Watch a short video to see how quickly you can create an application with objects and relationships: The Quick Create Wizard. The topics in this section provide more details on objects.