Container

A container is a collection of resources that exposes data and operations. It groups related entities and operations, helping you understand the service's structure and capabilities.

You can modify the container details, such as Name and Exclude in Service Document, and save the changes by clicking the Save button at the right top corner.

Entity Sets

Entity sets are collections of entities identified by a specific name. For example, the Customers entity set contains customer entities. An entity's key uniquely identifies the entity within an entity set. Entity sets provide entry points into the data model.

Entity sets include this data:

  • Name: The unique identifier used to call the entity data from the endpoints.
  • Type: The type of the entity.
  • Exclude in Service Document: If this check box is selected, the entity set is designed for indirect access through navigation (referencing) rather than direct access via the REST API. If this check box is cleared, the entity set is intended for direct access via the REST API.
  • Optimistic Concurrency: If this check box is selected, multiple users can access data transactionally, while preventing inconsistencies and accidental changes to already-modified data.
  • Property Path (optional): Applies to Optimistic Concurrency and is a collection of properties that is used to calculate the Etag value.
  • Deep Insert Support: If this check box is selected, deep insert is supported, creating an entity along with its related entities using the appropriate inline representation.

Functions

Functions are operations without side effects that can support further composition, such as additional filter operations, functions, or actions. The OData service displays a list of callable unbound functions, which can be called directly from the service root URL.

Functions include this data:

  • Name: The unique identifier used to call the function from the endpoints.
  • Function: The type of the function.
  • Entity Set (Optional): The entity set that is returned by the function (applicable only when the function returns an entity or a collection of entities).

Actions

Actions are operations that permit side effects, like data modification, and cannot be further composed to prevent non-deterministic behavior. The OData service displays a list of callable unbound actions.

Actions include this data:

  • Name: The unique identifier used to call the action from the endpoints.
  • Action: The type of the function.
  • Entity Set (Optional): The entity set that is returned or affected by the action (applicable only when the action returns an entity or a collection of entities).