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BCS client object model reference for SharePoint

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Class libraries and references

Learn about the objects that are available for creating client-side scripts using the SharePoint client object model to access external data exposed by Business Connectivity Services (BCS). The following objects are available for creating client-side scripts using the SharePoint client object model to access external data that is exposed by Business Connectivity Services (BCS). The BCS object model components that are exposed to the client object model are located in Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll.

Entity object

The Entity object essentially represents a table in a database. The methods and properties presented here show the objects that can be manipulated through the use of the client code library. Each of these calls maps directly to a server object model call. However, they are callable by a detached client, such as in a web browser using JavaScript.

Methods

Methods Method signature Description
Create
Identity Create(FieldValueDictionary fieldValues, LobSystemInstance lobSystemInstanceName)
FindSpecificDefault
EntityInstance FindSpecificDefault(Identity identity, LobSystemInstance lobSystemInstanceName)
FindspecificByBdcIDDefault
EntityInstance FindSpecific(Identity identity, string specificFinderName, LobSystemInstance lobSystemInstanceName)
FindSpecificByBdcID
EntityInstance FindSpecificByBdcIDDefault(string BdcIdentity, LobSystemInstance lobSystemInstanceName)
GetCreatorView
EntityInstance FindSpecificByBdcID(string BdcIdentity, string specificFinderName,LobSystemInstance LobSystemInstanceName)
GetDefaultSpecificFinderView
View GetCreatorView(string methodInstanceName)
GetSpecificFinderView_Client
View GetDefaultSpecificFinderView()
GetUpdaterView_Client
View GetSpecificFinderView_Client( string specificFinderName)
GetIdentifiers
View GetUpdaterView_Client(string updaterName)
GetIdentifiers()

Properties

Property Description
long EstimatedInstanceCount { get; }
Gets the number of expected external items of this external content type.
string Name { get; }
Gets the name of the metadata object.
string Namespace { get; }
Gets the namespace of the given data class.
int GetIdentifierCount()

EntityInstance method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
SP.BusinessData.Runtime

Methods

Method Return type Description
Delete
void
Deletes the External Item.
FromXml
void
Sets the values in this dictionary from specified XML.
Method signature FromXml(string xml)
GetIdentity
Identity
Gets the identity of this External Item.
Delete
void
Deletes the External Item.
ToXml
string
Retrieves the values in XML format.
Update
void
Submits the changes made to the External Item.

Properties

Property Return type Description
this[string fieldDotNotation] { get; set; }
Object
Gets or sets the value of the field referred to by the dot notation.
RelatedSpecificFinderName { get; }
string

EntityView method

Specifies a customized view of the Entity data

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel
SP.BusinessData

Methods

Method Return type Description
GetDefaultValues_Client()
FieldValueDictionary
Gets a field value dictionary that contains the default values for this view.
GetXmlSchema()
string
Gets the XML Schema of the view.
GetType(string fieldDotNotation)
string
Gets the type of the specified field.
GetType(string fieldDotNotation)
TypeDescriptor
Gets the TypeDescriptor object that corresponds to the given dot notation.

Properties

Property Return type Description
Fields { get; }
FieldCollection
Gets the collection of fields in the view.
Name { get; }
string
Gets the name of this View object
RelatedSpecificFinderName { get; }
string
Retrieves the name of the specific finder MethodInstance that this view is tied to.

LobSystem method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel
SP.BusinessData

Methods

Method Return type Description
GetLobSystemInstances()
void
Gives the list of LOB system instances.
Name
void
Gets the name of the LobSystem.

Properties

Property Description
None.

LobSystemInstance method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel
SP.BusinessData

Methods

Method Return type Description
None.
void

Properties

Property Description
None.

Identifier method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel
SP.BusinessData

Methods

Method Return type Description
ContainsLocalizedDisplayName
bool
Determines whether the metadata object contains localized display name.
GetDefaultDisplayName
string
Returns the default display name.
GetLocalizedDisplayName
string
Returns the localized display name.

Properties

Property Return type Description
IdentifierType {get;}
string
Returns the type of identifier.
Name {get;}
string
Gets the name of the identifier.

