Custom Variables
Configuring the custom variables is important to allow contextual data to flow to and from the back-end ReST API's and the front-end client-side application.
The Custom Variables configurator is available from the App Studio.
The Custom Variables Configurator is a modal dialogue with a grid showing all Client or Server variables.
Client Custom Variables
Client variables exist only on the client-side application and are transient i.e. they change constantly when they are linked to forms, allowing data to automatically flow both inside the application and to and from the back-end via the ReST API data source requests.
Server Custom Variables
Server variables are used only on the server-side and are never remoted to the client-side application when end-users are logged in. These are typically ReST API security credentials. Because all ReST API connectivity is conducted by the Flexiva Web API, the client-side never knows how the back-end data is accessed. This adds a high level of security to your application.
Add
The add button is used to create a new custom variable.
Enter the name and initial value of your variable. The name should be as descriptive as possible as it will be referenced in many places. For example "ID", or "Name" is far too ambiguous. It ought to be very specific e.g. "Product-ID" or "Fleet-Car-Registration-Number".
Saving the custom variable adds it to the grid.
Delete
The delete button is used to remove the selected custom variable.
WARNING: If you have linked data source requests or forms to this custom variable, then these may stop working, so this operation can be destructive to your application.
Grid
The grid shows the list of all custom variables for the specific variable scope (Client or Server).
The grid columns are as follows:
Name
The name of the custom variable. This must be unique.
Source
The source will often be the same as the variable name, however for some intrinsic custom variables, this may be the name of the internal system variable.
Value
The current value of the custom variable.
Edit
The edit button allows the value of the custom variable to be changed.
When you are testing your ReST API data source requests, the values of the custom variables will be used to replace the data in your request.
At run-time for end-users, these client-side custom variable values will change as the data is presented and manipulated in the forms.
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