2. Database Essentials

In Force.com, the database provides the framework for the rest of your application. Decisions you make on how to represent data have significant consequences for flexibility and maintainability. Understanding the unique behaviors of the Force.com database is critical for successful applications. Force.com operates at a higher level of abstraction than a relational database, so although existing relational database skills are helpful, the Force.com database is a completely different animal.

This chapter covers topics in Force.com database design and development:

Overview of Force.com’s database—Get an overview of the Force.com database and how it’s different from standard relational databases.

Working with custom objects—Custom objects are components within the Force.com database that store your data. Learn how they are created and then test them by entering and browsing their data.

Additional database features—The Force.com database has a few features that are less frequently used but powerful. They include fields defined as aggregates of other fields, fields that limit the valid values of another field, the ability to display the same object differently in multiple user interfaces, and objects that store frequently accessed settings for optimal performance.

Sample application—Design a Force.com data model for the Services Manager, implement the objects using Schema Builder, and import sample data.