Data Model - Overview

iLeap's Data Model provides a simple & easy way to define data elements for any business application development. It defines relationships between data elements in the context of a Process & acts as central repository that stores all of the crucial data an organization can generate or consume. You can easily define & structure your data parameters that are required & measured in the processes using a Data Model. iLeap Platform allows you to create your own data model & multiple forms can be based on the same data model. Your data model provides the data to your forms and stores data received from them. Forms in turn are used as Process components. For more information on designing forms, see Forms.

You can also define Master-Child relationships using a Data Model. You can create and store master data for reuse in different forms for different processes. Any existing Data Model can also be used as a data type for a new attribute. If this option is used with the current Data Model (Parent) in a form, the called Data Model (Child) would be available in its entirety in the new form. iLeap Platform offers its users a good insight & transparency to their Process Data since it stores them physically in a Data Model. Also, users have the ability to track the Process Data against each step of the execution of the process.

Listed below are some key features of Data Model:

Create and store master data for reuse in different forms for different processes Define Master – Child Relationships Export the Data Model (to JPEG/PNG/SVG/JSON format) View the Model Diagram of your defined Data Model View the model dependency details and usage Share the model data with other App(s) created in an organization

It is recommended to define your master data model(s) first before moving on to define your transaction based data model(s).

Contents

Data Model Types Creating a new Transaction Data Model Data Model Workspace or Listing Area Editing a Transaction Data Model Deleting a Transaction Data Model Setting Data Model Properties Viewing a Model Diagram Viewing Model Dependency and Usage Details Sharing Model Data

Data Model Types

iLeap allows you to create the following types of data model(s). Master Data Model Transaction Data Model

Master Data Model

A Master Data Model is based on the master data that is relatively fixed, frequently used & which remains stable over a long period of time. The master data forms the core data representing the business objects around which the transactions are executed. Few examples that constitute master data are: customer, supplier, product, or location data. Master data models are used to store these infrequently changed master data. They generally do not store process related information, but keep support information related to processes.

Contents

Creating a new Master Data Model Data Model Workspace or Listing Area Editing a Master Data Model Deleting a Master Data Model

Scenario: For illustrative purposes, let us consider a sample example scenario of 'Travel Requisition Approval' in a company. For complete details on sample scenario along with sequence of steps, see Sample Scenario.

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Creating a new Master Data Model

For the 'Travel Requisition Approval' App, we first need to define the requisite data elements to store the App associated crucial data. To start with, let us begin by creating the requisite Master Model such as Country Info Master. Following are the data parameters or model attributes required to create the new master model 'Country Info Master'. Country Name Country Code Currency Country Calling Code

 

To create a new Master Data Model, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, click Create Data Model.

2. The Create Model dialog box appears.

3. Select the type of data model you wish to create. Click Master Data Model.

4. Click Next. The following dialog box appears.

• Enter the name for the data model in the Data Model Name box.
• Enter the display name you wish to in the Display Name box.
• Enter an appropriate description in the Description box.

5. Click Create. The following page appears.

6. Click Create Attribute. The New Attribute dialog box appears.

• Select the data attribute type from the Data Type list. The available options are: String, Integer, Double, DateTime, Date, Time, Bool, Model & File. For more information on various types of data attribute types, see Data Attribute Types.

• Enter the name of the Attribute in the Attribute Name box.
• Enter the corresponding display name you to in the Display Name box.
• Enter an appropriate description for the attribute in the Description box.

• Enter the value in the Length box. This field appears only, if you select ‘String’ as the data attribute type. You can enter up to 200 characters by default. However, the length range is between 1 & 2000. Select the Max Size check box to accommodate unlimited number of characters if you wish to.

• Select the Lookup Field check box, if you wish to show the form control as a drop-down list or Option buttons with multiple values in a form in the Form Designer. This field appears only, if the selected data type is String or Integer or Bool. Notice that on selection of Lookup Field check box, the Default Value box would be unavailable.

• Enter a default value you wish to provide to this attribute in the Default Value box. Else, leave as it is.

7. Click Add to add this attribute to the master data model created. Observe that the newly created attribute along with its details is displayed as shown. Similarly, you can add any number of relevant attributes to your newly created master data model.

8. Similarly, you can go on and create additional model attributes you wish to. Once all the relevant model attributes are added to the master data model, click to Save this data model. Else, click to Save & Publish data model at once. For more information on the options available on the toolbar, see Toolbar Options.

9. Immediately, ‘Success! Model saved successfully’ message is displayed at the top, if you choose to save the model. If you choose to save and publish your data model at once, the following Confirmation dialog box appears. Click Yes if you are sure to do so.

