|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Advanced Types |
| 3 | +description: "Deep dive into Enterprise Data Types: Currency, Lookup, Formulas, and Summaries." |
| 4 | +--- |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | +# Advanced Enterprise Types |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +While basic types like `text` and `boolean` handle standard data, Enterprise applications require specialized types to handle money, relationships, and on-the-fly calculations. |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | +ObjectQL provides these "Smart Types" out of the box. They are not just storage definitions; they carry **Logic** and **Compilation Rules** that the engine enforces automatically. |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | +## 1. Currency (High-Precision Money) |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +In financial systems, floating-point math (e.g., `0.1 + 0.2`) is dangerous due to rounding errors. ObjectQL's `currency` type ensures mathematical exactness. |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +### Definition |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +```yaml |
| 19 | +fields: |
| 20 | + amount: |
| 21 | + type: currency |
| 22 | + label: Invoice Amount |
| 23 | + precision: 18 # Total digits |
| 24 | + scale: 2 # Decimal places |
| 25 | + required: true |
| 26 | + |
| 27 | +``` |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | +### Protocol Behavior |
| 30 | + |
| 31 | +* **Storage:** Compiles to `DECIMAL(18,2)` in SQL or `Decimal128` in MongoDB. It never uses `FLOAT` or `DOUBLE`. |
| 32 | +* **Runtime:** In the TypeScript runtime, values are treated as **Strings** or **BigInt** wrappers to prevent JavaScript's `number` type from introducing precision loss during API serialization. |
| 33 | +* **Formatting:** ObjectUI automatically renders this with the correct locale symbol (e.g., `$1,000.00`) based on the system configuration. |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | +## 2. Lookup (Foreign Key Relationships) |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +The `lookup` type defines a Many-to-One relationship. Unlike simple SQL Foreign Keys, ObjectQL Lookups support **Polymorphism** and **Virtual Expansion**. |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +### Definition |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +```yaml |
| 42 | +fields: |
| 43 | + owner: |
| 44 | + type: lookup |
| 45 | + reference_to: users |
| 46 | + label: Project Owner |
| 47 | + index: true |
| 48 | + |
| 49 | +``` |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +### Advanced: Polymorphic Lookups |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +ObjectQL allows a field to point to *multiple* types of objects. This is essential for CRM features like "Regarding" on a Task (which could link to a Lead, Account, or Opportunity). |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +```yaml |
| 56 | +fields: |
| 57 | + related_to: |
| 58 | + type: lookup |
| 59 | + reference_to: [lead, account, opportunity] # Polymorphic Array |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +``` |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +### Under the Hood |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +* **Compiler:** When you query a Lookup field, the engine does not just return the ID. It allows for **Graph Expansion**: |
| 66 | +```json |
| 67 | +// Query Intent |
| 68 | +{ "expand": ["owner"] } |
| 69 | + |
| 70 | +``` |
| 71 | + |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +The compiler translates this into a highly optimized `LEFT JOIN users ON ...`. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +## 3. Formula (Database-Compiled Logic) |
| 76 | + |
| 77 | +Formula fields are **Read-Only Virtual Columns**. They allow you to define business logic in the schema that is compiled into the database query execution plan. |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +### Why not use JavaScript? |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +If you calculate `Total = Price * Qty` in JavaScript (Node.js), you cannot sort or filter by `Total` in the database. By using Formula fields, the calculation happens inside the DB engine, allowing high-performance sorting and filtering on millions of rows. |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +### Definition |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +Use the `${field_name}` syntax to reference other fields. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +```yaml |
| 88 | +fields: |
| 89 | + price: { type: currency } |
| 90 | + quantity: { type: number } |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | + # The Magic Field |
| 93 | + subtotal: |
| 94 | + type: formula |
| 95 | + data_type: currency |
| 96 | + formula: "${price} * ${quantity}" |
| 97 | + |
| 98 | +``` |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +### Compiler Output (PostgreSQL Example) |
| 101 | + |
| 102 | +When ObjectQL generates the SQL for this object, it injects the logic into the `SELECT` list: |
| 103 | + |
| 104 | +```sql |
| 105 | +SELECT |
| 106 | + t1.price, |
| 107 | + t1.quantity, |
| 108 | + (t1.price * t1.quantity) AS subtotal |
| 109 | +FROM order_lines t1 |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +``` |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +## 4. Summary (Rollup Aggregations) |
| 114 | + |
| 115 | +Summary fields allow a parent object to calculate metrics from its child records (One-to-Many). |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +### The Challenge |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +In traditional development, calculating "Total Value of Open Orders" for a Customer requires writing a complex SQL query or a trigger. |
| 120 | + |
| 121 | +### The ObjectQL Solution |
| 122 | + |
| 123 | +Define the aggregation declaratively. The engine handles the sub-queries or materialized views. |
| 124 | + |
| 125 | +### Definition |
| 126 | + |
| 127 | +```yaml |
| 128 | +# Object: account |
| 129 | +fields: |
| 130 | + # Metric: How much has this customer spent? |
| 131 | + total_lifetime_value: |
| 132 | + type: summary |
| 133 | + summary_object: order # The child object |
| 134 | + summary_type: sum # Operation: count, sum, min, max |
| 135 | + summary_field: grand_total # The field on child to aggregate |
| 136 | + filters: # Conditional Aggregation |
| 137 | + - ["status", "=", "paid"] |
| 138 | + |
| 139 | +``` |
| 140 | + |
| 141 | +### Use Cases |
| 142 | + |
| 143 | +* **CRM:** "Number of Open Tickets" on a Customer profile. |
| 144 | +* **Project Management:** "Max Due Date" of all Tasks in a Project. |
| 145 | +* **Inventory:** "Sum of Quantity" from Stock Movements. |
| 146 | + |
| 147 | +## Summary of Capabilities |
| 148 | + |
| 149 | +| Type | Data Location | Computation Time | Primary Use Case | |
| 150 | +| --- | --- | --- | --- | |
| 151 | +| **Currency** | Physical Column | N/A | Financial transactions, Prices. | |
| 152 | +| **Lookup** | Physical Column (FK) | N/A | Linking records, Polymorphic relations. | |
| 153 | +| **Formula** | **Virtual** | Read Time (Query) | Row-level math, String concatenation. | |
| 154 | +| **Summary** | **Virtual** | Read Time (Query) | Parent-level aggregation (Sum/Count). | |
| 155 | + |
| 156 | +:::tip Performance Note |
| 157 | +Virtual fields (Formula & Summary) are powerful, but relying on them heavily for complex sorting on massive datasets can impact DB performance. For datasets >10M rows, consider using ObjectOS Triggers to materialize these values into physical columns. |
| 158 | +::: |
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