Metadata API Developer’s Guide
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A
- Apex
- Apex is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language that allows developers to execute flow and transaction control statements on the Force.com platform server in conjunction with calls to the Force.com API. Using syntax that looks like Java and acts like database stored procedures, Apex enables developers to add business logic to most system events, including button clicks, related record updates, and Visualforce pages. Apex code can be initiated by Web service requests and from triggers on objects.
- Apex-Managed Sharing
- Enables developers to programmatically manipulate sharing to support their application’s behavior. Apex-managed sharing is only available for custom objects.
- App
- Short for “application.” A collection of components such as tabs, reports, dashboards, and Visualforce pages that address a specific business need. Salesforce provides standard apps such as Sales and Call Center. You can customize the standard apps to match the way you work. In addition, you can package an app and upload it to the AppExchange along with related components such as custom fields, custom tabs, and custom objects. Then, you can make the app available to other Salesforce users from the AppExchange.
- AppExchange
- The AppExchange is a sharing interface from Salesforce that allows you to browse and share apps and services for the Force.com platform.
- AppExchange Upgrades
- Upgrading an app is the process of installing a newer version.
- Application Programming Interface (API)
- The interface that a computer system, library, or application provides to allow other computer programs to request services from it and exchange data.
- Asynchronous Calls
- A call that does not return results immediately because the operation may take a long time. Calls in the Metadata API and Bulk API are asynchronous.
B
- Boolean Operators
- You can use Boolean operators in report filters to specify the logical relationship between two values. For example, the AND operator between two values yields search results that include both values. Likewise, the OR operator between two values yields search results that include either value.
- Bulk API
- The REST-based Bulk API is optimized for processing large sets of data. It allows you to query, insert, update, upsert, or delete a large number of records asynchronously by submitting a number of batches which are processed in the background by Salesforce. See also SOAP API.
C
- Class, Apex
- A template or blueprint from which Apex objects are created. Classes consist of other classes, user-defined methods, variables, exception types, and static initialization code. In most cases, Apex classes are modeled on their counterparts in Java.
- Client App
- An app that runs outside the Salesforce user interface and uses only the Force.com API or Bulk API. It typically runs on a desktop or mobile device. These apps treat the platform as a data source, using the development model of whatever tool and platform for which they are designed.
- Component, Metadata
- A component is an instance of a metadata type in the Metadata API. For example, CustomObject is a metadata type for custom objects, and the MyCustomObject__c component is an instance of a custom object. A component is described in an XML file and it can be deployed or retrieved using the Metadata API, or tools built on top of it, such as the Force.com IDE or the Force.com Migration Tool.
- Component, Visualforce
- Something that can be added to a Visualforce page with a set of tags, for example, <apex:detail>. Visualforce includes a number of standard components, or you can create your own custom components.
- Component Reference, Visualforce
- A description of the standard and custom Visualforce components that are available in your organization. You can access the component library from the development footer of any Visualforce page or the Visualforce Developer's Guide.
- Controller, Visualforce
- An Apex class that provides a Visualforce page with the data and business logic it needs to run. Visualforce pages can use the standard controllers that come by default with every standard or custom object, or they can use custom controllers.
- Controlling Field
- Any standard or custom picklist or checkbox field whose values control the available values in one or more corresponding dependent fields.
- Custom App
- See App.
- Custom Field
- A field that can be added in addition to the standard fields to customize Salesforce for your organization’s needs.
- Custom Help
- Custom text administrators create to provide users with on-screen information specific to a standard field, custom field, or custom object.
- Custom Links
- Custom links are URLs defined by administrators to integrate your Salesforce data with external websites and back-office systems. Formerly known as Web links.
- Custom Object
- Custom records that allow you to store information unique to your organization.
- Custom S-Control
- Custom Web content for use in custom links. Custom s-controls can contain any type of content that you can display in a browser, for example a Java applet, an Active-X control, an Excel file, or a custom HTML Web form.
D
- Database
- An organized collection of information. The underlying architecture of the Force.com platform includes a database where your data is stored.
- Database Table
- A list of information, presented with rows and columns, about the person, thing, or concept you want to track. See also Object.
- Data Manipulation Language (DML)
- An Apex method or operation that inserts, updates, or deletes records.