10. Immediately, yet another Confirmation dialog box appears as shown.

• Click Generate Now if you wish to generate a form for this model. Else, click Later if you wish to generate at a later time.
• If the Later option is chosen, "Success! Model published successfully" message appears.

11. If you have chosen to save only, then click Back at the top left side of this page to navigate to the previous screen to view the newly created master model attribute along with its details. Alternatively, you can navigate back to the previous screen on your web browser & view the same.

If you have chosen to Save & Publish your master data model, the following page appears.

The 'Country Info Master' master data model with all its defined model attributes is shown below.

Note: Fields marked with * are mandatory. You must add at least one attribute to create a new data model successfully. You can create any number of relevant attributes for any data model created one at a time. Fields in the New Attribute dialog box vary based on the Data Type selected. You can modify as well as delete any attribute only when the data model is in draft/editable state. Hover on the attribute you wish to modify & click the icon to edit it as per your requirements. In the same way, click the icon to delete the selected attribute. Once the data model is published, you can neither modify nor edit any of the attributes associated with the data model. However, you can add any number of relevant attributes to the data model even after its publication as well. You can find the appropriate tool tip text for most of user interface elements that appear on the Data Model module interface when you move your mouse pointer over them. Hover on any of the model attribute created and click the icon to view the model attribute info in ready-only mode. You can instantly search any listed model attribute by keying in the name of the attribute (two or more characters of it) in the model attributes listing area.

Tip: iLeap allows you to define a master model with parent-child relationship up to one level.

To enter information in the master data model, see entering master model data.

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Data Model Workspace or Listing Area

This is the primary workspace area that appears immediately after creating any type of data model. You can create model attributes and view your model diagram from here. You can quickly search your defined model attributes too. You can also display your defined data model's attributes in either List View or Tile View. You can switch or toggle between any of these views any time.

To toggle between the displays of your data model, follow these steps:

• On the Data Model tab, click .

List View:

Tile View:

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Editing a Master Data Model

You can edit a master data model at any time even after its publication as well. Except its name, you can edit any of its attributes (in draft/editable state) before being published. You can add any number of relevant additional model attributes to a data model at any point even after publishing it.

To edit a Master Data Model, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, hover the mouse pointer on any published master model & click to edit it. Alternatively, open the published master data model you wish to edit & click on the toolbar to edit it.

2. Make the requisite modifications & then save or publish the data model as needed.

Note: Once published, you cannot edit or delete the defined attributes of a Master data model. When the Master data model is in draft/editable state, you can edit, update or delete any of its attributes before being published. It is recommended to prudently review the attributes of your master data model before publishing it. You can instantly search for the master model as well.

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Deleting a Master Data Model

A Master Data Model once published cannot be deleted either. However, you can delete its attributes only when it is in draft/editable state. Once the data model is published, you no longer will be able to do so.

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Transaction Data Model

A Transaction data model is used for storing & retrieving transaction information. The transaction data is relatively temporary & stored at various stages of a business process. Few examples of transaction data include: Customer Orders, Customer Payments, Purchase Orders, Production Orders, Goods Movements etc. Unlike master data, the transaction data is dynamic in nature, since each business transaction is unique & changes with every business transaction. A transaction data model typically shows the relationship between database tables that contain information about transactions. To know more, see Managing a Transaction Data Model.

Creating a new Transaction Data Model

After creating the requisite master models, we proceed towards creating few transaction models that are required for our example 'Travel Requisition Approval' App. For illustrative purposes, we will first create a parent transaction model namely 'Travel Requisition Information' followed by two child transaction models namely 'Hotel Information' and 'Flight Information'. Following are the data parameters or model attributes required to create the new transaction model 'Travel Requisition Information'. Employee ID Employee Name Designation Department Requested Date From City To City From Date To Date Number of Days Hotel Booking Required Purpose of Travel Comments Hotel Information Flight Information The procedural steps for creating the two child transaction models namely 'Hotel Information' and 'Flight Information' are not illustrated here since they are very much similar to creation of parent transaction model 'Travel Requisition Information' & hence not repeated.

To create a new Transaction Data Model, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, click Create Data Model.

2. The Create Model dialog box appears.

3. Select the type of data model you wish to create. Click Transaction Data Model.

4. Click Next. The following dialog box appears.

• Enter the name for the transaction data model in the Data ModelName box.
• Enter the display name you wish to in the Display Name box.
• Enter an appropriate description in the Description box.

5. Click Create. The following page appears.

Notice that a model attribute by name 'Reference Number' with the data type 'String' with a character length of 50 is already created by default.

