Creating a DB Entity

DB Entities are used to define data that requires persistence. For each DB Entity created, a corresponding database table is generated.

Example: In an e-commerce application, entities such as Customer, Address, Order, OrderItems, and Product are defined as DB Entities since they need to be stored persistently.

Key Characteristics of a DB Entity

1. Uniqueness – Each entity has a unique identifier, often called a Primary Key.
2. Attributes – Entities have properties that describe them, known as fields or columns in a database table.
3. Relationships – Entities can be linked to other entities through relationships (e.g., one-to-many, one-to-one, many-to-many).
4. Persistence – For every DB Entity a relational table is created.

Add Folder

For better organization and accessibility, users can group database entities into folders.

1. Create a Folder:
   • Right-click DB Entities in the Explorer Menu.
   • Select Add Folder and provide a name for the folder.

Creating a DB Entity

Steps to Create a DB Entity

1. Add a New Entity

   • Open the Explorer menu.
   • Right-click on DB Entities/Folder.
   • Select Add Entity.

2. Configure Entity Properties

   In the Properties Panel, set the required fields:

   Property	Description	Comments
   Name*	Name of the entity.	Must start with an uppercase letter followed by alphanumeric characters or ''. No spaces or special characters except ''. Cannot start with a number. Maximum length: 50 characters. Specifies the table name in the database.
   Plural Name*	Plural form of the entity name.	Automatically generated based on the Name field. Plural name used to create API route URL for the default service actions.
   Suffix	A DB entity suffix is an optional string appended to the table name.	Values: Yes/No. Default: No.
   Is Binary	Used to store files within a database table as described below.	Values: Yes/No. Default: No.
   Is Active	Indicates if the entity is active.	Values: Yes/No. Default: Yes.
   Description	Description of the entity.	Optional.

3. Save the Entity

   • Click the Save icon.
   • Upon successful creation, you should see the message: "DB Entity saved successfully".

Entity Suffix

A DB entity suffix is an optional string appended to the table name when creating an entity in a database. Suffix is used to distinguish or categorize tables without modifying the core entity name.

Purpose of a Suffix in a DB Entity

• Helps differentiate similar entities (e.g., User_Log vs. User_Details).
• Can indicate entity type, function, or versioning (e.g., _Archive, _Temp).
• Useful for naming conventions in large-scale applications.

Examples

Entity Name	Suffix	Final Table Name
Order	_History	Order_History
User	_Details	User_Details
Transaction	_Archive	Transaction_Archive

Binary Entity

A Binary Entity is a specialized type of DB Entity designed specifically for storing files within an application. Storing binary data (such as images, PDFs, or other files) in a dedicated table improves performance and maintainability by preventing frequent updates to regular entities, which can negatively impact database efficiency.

Scenario: Managing User Profiles with Profile Pictures

When designing an application that stores user profiles along with profile pictures, you can choose between:

1. Storing profile pictures within the UserProfile table (not recommended).
2. Separating profile pictures into a dedicated Binary Entity (ProfilePic) (recommended for better performance).

Why Separate ProfilePic into a Different Table?

• Performance Optimization – Frequent updates to user profiles (e.g., name, email, preferences) won't affect large binary data.
• Reduced Database Load – Queries on UserProfile remain fast since they don't load binary data.
• Better Scalability – Storing binary data separately allows using optimized storage solutions (e.g., cloud storage).
• Efficient Caching – Profile data can be cached efficiently without storing large image blobs.

Recommendation: Store large files in external storage (e.g., Blob Storage, S3) and maintain only a reference in the Entity.

Default Attributes of a Binary Entity

When a Binary Entity is created, it automatically includes the following attributes:

Attribute	Description
Id (Primary Key)	Unique identifier for the binary entity record.
FileName	Name of the uploaded file.
BinaryData	The actual binary content of the file (stored in a BLOB field).
FileExtension	The file type extension (e.g., .png, .pdf).
FileSize	Size of the file in bytes.
ContentType	MIME type of the file (e.g., image/png, application/pdf).
URL	A reference or direct access URL.

Additional attributes can be added based on the specific requirements.

Structure of a DB Entity

When a DB Entity is created, it consists of the following components:

1. ID Attribute (Primary Key)

   • Automatically generated as the primary key.
   • Ensures uniqueness for each record.

2. List of Attributes

   • Represents the properties of the entity.
   • Each attribute has a name, data type, and optional constraints (e.g., required, unique).
   • Example attributes for a Customer entity:
     • CustomerID (Primary Key)
     • Name (String)
     • Email (String, Unique)
     • CreatedDate (DateTime)

3. Actions Folder (CRUD Operations)

   Contains pre-built operations for managing entity data:

   • Create – Adds a new record.
   • Read – Retrieves existing records.
   • Update – Modifies existing data.
   • Delete – Removes a record from the database.
   • Bulk Create or Update – Adds multiple records.

4. Indexes Folder

   • Stores database indexes that improve query performance.
   • Can be manually added for optimizing searches on frequently queried attributes.