IdentifierCollection method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel.Collections
SP.BusinessData.Collections

Methods

Method Return type Description
None.
void

Properties

Property Description
None.

Identity method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
SP.BusinessData.Runtime

Constructor

Constructor Description
public Identity (Object[] identifierValues)
Constructs a new instance of the class by using an array of identifier values.

Methods

Method Return type Description
Serialize
string
Gets a string representation of the identity.

Properties

Property Return type Description
IdentifierCount { get; }
int
Returns the number of identifiers.
IsTemporary { get; }
bool
Checks whether the identity is temporary.
this[int identifierIndex] { get; }
Object
Retrieves the element at the given index. CSOM does not support int-based indexing. String-based accessor implemented for the same.
TemporaryId { get; }
Guid
Returns the temporary part of the identity.

FieldValueDictionary method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
SP.BusinessData.Runtime

Methods

Method Return type Description
FromXml
void
Sets the values in this dictionary from specified XML.
GetCollectionSize
int
Returns the size of the collection that the dot notation refers to.
ToXml
string
Retrieves the values in XML format.

Properties

Property Description
Object this[string fieldDotNotation] { get; set; }
Gets or sets the value of the field referred to by the dot notation.

EntityFieldCollection method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
SP.BusinessData.Runtime

Methods

Method Return type Description
None.
void

Properties

Property Description
None.

EntityField method

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
SP.BusinessData.Runtime

Methods

Method Return type Description
None.
void

Properties

Property Return type Read Only Description
ContainsLocalizedDisplayName
Boolean
Yes
Determines whether the field contains a localized display name.
DefaultDisplayName
string
Yes
Retrieves the default display name of the Field.
GetLocalizedDisplayName
string
Retrieves the localized display name of the Field.
Name
string
Yes
Retrieves the name of the Field.

TypeDescriptor class

Namespaces

Managed JavaScript
Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel
SP.BusinessData

Methods

Method Return type Read Only Description
ContainsLocalizedDisplayName()
Boolean
Yes
Determines whether the type descriptor contains a localized display name.
GetLocalizedDisplayName()
string
Yes
Returns the localized display name.
GetDefaultDisplayName()
string
Returns the default display name.

Properties

Property Return type Description
Name
string
Retrieves the name of the Field.
TypeName
string
Retrieves the name of the data type represented by this type descriptor.
IsReadOnly
Boolean
Determines whether this type descriptor represents a read-only data structure.
ContainsReadOnly
Boolean
Determines whether this type descriptor or one of its children represent a read-only data structure.
IsCollection
Boolean
Determines whether the described type represents a collection data structure.

Interfaces

The namespace is Microsoft.BusinessData.MetadataModel.

Interface Description
IMetadataCatalog
The entry point into the BDC object model. Use the DatabaseBasedMetadataCatalog on the server.
ILobSystem
Contains the details about an external system.
IEntity
An external content type in the BDC Metadata Store.
IMethod
An operation that can be performed on the external content type.
IEntityInstance
An entity instance (also known as external item) is a single item returned from an external system in BDC.
The IEntityInstance interface abstracts the underlying data sources and insulates the clients from having to learn application-specific coding paradigms; it enables them to access all business data in a single, simplified way. By using the IEntityInstance interface, you can work with a row of data from a database in just the same way as working with a complex .NET Framework structure returned by a web service.
An entity instance in BDC has special semantics attached to it. For example, it has the ability to know which field or fields in the row represent the identifier for the entity instance, and it enables you to call methods, such as GetAssociated, GetIdentifierValues, and Execute, on that entity instance.
IEntityInstanceEnumerator
Enumerators can be used to read the data in the external items collection, but they cannot be used to modify the underlying collection. IEntityInstanceEnumerator supports streaming and is therefore very useful when the back-end application returns large amounts of data.

Client Object model FAQ

  • Does the <Method> tag need to be included in a CAML query when querying an external list

    No.

  • Do all fields in the external list need to be specified in the CAML query?

    Using the ViewXML tag in the BDC model, the developer can specify only those fields that are required and the CSOM APIs for Lists will return only those fields.

See also