Best practices in using Salesforce Metadata API

Presentation Title Date
Best practices in using Salesforce
Meta Data API
Naveen Gabrani
CEO Astrea IT Services
ngabrani At astreait.com
@ngabrani
Copyright Salesforce 2014. Legal Terms and more here.
Sanchit Dua
Senior Software Developer Astrea IT Services
@Sanchit1
Naveen Gabrani
CEO Astrea IT Services
ngabrani At astreait.com

Sanchit Dua
Senior Software Developer Astrea IT Services
Agenda
1. What is Metadata
2. What is Metadata API
3. How can I access it?
4. Two type of Metadata operations
5. Common applications of the Metadata API
6. Development Scenarios and correct implementation
7. Best Practices and common issues

What is Metadata
 Data: Some thing that is stored in database (accounts)
 Metadata: Configuration/Code describes how the application looks
 Shapes the functionality of your specific applications
 Controls logic and presentation
What is Metadata API
 Programmable interface to access Salesforce Metadata
 Allows you to review/update Metadata components
 Supported from all modern languages like .Net, Java, PHP
 Allows you to get/update XML version of an Org
 SOAP based
 Supports both Synchronous and Asynchronous invocation
 Synchronous support added in Summer ’13

Applications of Metadata API
 Standard Salesforce tools written using Metadata API
 Eclipse IDE
 ANT Migration tool
 Data loader
 Standard configuration on all your customer instances
 Java screens to create Salesforce objects, fields, validation rules etc
 Regular backup of configuration
Metadata Components
Metadata components
 Object and Field definitions
 Visualforce pages
 Page Layouts
 Validation rules
 Apex
 Workflows
 Profiles
 Reports

Metadata API
CRUD Operations File Based (Declarative)
Metadata
Use this to create/update
Metadata elements like Objects
Use this for deploying
Metadata from one Salesforce
instance to another
More Granular Deploy() and Retrieve()
CRUD based web services
 Used to create, delete, update sets of Metadata components
 Create a field
 Create an object
 Create a page layout
 Setting Field Level Security
 Synchronous Methods as of v-31 (Summer ’14)
 createMetadata()
 deleteMetadata()
 udpateMetadata()
 upsertMetadata()

create() flow
User SFDC
AsyncResult object generated.
Includes ID
create(new CustomObject(“MyObject”))
Return Async Result
CheckStatus(ID) = done?
Return Deploy Messages
CustomObject co = new CustomObject();
co.setFullName(uniqueName);
co.setDeploymentStatus(DeploymentStatus.Deployed
);
co.setDescription("Created by Sanchit");
co.setEnableActivities(true);
co.setLabel(label);
co.setPluralLabel(label + "s");
co.setSharingModel(SharingModel.ReadWrite);
AsyncResult[] results =
metadataConnection.create(new Metadata[] { co });
User
SFDC CustomObject is <xsd: extension
base=“tns:Metadata”>
File based Metadata call
 File-based Metadata calls
 Retrieve and deploy XML representations of Metadata
 Can be used to deploy Metadata from one instance to another
 Requires package.xml
 Specifies type of component
 Specifies names of component

A typical custom object example
{File Name: CustomObject/MyObject__c}
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CustomObject xmlns="http://soap.sforce.com/2006/04/metadata">
<deploymentStatus>Deployed</deploymentStatus>
<fields>
<fullName>Due_Date__c</fullName>
<defaultValue>TODAY() + 3</defaultValue>
<label>Due Date</label>
<type>Date</type>
</fields>
<sharingModel>ReadWrite</sharingModel>
<recordTypes>
<fullName>Classification</fullName>
<active>true</active>
<description>Classification Records</description>
<label>Classification</label>
</recordTypes>
<recordTypes>
<fullName>Client_Code</fullName>
<active>true</active>
<description>Client Code Records</description>
<label>Client Code</label>
</recordTypes>
</CustomObject>
Create
your
Database
Tables
Create
your
Database
Fields
Define
Schema
attributes
Metadata API and SOAP API
Metadata
Data
Metadata
Data
Metadata
API
Web
Services
API
Metadata
API
Web
Services
API

Setting up infrastructure
1. Download the latest WSC – Web Service Connector
2. From Setup->API
Enterprise WSDL
Metadata WSDL
3. Generate the Jar files from WSDL
4. Set the classpath of the Application.
Establishing Connection
1. Use ConnectorConfig class to set end point to
https://login.salesforce.com/services/Soap/c/31.0
2. Use EnterpriseConnection to specify user name and password to login
3. Initialize Metadata component – e.g CustomObject, CustomField etc.
4. Pass the Metadata component to create() / update() / delete() call.

Best Practices and common issues
Development Scenarios
 Setting the Page Layout
 Editing the Profile
 Creating Record Types
Enforcing rules at runtime involves recompiling of code (with associated
possibility of compile time errors).

Profile Edits
Configuring a Profile:
 Open a profile
 Edit configurations
NOTE
 It’s a complex task to achieve via coding without knowing listMetadata() or Workbench.
 Default Result of listMetadata() as:
SolutionManager
Customer Portal Manager
Standard StandardAul
Standard
Chatter Free User
Chatter External User
Admin
Force%2Ecom - Free User
MarketingProfile
Custom%3A Marketing Profile
HighVolumePortal
Record Types Creation
Generally available steps
 Add a record Type
 Assign it to layouts and profiles
 Clicking new on the object view
NOTE
 This case is very easily done on declarative platform
 Doing this via Metadata API is relatively complex

Insufficient Access On Cross Reference Entity
 An exception
 Using Create, Update and Delete
 Occurs using record type id
Demo

A quirk using Ant Migration Tool
 Using destructiveChanges.xml
 To delete a field of type picklist we can’t delete the values instead we delete the
whole field.
 This is the limitation of Metadata API.
Tooling API
 The tooling API is designed for developing user interface tools to interact with
the development artifacts in orgs.
 It can be accessed via SOAP and REST.
 Developer Console is largely built on the tooling API
 Best used in conjunction with the Metadata API as a junction.

Recap
 Metadata API gives you flexibility to manipulate Salesforce instance
from outside the platform
 Two types of Metadata API
 CRUD based
 Declarative
 Application Business process code needs to mimic the user interface
flow
 Record Type Creations
 Profile Edits
 More important than ever that you define and enforce the boundaries
 You should respect the intent of platform configurations and not
surface data in ways that is not permitted.
Resources
 Metadata API Developer’s Guide
 http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/api_meta
 https://developer.salesforce.com/en/events/webinars/metadata-api
 salesforce.stackexchange.com
 https://github.com/sanchitdua/md_java_asynchronous
 https://github.com/sanchitdua/md_java_synchronous

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Best practices in using Salesforce Metadata API

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