Using custom data in a Business Object

When including custom data in an existing business object (either BDE or BOD), use a customization library.

With a customization library you can extend the business object to handle:

• data from table columns that are standard inLN , but not used in the BDE/BOD
• data from table columns that are created as a customization;
• data from so-called 'customer-defined fields' (CDF), which are defined through the Customer-Defined Fields (ttadv4194m000) session.

You can create customizations without updating or merging them when a new version of the standard is installed. A new version of a BDE or BOD can be delivered, for example in a solution or a new feature pack. Installing such a new version does not overwrite the customization. In fact, the customization usually does not have to be changed at all.

Exceptional situations in which the customization must be changed:

• An interface change in the BDE/BOD that breaks the compatibility, such as removing a component.
• Changing the implementation of a BDE/BOD in such a way that the table containing the custom data is not used anymore by the implementation.

Additionally, if the customization element is changed for a component then the customization library will still work, but the customization data will be included in the new location instead of the old location. This will impact the other application that communicates with LN through BDEs or BODs.