- Decimal Places
- Parameter for number, currency, and percent custom fields that indicates the total number of digits you can enter to the right of a decimal point, for example, 4.98 for an entry of 2. Note that the system rounds the decimal numbers you enter, if necessary. For example, if you enter 4.986 in a field with Decimal Places of 2, the number rounds to 4.99. Salesforce uses the round half-up rounding algorithm. Half-way values are always rounded up. For example, 1.45 is rounded to 1.5. –1.45 is rounded to –1.5.
- Dependent Field
- Any custom picklist or multi-select picklist field that displays available values based on the value selected in its corresponding controlling field.
- Developer Edition
- A free, fully-functional Salesforce organization designed for developers to extend, integrate, and develop with the Force.com platform. Developer Edition accounts are available on developer.salesforce.com.
- Salesforce Developers
- The Salesforce Developers website at developer.salesforce.com provides a full range of resources for platform developers, including sample code, toolkits, an online developer community, and the ability to obtain limited Force.com platform environments.
- Document Library
- A place to store documents without attaching them to accounts, contacts, opportunities, or other records.
E
- Email Alert
- Email alerts are workflow and approval actions that are generated using an email template by a workflow rule or approval process and sent to designated recipients, either Salesforce users or others.
- Email Template
- A form email that communicates a standard message, such as a welcome letter to new employees or an acknowledgement that a customer service request has been received. Email templates can be personalized with merge fields, and can be written in text, HTML, or custom format.
- Enterprise Edition
- A Salesforce edition designed for larger, more complex businesses.
- Enterprise WSDL
- A strongly-typed WSDL for customers who want to build an integration with their Salesforce organization only, or for partners who are using tools like Tibco or webMethods to build integrations that require strong typecasting. The downside of the Enterprise WSDL is that it only works with the schema of a single Salesforce organization because it is bound to all of the unique objects and fields that exist in that organization's data model.
- Entity Relationship Diagram (ERD)
- A data modeling tool that helps you organize your data into entities (or objects, as they are called in the Force.com platform) and define the relationships between them. ERD diagrams for key Salesforce objects are published in the SOAP API Developer's Guide.
- Enumeration Field
- An enumeration is the WSDL equivalent of a picklist field. The valid values of the field are restricted to a strict set of possible values, all having the same data type.
F
- Field
- A part of an object that holds a specific piece of information, such as a text or currency value.
- Field-Level Security
- Settings that determine whether fields are hidden, visible, read only, or editable for users. Available in Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Editions only.
- Filter Condition/Criteria
- Condition on particular fields that qualifies items to be included in a list view or report, such as “State equals California.”
- Force.com
- The Salesforce platform for building applications in the cloud. Force.com combines a powerful user interface, operating system, and database to allow you to customize and deploy applications in the cloud for your entire enterprise.
- Force.com IDE
- An Eclipse plug-in that allows developers to manage, author, debug and deploy Force.com applications in the Eclipse development environment.
- Force.com Migration Tool
- A toolkit that allows you to write an Apache Ant build script for migrating Force.com components between a local file system and a Salesforce organization.
- Foreign Key
- A field whose value is the same as the primary key of another table. You can think of a foreign key as a copy of a primary key from another table. A relationship is made between two tables by matching the values of the foreign key in one table with the values of the primary key in another.
- Formula Field
- A type of custom field. Formula fields automatically calculate their values based on the values of merge fields, expressions, or other values.
- Function
- Built-in formulas that you can customize with input parameters. For example, the DATE function creates a date field type from a given year, month, and day.
H
- HTTP Debugger
- An application that can be used to identify and inspect SOAP requests that are sent from the AJAX Toolkit. They behave as proxy servers running on your local machine and allow you to inspect and author individual requests.
I
- ID
- See Salesforce Record ID.
- Inline S-Control
- An s-control that displays within a record detail page or dashboard, rather than on its own page.
- Instance
- The cluster of software and hardware represented as a single logical server that hosts an organization's data and runs their applications. The Force.com platform runs on multiple instances, but data for any single organization is always stored on a single instance.
- Integration User
- A Salesforce user defined solely for client apps or integrations. Also referred to as the logged-in user in a SOAP API context.
- ISO Code
- The International Organization for Standardization country code, which represents each country by two letters.
