Complex Types

Complex types are keyless, named structured types composed of a set of properties. These value types cannot be referenced outside their containing entity. They are often used as property values within an entity or as parameters for operations.

  • Name: The unique identifier for the complex type.

Properties

Properties specify the individual data elements that a complex type can contain.

Properties include this data:

  • Sequence: Defines the sequence of the property.
  • Name: The unique identifier for the property within the complex type.
  • Description: A textual explanation of the property, providing more context or details about its purpose and usage.
  • Type: The data type of the property, such as Edm.String, Edm.Int32, and Edm.Boolean. This defines what kind of data the property can hold.
  • Format: The expected format of the property value, such as date format.
  • Collection: Indicates whether the property is a collection of values (like an array) rather than a single value.
  • Nullable: Indicates whether the property can have a null value. If selected, the property can be blank. If cleared, it must always have a value.
  • Unicode: Indicates whether the property supports Unicode characters.

You can create a new property in the complex type by clicking the Add Property button. Consequently, a new empty row is created in the properties grid table.