What is it?

An attribute is a property of an entity. Every attribute is of a specific data type. For example the entity Person can have attributes like: Name (type: string), Gender (type: Boolean) and Date of birth (type: Date).

An attribute can:

• have its values be limited to values specified in a value list (see Value list)

• have multiple values (be multi-valued)

• have a default value

• can have an associated set of unit tests

How does an attribute get a value

An attribute can get a value through logic, or it can be set by the user, a service, a function flow or a web service.

When the value is derived through logic, a business rule, decision table or data rule determines the value of the attribute. The value is usually dependent on values of other attributes. When an attribute gets a value in this way we say that the value is "system set". A system set value is only determined when the value is necessary, for example when it is shown on a page or used as input for a service.

The value can also be set explicitly by the user. We call this value "user set". This is the case when the value is filled in on a page. Other ways to make give an attribute a user set value is through the use of a service. This also covers other situations like the use of a web service or a function flow. When an attribute has a user set value, this value will be fixed until the value is cleared, or another value is explicitly set.

Attribute Types: boolean, string, number, date, datetime, percentage, currency, integer