J
- Junction Object
- A custom object with two master-detail relationships. Using a custom junction object, you can model a “many-to-many” relationship between two objects. For example, you may have a custom object called “Bug” that relates to the standard case object such that a bug could be related to multiple cases and a case could also be related to multiple bugs.
L
- License Management Application (LMA)
- A free AppExchange app that allows you to track sales leads and accounts for every user who downloads your managed package (app) from the AppExchange.
- License Management Organization (LMO)
- The Salesforce organization that you use to track all the Salesforce users who install your package. A license management organization must have the License Management Application (LMA) installed. It automatically receives notification every time your package is installed or uninstalled so that you can easily notify users of upgrades. You can specify any Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, or Developer Edition organization as your license management organization. For more information, go to http://www.salesforce.com/docs/en/lma/index.htm.
- List View
- A list display of items (for example, accounts or contacts) based on specific criteria. Salesforce provides some predefined views.
- In the Agent console, the list view is the top frame that displays a list view of records based on specific criteria. The list views you can select to display in the console are the same list views defined on the tabs of other objects. You cannot create a list view within the console.
- Local Project
- A .zip file containing a project manifest (package.xml file) and one or more metadata components.
- Locale
- The country or geographic region in which the user is located. The setting affects the format of date and number fields, for example, dates in the English (United States) locale display as 06/30/2000 and as 30/06/2000 in the English (United Kingdom) locale.
- In Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited, Performance, and Developer Edition organizations, a user’s individual Locale setting overrides the organization’s Default Locale setting. In Personal and Group Editions, the organization-level locale field is called Locale, not Default Locale.
- Logged-in User
- In a SOAP API context, the username used to log into Salesforce. Client applications run with the permissions and sharing of the logged-in user. Also referred to as an integration user.
- Lookup Field
- A type of field that contains a linkable value to another record. You can display lookup fields on page layouts where the object has a lookup or master-detail relationship with another object. For example, cases have a lookup relationship with assets that allows users to select an asset using a lookup dialog from the case edit page and click the name of the asset from the case detail page.
M
- Managed Package
- A collection of application components that is posted as a unit on the AppExchange and associated with a namespace and possibly a License Management Organization. To support upgrades, a package must be managed. An organization can create a single managed package that can be downloaded and installed by many different organizations. Managed packages differ from unmanaged packages by having some locked components, allowing the managed package to be upgraded later. Unmanaged packages do not include locked components and cannot be upgraded. In addition, managed packages obfuscate certain components (like Apex) on subscribing organizations to protect the intellectual property of the developer.
- Manifest File
- The project manifest file (package.xml) lists the XML components to retrieve or deploy when working with the Metadata API, or clients built on top of the Metadata API, such as the Force.com IDE or the Force.com Migration Tool.
- Manual Sharing
- Record-level access rules that allow record owners to give read and edit permissions to other users who might not have access to the record any other way.
- Many-to-Many Relationship
- A relationship where each side of the relationship can have many children on the other side. Many-to-many relationships are implemented through the use of junction objects.
- Master-Detail Relationship
- A relationship between two different types of records that associates the records with each other. For example, accounts have a master-detail relationship with opportunities. This type of relationship affects record deletion, security, and makes the lookup relationship field required on the page layout.
- Metadata
- Information about the structure, appearance, and functionality of an organization and any of its parts. Force.com uses XML to describe metadata.
- Metadata WSDL
- A WSDL for users who want to use the Force.com Metadata API calls.
- Multitenancy
- An application model where all users and apps share a single, common infrastructure and code base.
N
- Namespace
- In a packaging context, a one- to 15-character alphanumeric identifier that distinguishes your package and its contents from packages of other developers onAppExchange, similar to a domain name. Salesforce automatically prepends your namespace prefix, followed by two underscores (“__”), to all unique component names in your Salesforce organization.
- Native App
- An app that is built exclusively with setup (metadata) configuration on Force.com. Native apps do not require any external services or infrastructure.
O
- Object
- An object allows you to store information in your Salesforce organization. The object is the overall definition of the type of information you are storing. For example, the case object allow you to store information regarding customer inquiries. For each object, your organization will have multiple records that store the information about specific instances of that type of data. For example, you might have a case record to store the information about Joe Smith's training inquiry and another case record to store the information about Mary Johnson's configuration issue.