6. Click Create Attribute. The New Attribute dialog box appears.

• Select the data attribute type from the Data Type list. The available options are: String, Integer, Double, DateTime, Date, Time, Bool, Model & File. For more information on various types of data attribute types, see Data Attribute Types.

• Enter the name of the Attribute in the Attribute Name box.
• Enter the corresponding display name you to in the Display Name box.
• Enter an appropriate description for the attribute in the Description box.
• Enter the value in the Length box. For example, 50. This field appears only, if you select ‘String’ as the data attribute type. You can enter up to 200 characters by default. However, the length range is between 1 & 2000. Select the Max Size check box to accommodate unlimited number of characters if you wish to.

• Select the Lookup Field check box, if you wish to show the form control as a drop-down list or Option buttons with multiple values in a form in the Form Designer. This field appears only, if the selected data type is String or Integer or Bool. Notice that on selection of Lookup Field check box, the Default Value box would be unavailable.

• Enter a default value you wish to provide to this attribute in the Default Value box. Else, leave as it is.

7. Click Add to add this attribute to the transaction data model created. Observe that the newly created attribute along with its details is displayed as shown. Similarly, you can add any number of relevant attributes to your newly created transaction data model.

8. Similarly, you can go on and create additional model attributes you wish to. Once all the relevant model attributes are added to the transaction data model, click to Save this data model. Else, click to Save & Publish data model at once. For more information on the options available on the toolbar, see Toolbar Options.

9. Immediately, ‘Success! Model saved successfully’ message is displayed at the top, if you choose to save the model. If you choose to save and publish your data model at once, a Confirmation dialog box appears prompting you to generate the model for this form immediately or at a later time.

• Click Generate Now if you wish to generate a form for this model. Else, click Later if you wish to generate at a later time.
• If the Later option is chosen, "Success! Model published successfully" message appears.

10. If you have chosen to save only, then click Back at the top left side of this page to navigate to the previous screen to view the newly created transaction model attribute along with its details. Alternatively, you can navigate back to the previous screen on your web browser & view the same.

The 'Travel Requisition Information' transaction data model with all its defined model attributes is shown below.

Note: Fields marked with * are mandatory. If the transaction data model is published, but its corresponding model form is not generated yet, you may notice the generate form icon when you hover the mouse pointer on any published transaction data model. Click this icon to navigate to Import Model Attributes dialog box to add select/add model attributes to the form. This icon appears only for the first time when the transaction model form is not yet generated but published.

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Data Attribute Types

The table below lists each of the attribute data types supported in Data Model.

Data Attribute Name	Definition
String	Data field with only alphabets and combination of alphabets and numbers
Integer	Data field with only Numbers (with a Maximum Numeric value limit 999999999999). You can even choose the format of this attribute type. Supported format types: 999,999 & 9,99,999)
Double	Data field with decimal values
DateTime	Data field with Date and Time defined
Date	Data field with only date defined
Time	Data field with only time defined
Bool	Data field used to indicate one of two values (True or False)
Model	Used to associate with other existing model
File	Used to store file details

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Toolbar Options

To	Action
Edit Data Model	Click
Save Data Model	Click
Save and Publish Data Model	Click
Add Constraints	Click
Enable API	Click
Export Data Model	Click
Import Model Attributes	Click
Set Data Model Properties	Click

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Setting Data Model Properties

Data Model allows you to set few generic properties through the Data Model Properties dialog box.

To set the generic properties of a Data Model, follow these steps:

1. Open any data model for which you wish to set the properties. For example, 'Travel Requisition Information'. Note that the name of the data model cannot be edited.

2. On the toolbar, click . The Data Model Properties dialog box appears.

3. On the Generic tab, modify the Display Name in the Display Name as required.

4. Key in the model description as appropriate in the Description box.

5. Select the form from the Form drop-down list. For example: Travel Requisition Form – Employee. Only published forms appear on this drop-down list.

6. Click Save to save the changes made.

Note: Fields marked with * are mandatory. You cannot change the name of the data model once it is created or defined. Selecting the relevant form on the Form drop-down list ensures mapping that form to the model enabling the app developer to manage the model data.

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Editing a Transaction Data Model

You can edit a transactional data model at any time even after its publication as well. Except its name, you can edit any of its attributes (in draft/editable state) before being published. You can add any number of relevant additional attributes to a data model at any point even after publishing it.

To edit a published transactional data model, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, hover the mouse pointer on any published transaction model & click to edit it. Alternatively, open the published transaction data model you wish to edit & click on the toolbar to edit it.

