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MethodInstance Element in MethodInstances (BDCMetadata Schema)

  • Article

Applies to: SharePoint Server 2010

Specifies a MethodInstance.

Namespace: https://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2007/BusinessDataCatalog

Schema: BDCMetadata

The following two cases in a BDC model result in an InvalidOperationException at run time:

  • Two SpecificFinder method instances that return the same set of fields.

  • Two SpecificFinder method instances that have the same number of fields and that share the same number of fields with another method instance, such as a Finder.

<MethodInstance Type = "String" Default = "Boolean" ReturnParameterName = "String" ReturnTypeDescriptorName = "String" ReturnTypeDescriptorLevel = "Integer" Name = "String" DefaultDisplayName = "String" IsCached = "Boolean"> </MethodInstance>

Attributes and Elements

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

Attribute

Description

Type

Required.

Specifies the type of the MethodInstance.

The following table lists the possible values for this attribute.

Value

Description

Finder

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to return a collection of zero or more EntityInstances of a particular Entity. Finder input is defined by the FilterDescriptors that are contained in the Method that contains the Finder.

SpecificFinder

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to return a specific EntityInstance of a specific Entity given its EntityInstanceId. SpecificFinder input is defined and ordered by the Identifiers that are associated with the Entity.

GenericInvoker

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to perform a specific task in an external system. GenericInvoker input and output is specific to the Method.

IdEnumerator

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to return the Field values that represent the identity of EntityInstances of a specific Entity. The IdEnumerator input is defined by the FilterDescriptors that are contained in the method that contains the IdEnumerator to get the list of IDs, which are the unique keys for each entity that should be searchable. This method instance enables external data search in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.

ChangedIdEnumerator

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve EntityInstanceIds of EntityInstances that were modified in an external system after a specified time.

DeletedIdEnumerator

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve EntityInstanceIds of EntityInstances that were deleted from an external system after the specified time.

Scalar

A MethodInstance that returns a single value that you can invoke in the external system. For example, you can use a scalar method instance to get the total sales made to date from the external system. Entities have zero or more scalar method instances.

AccessChecker

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve the permissions that the calling security principal has for each of a collection of EntityInstances that are identified by the specified EntityInstanceIds.

Creator

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to create an EntityInstance. The set of fields that are required to create the EntityInstance is referred to as the Creator View.

Deleter

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to delete an EntityInstance with a specified EntityInstanceId.

Updater

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to update an EntityInstance identified by a specified EntityInstanceId. The set of fields that is required to update the EntityInstance is known as the Updater View. The set of fields whose values should be passed before they are changed is known as the PreUpdater View.

StreamAccessor

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve a field of an EntityInstance in the form of a data stream of bytes.

BinarySecurityDescriptorAccessor

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve a sequence of bytes from an external system. The system-specific byte sequence describes a set of security principals and the associated permissions that each security principal has for the EntityInstance identified by a specified EntityInstanceId.

BulkSpecificFinder

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to return a set of specific EntityInstances of an Entity, given a set of corresponding EntityInstanceIds.

BulkIdEnumerator

A type of MethodInstance that can be called to retrieve minimal information about the external items corresponding to the given identities. This method instance can be used to optimize synchronization of cached data. This method should return only the identities and version information of the external items that correspond to given Identities, which the calling application can compare with the local version to identify if anything has changed, and if so, request the changed external items to update the cached data.

Default

Optional.

Specifies whether the MethodInstance is the default among all MethodInstances that share its type within the containing external content type (Entity).

Default value: false

Attribute type: Boolean

ReturnParameterName

Optional.

The name of the Parameter that contains the ReturnTypeDescriptor of the MethodInstance. The Direction attribute of the Parameter must be a ParameterDirection attribute with a value of Out, InOut, or Return.

This attribute must be specified for all types of MethodInstances except GenericInvoker, Creator, Deleter, and Updater.

Attribute type: String

ReturnTypeDescriptorLevel

Optional.

This has been deprecated. Use the ReturnTypeDescriptorPath instead.

Attribute type: Integer

ReturnTypeDescriptorPath

Optional.

The dotted path of the TypeDescriptor of the Association.

Attribute type: String

Name

Required.

Specifies the name of the MethodInstance.

Attribute type: String

DefaultDisplayName

Optional.

Specifies the default display name for the MethodInstance.

Attribute type: String

IsCached

Optional.

Specifies whether the MethodInstance is used frequently.

Default value: true

Attribute type: Boolean

Child Elements

Element

Description

LocalizedDisplayNames Element in MetadataObject (BDCMetadata Schema)

The localized display names of the MethodInstance.

Properties Element in MetadataObject (BDCMetadata Schema)

The properties of the MethodInstance.

AccessControlList Element (BDCMetadata Schema)

The access control lists (ACLs) of the MethodInstance.

Parent Elements

Element

Description

MethodInstances Element in Method (BDCMetadata Schema)

The MethodInstances element that contains this MethodInstance.