- Object-Level Help
- Custom help text that you can provide for any custom object. It displays on custom object record home (overview), detail, and edit pages, as well as list views and related lists.
- Object-Level Security
- Settings that allow an administrator to hide whole objects from users so that they don't know that type of data exists. Object-level security is specified with object permissions.
- onClick JavaScript
- JavaScript code that executes when a button or link is clicked.
- One-to-Many Relationship
- A relationship in which a single object is related to many other objects. For example, an account may have one or more related contacts.
- Organization-Wide Defaults
- Settings that allow you to specify the baseline level of data access that a user has in your organization. For example, you can set organization-wide defaults so that any user can see any record of a particular object that is enabled via their object permissions, but they need extra permissions to edit one.
- Outbound Message
- An outbound message is a workflow, approval, or milestone action that sends the information you specify to an endpoint you designate, such as an external service. Outbound messaging is configured in the Salesforce setup menu. Then you must configure the external endpoint. You can create a listener for the messages using the SOAP API.
- Overlay
- An overlay displays additional information when you hover your mouse over certain user interface elements. Depending on the overlay, it will close when you move your mouse away, click outside of the overlay, or click a close button.
- Owner
- Individual user to which a record (for example, a contact or case) is assigned.
P
- Package
- A group of Force.com components and applications that are made available to other organizations through the AppExchange. You use packages to bundle an app along with any related components so that you can upload them to AppExchange together.
- Partner WSDL
- A loosely-typed WSDL for customers, partners, and ISVs who want to build an integration or an AppExchange app that can work across multiple Salesforce organizations. With this WSDL, the developer is responsible for marshaling data in the correct object representation, which typically involves editing the XML. However, the developer is also freed from being dependent on any particular data model or Salesforce organization. Contrast this with the Enterprise WSDL, which is strongly typed.
- Picklist
- Selection list of options available for specific fields in a Salesforce object, for example, the Industry field for accounts. Users can choose a single value from a list of options rather than make an entry directly in the field. See also Master Picklist.
- Picklist (Multi-Select)
- Selection list of options available for specific fields in a Salesforce object. Multi-select picklists allow users to choose one or more values. Users can choose a value by double clicking on it, or choose additional values from a scrolling list by holding down the CTRL key while clicking a value and using the arrow icon to move them to the selected box.
- Picklist Values
- Selections displayed in drop-down lists for particular fields. Some values come predefined, and other values can be changed or defined by an administrator.
- Primary Key
- A relational database concept. Each table in a relational database has a field in which the data value uniquely identifies the record. This field is called the primary key. The relationship is made between two tables by matching the values of the foreign key in one table with the values of the primary key in another.
- Production Organization
- A Salesforce organization that has live users accessing data.
- Professional Edition
- A Salesforce edition designed for businesses who need full-featured CRM functionality.
Q
- Queue
- A holding area for items before they are processed. Salesforce uses queues in a number of different features and technologies.
- Query String Parameter
- A name-value pair that's included in a URL, typically after a '?' character. For
example:
1http://na1.salesforce.com/001/e?name=value
R
- Record
- A single instance of a Salesforce object. For example, “John Jones” might be the name of a contact record.
- Record Name
- A standard field on all Salesforce objects. Whenever a record name is displayed in a Force.com application, the value is represented as a link to a detail view of the record. A record name can be either free-form text or an autonumber field. Record Name does not have to be a unique value.
- Record Type
- A record type is a field available for certain records that can include some or all of the standard and custom picklist values for that record. You can associate record types with profiles to make only the included picklist values available to users with that profile.
- Record-Level Security
- A method of controlling data in which you can allow a particular user to view and edit an object, but then restrict the records that the user is allowed to see.
- Recycle Bin
- A page that lets you view and restore deleted information. Access the Recycle Bin by using the link in the sidebar.
- Related Object
- Objects chosen by an administrator to display in the Agent console's mini view when records of a particular type are shown in the console's detail view. For example, when a case is in the detail view, an administrator can choose to display an associated account, contact, or asset in the mini view.
