Extend Business Objects
This section explains how to extend your business objects using business formulas.
A business formula is an SQL expression that creates additional business attributes using calculations based on existing attributes. More complex transformations such as aggregations and analytical statements can be implemented through the use of Custom Views.
The steps in this section are carried out on the Catalog page.
Business Area
The Business Area of a business object is a tree structure that contains the object itself and any other business object that can be used in its business formulas. Since the business objects of a business area can be used multiple times - for example, with different timeline filters - the business objects are represented by Business Aliases.
Business Alias Configuration
| Column | Description | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| Business Alias |
The business alias name will be generated based on the business reference name but can be changed by clicking in the name field. The name of the related business object is shown in brackets (this cannot be changed). Each business alias must have a unique name. |
Yes |
| Business Reference |
The business reference used by the business alias. If more than one business reference exists between two business objects, you must select the desired business reference using the Answer Path question dropdown. |
Yes |
| Timeline |
The timeline that will be used when accessing the business object. The load timeline (LOAD) is used as default. If an inscription timestamp is specified for the business object, the user can choose between load timeline and inscription timeline (INSCRIPTION). |
Yes |
| Filter |
A filter can be specified to access the state of the business object at a specific time. A date or timestamp attribute of a preceding (parent/ancestor) business alias in the hierarchy can be specified as a filter. If no filter is specified, the selected timeline is combined with the specified timeline of the preceding business alias. |
No |
Click on Graph for a visualization of the business area as a wireframe relationship diagram. The Graph view is read-only.
Create a New Business Formula
-
Select a business area from the dropdown menu in the page header or from the business object tree. In this example we will use Sale.
-
Click on New business formula and enter a name for your new formula, then click on Save.
-
Enter the formula in the editor area at the bottom of the Catalog page.
Example:
"Sale"."Quantity" *
"Product"."Net Price" *
(1 - ("Store"."Store Discount" / 100)) *
(1 - ("Product Group"."VAT Percent" / 100))You can drag and drop objects from the business object tree (left page column) directly into the formula editor instead of typing them. In that case you may have to edit the formula afterwards to replace a business object name with a business alias name.
- Click on Save to save the new business formula.
Target Business Object (Valley)
The target business object or valley for a business formula is the lowest point in the business object hierarchy that the formula should operate on. Yotilla will try to automatically detect the target business object. If a valid target business object cannot be detected, the business formula becomes invalid.
Consolidated Attributes
Yotilla only allows one source column in each source to be mapped to a business attribute of a business object. You can however map source columns in different sources to the same business attribute name. This will create a Consolidated Attribute. When a consolidated attribute is created, Yotilla will render a formula that consolidates the values of all the participating mapped source attributes.
On the Catalog page, consolidated attributes are prefixed with a collapse/expand icon > in the business object tree. To see the participating attributes in the tree view, click on the > icon to expand the consolidated attribute. Consolidated attributes are also shown in the business formula area.
For more details and examples, see Consolidated Attributes.
