02/08/2024 16:51 | Pega Academy

Describing a data object

4 Topics 30 mins Release 1

Data Integration Pega Platform 8.4 English

Create data types to model the attributes of an entity and establish a common context for a
group of fields.

After completing this module, you should be able to:

Explain how data types group related fields to model a single entity
Configure a data type to group related fields to model a single entity

Available in the following missions:

Low-Code App Builder v1
Data and Integration Foundation v1

Topics

Data types

Data types in the application data model

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To process cases, Pega Platform™ applications use many different data types, which
are collections of case data. Data types provide a way for developers to group a set of
fields to describe a single object.

For example, an HR application for processing new candidates has the New Candidate
case type. To process a new candidate, HR must gather basic information about the
candidate, such as their employment history and criminal record information. You
can describe a job candidate with a set of fields, including name, email address, home
address, and telephone number. The Candidate data type groups these fields to
describe the candidate. Similarly, the New Candidate case type has the Employment
History data type and the Background Check data type to describe the candidate's
employment history and criminal record information.

The collection of case types and data types in your application holistically defines your
data model.

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Data type structure

A data type consists of one or more single-value fields, lists, or groups of fields. The
fields define the data structure of the data type. Collectively, the different fields
represent a single type of object. For example, the Candidate data type might have 30
fields, including First Name, Last Name, Address, Email, and Phone Number.

In addition to grouping data elements, data types can group other objects, such as
views and other rules that are created by more advanced developers.

Data types can reference other data types. For example, the Candidate data type
could have the Address field group that is defined in the Address data type. The

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Address field group might have such fields as Street Name, City, and Postal Code.

Note: For more information about fields and field groups, see Adding a
single-value field to a form and Adding a field group to a form.

Data types are templates that you can use anywhere in your application. For example,
an application might contain the generic Account data type that you can reuse in two
case types: one that allows the customer to transfer funds between bank accounts,
and one that allows the customer to change the address that is associated with their
account. Fields that apply across different case types include Account Number,
Current Balance, and Next Statement Date, and are saved to the Account data type.
Fields that are specific to each case type are saved to the appropriate specialized data
types.

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Data type inheritance

You can create data types to reuse assets from an existing data type through
inheritance. For example, Person is a generic data type, or a parent data type, while
Customer and Call Center Representative (CCR) are more specialized data types. To
denote the relationship between parent and child data types, use the Parent-Child
pattern, for example, Person-Customer and Person-CCR. All three data types have
common fields, including Name, Telephone, and Email. By creating the common fields
in the Person data type, you can reuse the fields in the Customer and Call Center
Representatives data types. The fields Tax Identification Number and Membership
Number apply to customers only, so you define them in the Customer data type.
Because the field Employee ID applies to employees only, you define the field in the
Call Center Representative data type.

On specialized data types, you can view the fields for that data type, and any fields
that they reuse from the parent data type. Use the slider on the following image to
view the Customer data type with and without reusable fields.

This learning is interactive and cannot be experienced offline. Please visit

https://academy.pega.com to complete.

Data type sourcing

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You can source data types locally from a Pega Platform system of record, or you can
source data types from an external system of record. Alternatively, data types can
obtain data that you or a case participant enters or changes during application
processing that are not associated with any system of record.

When you determine how to source a data type, consider the questions in the
following image. The questions assume that you are new to Pega Platform and that
you create an application from scratch. Click the hotspots to learn about an example
of each data type sourcing option.

This learning is interactive and cannot be experienced offline. Please visit

https://academy.pega.com to complete.

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Data type best practices

Whenever possible, use standard, commonly-used data types that Pega Platform
provides, such as Address-Postal and Address-Email. You can also add relevant data
types to your application.

If a data type only partially meets your needs, you can extend that data type. For
example, if you want to create the Employee data type, you can extend the existing
Person data type to create the Person-Employee data type.

If a suitable data type does not exist yet, create a new one. For example, if you want
to add the Airport Codes data type, but you cannot use or extend an existing data
type, create a new one in Pega Platform.

This learning is interactive and cannot be experienced offline. Please visit

https://academy.pega.com to complete.

Creating a data object

Note: The following content, referenced from Pega

Community, is included here to help you better
achieve the module learning objectives.

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Use data objects to simplify the organization of the information that your application
needs to process a case. For example, configure an Onboarding application to
provide orientation course suggestions to new hires based on department. In the
Onboarding application, a Courses data object might include fields such as Course ID,
Course Title, Department, Duration, and Description.

1. In the navigation pane of App Studio, click Data.

2. Click Data objects and integrations.
3. Click New.
4. In the Data objects name field, enter the name for the type of information that
you want to model.
5. To define where your data is stored, in the Define source data field, select one of
the following options:

To set a local Pega data object, select Now, and then select Pega in the
Systems list.
By connecting to Pega database storage, you can add fields and complete your
data model. When your data model is complete, and your external data
sources are available, you can optionally connect to them.
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To defer defining a source system, for example if your source system is not yet
ready, select Later.
6. Click Submit.

Adding fields to a data type

Note: The following content, referenced from Pega

Community, is included here to help you better
achieve the module learning objectives.

Define fields to structure the data that defines a single object. You can add fields to
data types and specify the field type, such as Picklist, Boolean, or Text (single line). For
example, to include a field that displays the confirmation number for an online order,
you might add a Confirmation number field to the Purchase order data type, and then
select Text (single line) as the field type.

1. In the App Studio navigation panel, click Data.

2. Under Data, click Data types and integrations.
3. Click a data type name.
4. Add fields by repeating the following actions for each field:
1. On the Data model tab, click + Add field.
2. Enter the name of the field.
3. In the Type column, select the data type that you want to store.
5. Click Save.

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Adding records to a data type

Note: The following content, referenced from Pega

Community, is included here to help you better
achieve the module learning objectives.

Define the data to populate the fields in a data type by adding a record.

1. In the App Studio navigation panel, click Data.

2. Under Data, click Data types and integrations.
3. Click a data type name.
4. In the data type, click the Records tab.
5. Click Add record.
6. For each field column, add a record.
For example, a record in the Courses data type might include the following:
ID: ENG-001
Title: Engineering Orientation
Description: Learn the basic organization of the Engineering group

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Hours: 2
Department: Engineering
7. Click Save.

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