- Relationship
- A connection between two objects, used to create related lists in page layouts and detail levels in reports. Matching values in a specified field in both objects are used to link related data; for example, if one object stores data about companies and another object stores data about people, a relationship allows you to find out which people work at the company.
- Relationship Query
- In a SOQL context, a query that traverses the relationships between objects to identify and return results. Parent-to-child and child-to-parent syntax differs in SOQL queries.
- Report Type
- A report type defines the set of records and fields available to a report based on the relationships between a primary object and its related objects. Reports display only records that meet the criteria defined in the report type. Salesforce provides a set of pre-defined standard report types; administrators can create custom report types as well.
- Role Hierarchy
- A record-level security setting that defines different levels of users such that users at higher levels can view and edit information owned by or shared with users beneath them in the role hierarchy, regardless of the organization-wide sharing model settings.
- Roll-Up Summary Field
- A field type that automatically provides aggregate values from child records in a master-detail relationship.
S
- SaaS
- See Software as a Service (SaaS).
- S-Control
- Custom Web content for use in custom links. Custom s-controls can contain any type of content that you can display in a browser, for example a Java applet, an Active-X control, an Excel file, or a custom HTML Web form.
- Salesforce Record ID
- A unique 15- or 18-character alphanumeric string that identifies a single record in Salesforce.
- Salesforce SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture)
- A powerful capability of Force.com that allows you to make calls to external Web services from within Apex.
- Sandbox
- A nearly identical copy of a Salesforce production organization for development, testing, and training. The content and size of a sandbox varies depending on the type of sandbox and the editioin of the production organization associated with the sandbox.
- Search Layout
- The organization of fields included in search results, in lookup dialogs, and in the key lists on tab home pages.
- Session ID
- An authentication token that is returned when a user successfully logs in to Salesforce. The Session ID prevents a user from having to log in again every time he or she wants to perform another action in Salesforce. Different from a record ID or Salesforce ID, which are terms for the unique ID of a Salesforce record.
- Session Timeout
- The period of time after login before a user is automatically logged out. Sessions expire automatically after a predetermined length of inactivity, which can be configured in Salesforce from Setup by clicking . The default is 120 minutes (two hours). The inactivity timer is reset to zero if a user takes an action in the Web interface or makes an API call.
- Setup
- A menu where administrators can customize and define organization settings and Force.com apps. Depending on your organization’s user interface settings, Setup may be a link in the user interface header or in the drop-down list under your name.
- Sharing
- Allowing other users to view or edit information you own. There are different ways to
share data:
- Sharing Model—defines the default organization-wide access levels that users have to each other’s information and whether to use the hierarchies when determining access to data.
- Role Hierarchy—defines different levels of users such that users at higher levels can view and edit information owned by or shared with users beneath them in the role hierarchy, regardless of the organization-wide sharing model settings.
- Sharing Rules—allow an administrator to specify that all information created by users within a given group or role is automatically shared to the members of another group or role.
- Manual Sharing—allows individual users to share records with other users or groups.
- Apex-Managed Sharing—enables developers to programmatically manipulate sharing to support their application’s behavior. See Apex-Managed Sharing.
- Sharing Model
- Behavior defined by your administrator that determines default access by users to different types of records.
- Sharing Rule
- Type of default sharing created by administrators. Allows users in a specified group or role to have access to all information created by users within a given group or role.
- Sites
- Force.com Sites enables you to create public websites and applications that are directly integrated with your Salesforce organization—without requiring users to log in with a username and password.
- Snippet
- A type of s-control that is designed to be included in other s-controls. Similar to a helper method that is used by other methods in a piece of code, a snippet allows you to maintain a single copy of HTML or JavaScript that you can reuse in multiple s-controls.
- SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
- A protocol that defines a uniform way of passing XML-encoded data.
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- A delivery model where a software application is hosted as a service and provided to customers via the Internet. The SaaS vendor takes responsibility for the daily maintenance, operation, and support of the application and each customer's data. The service alleviates the need for customers to install, configure, and maintain applications with their own hardware, software, and related IT resources. Services can be delivered using the SaaS model to any market segment.
- SOQL (Salesforce Object Query Language)
- A query language that allows you to construct simple but powerful query strings and to specify the criteria that should be used to select data from the Force.com database.
- SOSL (Salesforce Object Search Language)
- A query language that allows you to perform text-based searches using the Force.com API.
