Reference object is an entity

If the reference object is an entity – i.e. an instance of a specific entity type defined on the server side – Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration expects an XML structure as the return value of the profile, which can be merged with the data structure of the reference object similar to the object structure during an Import, in order to update its volatile data status.

• As with the Import, Lobster SCM templates are helpful for creating source and target structures if the profile should change the data of the entity passed as a reference object via mapping (phase 3/4).

• If the XML structure specifies an ID (id) for the entity in the return value, it must refer to the reference object, otherwise an error (with rollback) occurs when merging into Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration.

• The return value can also refer to Control attributes, similar to Import, in order to regulate details for updating the reference object.

• The return value for Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration is typically provided via a response path with the CronPassBackDataResponseUTF8 (see _data responder (Basic module)).

• In contrast to Import, the reference object updated via the return value of a profile call is not automatically saved. Provided that the call is based on a suitable interactive context, the user can therefore decide whether the changed reference object is saved or not. Alternatively, the event action Save changes later can be used in the context of event handling to flag the reference object for saving when the transaction is completed. The latter is essential if changes are to be saved for a reference object included in a transaction that refers to a different reference object (or even none at all), e.g. via Execute with in connection with Eingabeobjekt (Typsicher).

►NOTE◄ If the called profile returns no or an unsuitable return value, for example, because no corresponding response path is configured or active, or the provided content uses e.g. JSON format instead of the expected XML format, then an error occurs that causes a rollback of the transaction in Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration, while Lobster_data records the profile job as processed without errors. If a profile is executed only with the data of an entity without expecting a return value relevant to the content, a response path must always be created, which – e.g. via CronPassBackDataResponseUTF8 – returns a data structure that can be processed via merging but does not cause any changes. By selecting the 'as received' option for Content in the Content settings tab, for example, it is easy to ensure that the return value reflects the input data unchanged, while other response paths can refer to deviating Content from phases 3-5:

Reference object is not an entity

If the reference object is not an entity, but rather, for example, a simple value, a list (see example) or a client object, a server XML of the corresponding data structure is also generated and transferred to the profile.

• The sample file could be used, for example, to pass on the list of reference codes generated within an event handling in Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration (e.g. via the Collect values resolver) to a profile that queries data from other data sources based on the transferred key values, in order to forward these in a prepared form to a specific target system.

►IMPORTANT◄ For data objects that are not entities, Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration does not provide an update mechanism in connection with a profile call. A return value from the profile is therefore neither processed nor expected – in contrast to the call with the data of an entity. However, the profile call is still synchronous, i.e. for the runtime of the Lobster_data profile, the called event handling in Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration is interrupted. Afterwards, it is continued, whereby for the reference object itself the state when the profile was triggered remains unchanged, if the profile – e.g. via CronPassBackDataResponseUTF8 – delivers a return value to Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration.

►NOTE◄ In the context of a form, the Call profile behaviour can alternatively be used to pass any data object to a profile and then process the return value of the profile back in the portal. If required, alternative formats for data exchange between Lobster Data Platform / Orchestration and the called Lobster_data profile can also be selected there (e.g. JSON instead of XML), where data structures not bound to entity types can often be handled more efficiently.