The Connection Agent
The Connection Agent must be configured before your apps can successfully integrate with other databases, LDAP systems or Text / CSV files. The Connection Agent does the actual searching. It is managed separately from the rest of PerfectApps and is best configured by the local DBA or system admin.
Each PerfectApps system can talk to any number of Connection Agents. The Connection Agent is designed to restrict access to systems and expose only the data that the database administrator permits. It grants blanket access to a database or LDAP system only when it has been explicitly configured to do so.
Connections
A connection to a specific database, LDAP system, web service, PerfectApps app, Google spreadsheet or text / CSV file must be defined. A connection is defined in the Connections tree on the Connections Dashboard by an administrator of the PerfectApps system.
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Once a connection is defined, it can be used and reused in apps throughout your system. See also Connection and Action Permissions |
Connection Actions
Once a connection is defined, you must create a new action. A connection action defines the ways apps can communicate with this connection. Typically, this will include reading data from a data source or, if permitted in the configuration, inserting, updating or deleting records.
Using the Connections in Your Apps
An app calls a connection and connection actions using an integration behavior command.
As with all behavior commands, the integration command is triggered by some event on the app. For example, a user selects an item from the Contract Type list below, and the app then performs a database lookup to retrieve the data and populate Rate Type and Price for the selected Contract Type.
The integration command, such as Connect or Connect & Search, runs, opening the specified connection and connection action. The command runs the action selected on the Properties panel.
Some commands, such as Connect or Connect & Search, allow you to define Send and Return parameters for data lookups. The parameter fields available on the Properties panel are determined by the administrator who created or last edited the connection.
It is possible to pass app field data to the connection in order to filter the query. If you are calling a web service connection, you will almost certainly want to pass app field data to it. To filter a lookup, map the app fields that supply the filter values to the connection's Send parameters.
The image below shows the properties of the Connect & Search behavior command.
See also: Calling the Connection from an App , Typical Integration Scenarios
Return to: PerfectApps Connections, Integration