2. Make the requisite modifications & then save or publish the data model as needed.

Note: Once published, you cannot edit or delete the defined attributes of a transaction data model. It is recommended to prudently review the attributes of your transaction data model before publishing it.

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Deleting a Transaction Data Model

Any Data Model, be it a Master or Transaction once published cannot be deleted either. However, you can delete its attributes only when data model is in draft or editable state. Once the data model is published, you no longer will be able to do so.

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Viewing Model Diagram

Data Model allows you to view the model diagram associated with any created data model.

To view the model diagram of your defined data model, follow these steps:

1. Open the data model for which you wish to view its model diagram. For example, Travel Requisition Information.

2. Click Diagram to view the corresponding model diagram.

Note: The view only model diagram reflects the associations between Parent Model and Child Model, if any. You can still view the model diagram, even if there is no child model associated with the model selected.

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Enabling API

While building an app, iLeap reveals various APIs associated with it. As an app developer, you can enable the APIs associated & allow it to be consumed by any developer outside of iLeap to seamlessly integrate his/her application with iLeap Platform.

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Exporting Data Model

You can export any data model (master or transaction) to view it in various diverse formats such as JPEG, PNG, SVG and JSON.

To export your data model, follow these steps:

1. Open the data model you wish to export. On the toolbar, click to export.

2. The Export as..dialog box appears.

3. Select the format in which you would like your data model to be exported from the Export Format list. The available options are : JPEG, PNG, SVG & JSON

4. Click Export. Immediately, your data model is downloaded in the chosen export format on to your system location (Downloads folder) having the same name as your chosen data model.

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Viewing the Usage of the Data Model

Data Model allows you to view the information related to the usage or dependencies of specific iLeap components such as Forms and Process in any data model at any point in time.

To view the dependencies of iLeap components in any data model, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, hover the mouse pointer on any published model for which you wish to view & click the icon.

2. The Data Model Usage dialog box appears.

• Notice the display of form(s) along with details used in the Model under the Forms tab.Click on the form name to directly navigate to the selected form.

• Similarly, navigate to the Process tab to view the process name associated with the model. Click on the displayed process name to instantly view the Process flow diagram associated.

3. Click Close.

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Sharing the Model Data

Data Model allows you to share your valuable model data with any other App(s) in your organization.

To share your model data with any other App(s) in your organization, follow these steps:

1. On the Data Model tab, hover the mouse pointer on any published data model you wish to share with other App(s). Click .

2. The Share dialog box appears displaying all the published App(s) of your Orgnisation.

3. Under the Organisation Level Apps section, select the App(s) for which you wish to share your model data with & select the requisite model access permission Read or Read and Write from the list displayed.

4. Click Apply.

Note: You can also quickly search the apps for which you wish to share the chosen data model.

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Entering Master Model Data

Once you have defined a new Master Data Model, you need to ensure keying its relevant details.

1. On the Data Model tab, hover the mouse pointer on any published master data model for which you wish to enter its master data.

2. Click the View dataicon. The following page appears.

3. Click New. The following New dialog box appears.

• Enter the name of Country in the Country Name field.
• Enter the Country Code in the Country Code field.
• Enter the Currency of the Country in the Currency field.
• Enter the Calling Code of the Country in the Country Calling Code field.
• Click Save to save the entries made. Immediately, ‘Success. Record saved successfully’ message appears. Click OK. Else, Click Save And Add New to save the entries made and clear the fields in the dialog box to make additional new entries.

Notice that the newly added record with its details is displayed as shown. Similarly, you can add any number of master entries to your master model.

The 'Country Info Master' master data model with few sample entries is shown below.

Notice that you can edit as well as delete the master record entries made.

Note: If the master data model is published, but its corresponding model form is not generated yet, you may notice the generate form icon when you hover the mouse pointer on any published data model. Click this icon to navigate to Import Model Attributes dialog box to add select/add model attributes to the form. This icon appears only for the first time when the master model form is not yet generated but published.

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More Options:

1. On the selected master model page, click the icon to display the short-cut menu as shown.

2. From the short-cut menu displayed, you can:

• Click Download Template to download a spreadsheet template named ‘DataImportTemplate.xlsx’ in your local Downloads folder. This spreadsheet template is an exact replica of the master model attributes defined (blank) to key in your master data entries.
• Click Upload Excel to upload a spreadsheet from a location.
• Click Clear to delete all the master model entries made. Click Yes on the Confirmation dialog box that appears. Immediately, ‘Success! Model data cleared successfully’ message appears.
• Click Print to print the Master Model if you wish to.

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