- Standard Object
- A built-in object included with the Force.com platform. You can also build custom objects to store information that is unique to your app.
- System Log
- Part of the Developer Console, a separate window console that can be used for debugging code snippets. Enter the code you want to test at the bottom of the window and click Execute. The body of the System Log displays system resource information, such as how long a line took to execute or how many database calls were made. If the code did not run to completion, the console also displays debugging information.
T
- Test Method
- An Apex class method that verifies whether a particular piece of code is working properly. Test methods take no arguments, commit no data to the database, and can be executed by the runTests() system method either through the command line or in an Apex IDE, such as the Force.com IDE.
- Translation Workbench
- The Translation Workbench lets you specify languages you want to translate, assign translators to languages, create translations for customizations you’ve made to your Salesforce organization, and override labels and translations from managed packages. Everything from custom picklist values to custom fields can be translated so your global users can use all of Salesforce in their language.
- Trigger
- A piece of Apex that executes before or after records of a particular type are inserted, updated, or deleted from the database. Every trigger runs with a set of context variables that provide access to the records that caused the trigger to fire, and all triggers run in bulk mode—that is, they process several records at once, rather than just one record at a time.
- Trigger Context Variable
- Default variables that provide access to information about the trigger and the records that caused it to fire.
U
- Unit Test
- A unit is the smallest testable part of an application, usually a method. A unit test operates on that piece of code to make sure it works correctly. See also Test Method.
- Unlimited Edition
- Unlimited Edition is Salesforce’s solution for maximizing your success and extending that success across the entire enterprise through the Force.com platform.
- Unmanaged Package
- A package that cannot be upgraded or controlled by its developer.
- URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
- The global address of a website, document, or other resource on the Internet. For example, http://www.salesforce.com.
- URL S-Control
- An s-control that contains an external URL that hosts the HTML that should be rendered on a page. When saved this way, the HTML is hosted and run by an external website. URL s-controls are also called Web controls.
V
- Validation Rule
- A rule that prevents a record from being saved if it does not meet the standards that are specified.
- Visualforce
- A simple, tag-based markup language that allows developers to easily define custom pages and components for apps built on the platform. Each tag corresponds to a coarse or fine-grained component, such as a section of a page, a related list, or a field. The components can either be controlled by the same logic that is used in standard Salesforce pages, or developers can associate their own logic with a controller written in Apex.
W
- Web Control
- See URL S-Control.
- Web Links
- See Custom Links.
- Web Service
- A mechanism by which two applications can easily exchange data over the Internet, even if they run on different platforms, are written in different languages, or are geographically remote from each other.
- WebService Method
- An Apex class method or variable that can be used by external systems, like a mash-up with a third-party application. Web service methods must be defined in a global class.
- Web Services API
- A Web services application programming interface that provides access to your Salesforce organization's information. See also SOAP API and Bulk API.
- Web Tab
- A custom tab that allows your users to use external websites from within the application.
- Workflow Action
- A workflow action, such as an email alert, field update, outbound message, or task, fires when the conditions of a workflow rule are met.
- Workflow Email Alert
- A workflow action that sends an email when a workflow rule is triggered. Unlike workflow tasks, which can only be assigned to application users, workflow alerts can be sent to any user or contact, as long as they have a valid email address.
- Workflow Field Update
- A workflow action that changes the value of a particular field on a record when a workflow rule is triggered.
- Workflow Outbound Message
- A workflow action that sends data to an external Web service, such as another cloud computing application. Outbound messages are used primarily with composite apps.
- Workflow Queue
- A list of workflow actions that are scheduled to fire based on workflow rules that have one or more time-dependent workflow actions.
- Workflow Rule
- A workflow rule sets workflow actions into motion when its designated conditions are met. You can configure workflow actions to execute immediately when a record meets the conditions in your workflow rule, or set time triggers that execute the workflow actions on a specific day.
- Workflow Task
- A workflow action that assigns a task to an application user when a workflow rule is triggered.
- WSDL (Web Services Description Language) File
- An XML file that describes the format of messages you send and receive from a Web service. Your development environment's SOAP client uses the Salesforce Enterprise WSDL or Partner WSDL to communicate with Salesforce using the SOAP API.