Development with the Force.com Platform

Salesforce.com'sForce.com platform launched a revolution in enterprise software development, enabling enterprise developers to build and deploy powerful cloud-based enterprise applications far faster than traditional technology stacks ever permitted. Now, building on his first two best-selling editions, Jason Ouelette's Development with the Force.com Platform, Third Edition gives developers all the practical, technical guidance they need to make the most of the newest Force.com releases in their own custom applications.

1 Introducing Force.com 1 Force.com in the Cloud Computing Landscape 1 Platform as a Service (PaaS) 2 Force.com as a Platform 4 Force.com Services 7 Inside a Force.com Project 9 Project Selection 9 Team Selection 11 Lifecycle 12 Tools and Resources 15 Sample Application: Services Manager 17 Background 17 User Roles 18 Development Plan 19 Summary 19 2 Database Essentials 21 Overview of Force.com's Database 21 Objects 22 Fields 23 Relationships 25 Query Language 26 Data Integration 29 Working with Custom Objects 32 Force.com Developer Edition 32 Tools for Custom Objects 33 Object Creation 35 Field Creation 38 Entering and Browsing Data 41 Additional Database Features 43 Sample Application: Data Model 49 Data Model Design Goals 49 Data Model Specification 50 Implementing the Data Model 58 Importing Data 64 Summary 69 3 Database Security 71 Overview of Database Security 71 Object-Level Security 74 Profiles 74 Permission Sets 76 Field-Level Security 77 Record-Level Security 79 Record Ownership 79 User Groups 80 Sharing Model 80 Sample Application: Securing Data 84 Designing the Security Model 85 Implementing the Security Model 88 Testing the Security Model 94 Summary 98 4 Business Logic 99 Introduction to Apex 100 Introducing the Force.com IDE 101 Installation 101 Force.com Perspective 101 Force.com Projects 103 Problems View 103 Schema Explorer 103 Apex Test Runner View 103 Execute Anonymous View 104 Apex Language Basics 105 Variables 105 Operators 109 Arrays and Collections 110 Control Logic 113 Object-Oriented Apex 117 Understanding Governor Limits 120 Database Integration in Apex 120 Database Records as Objects 121 Database Queries 122 Persisting Database Records 128 Database Triggers 130 Database Security in Apex 133 Debugging Apex Using Developer Console 133 Checkpoints 133 Execution Logs 134 Unit Tests in Apex 136 Test Methods 136 Test Data 136 Running Tests 137 Sample Application: Validating Timecards 138 Force.com IDE Setup 138 Creating the Trigger 138 Unit Testing 140 Summary 142 5 Advanced Business Logic 143 Aggregate SOQL Queries 144 Aggregate Functions 144 Grouping Records 145 Grouping Records with Subtotals 146 Additional SOQL Features 148 Inner Join and Outer Join 148 Semi-Join and Anti-Join 150 Multi-Select Picklists 154 Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) 154 SOSL Basics 155 SOSL in Apex 155 Transaction Processing 156 Data Manipulation Language (DML) Database Methods 157 Savepoints 159 Record Locking 161 Apex Managed Sharing 162 Sharing Objects 162 Creating Sharing Rules in Apex 163 Sending and Receiving Email 168 Sending Email 168 Receiving Email 172 Dynamic Apex 174 Dynamic Database Queries 175 Schema Metadata 177 Dynamic Instance Creation 179 Custom Settings in Apex 180 Sample Application: Adding Email Notifications 181 Summary 183 6 User Interfaces 185 Introduction to Visualforce 186 Overview of Visualforce 186 Getting Started with Visualforce 188 Visualforce Controllers 191 Standard Controllers 191 Custom Controllers 193 Controller Extensions 197 View Components 198 View Component Basics 198 Data Components 200 Action Components 203 Primitive Components 204 Force.com-Styled Components 205 Force.com User Interface Components 208 Visualforce and the Native User Interface 209 Standard Pages 210 Standard Buttons 213 Page Layouts 213 Custom Buttons and Links 215 Custom Tabs 215 Visualforce in Production 215 Debugging and Tuning 215 Security 218 Error Handling 220 Governor Limits 221 Unit Tests 222 Sample Application: Skills Matrix 222 Basic Implementation 224 Full Implementation 224 Implementation Walk-Through 225 Summary 232 7 Advanced User Interfaces 233 Asynchronous Actions 233 Partial Page Refresh 234 Action as JavaScript Function 235 Action as Timed Event 237 Action as JavaScript Event 237 Indicating Action Status 238 Modular Visualforce 240 Static Resources 241 Inclusion 242 Composition 242 Custom Visualforce Components 244 Dynamic Visualforce 246 Dynamic Field References 246 Component Generation 248 Single-Page Applications in Force.com 250 JavaScript Remoting 250 Force.com with AngularJS 251 Introduction to Force.com Sites 254 Enabling and Creating a Site 254 Security Configuration 255 Adding Pages to a Site 256 Authenticating Users 257 Sample Application: Enhanced Skills Matrix 258 Summary 262 8 Mobile User Interfaces 263 Overview of Salesforce Mobile Technology 263 Salesforce Applications 264 Custom Applications 265 Getting Started with Mobile Web Applications 267 Frameworks 268 Data Access 269 Deployment 270 Sample Application: Mobile Timecard Entry 272 Summary 279 9 Batch Processing 281 Introduction to Batch Apex 282 Batch Apex Concepts 282 Understanding the Batchable Interface 283 Applications of Batch Apex 284 Getting Started with Batch Apex 285 Developing a Batch Apex Class 285 Working with Batch Apex Jobs 286 Using Stateful Batch Apex 289 Using an Iterable Batch Scope 290 Limits of Batch Apex 292 Testing Batch Apex 293 Scheduling Batch Apex 293 Developing Schedulable Code 293 Scheduling Batch Apex Jobs 294 Sample Application: Missing Timecard Report 296 Creating the Custom Object 297 Developing the Batch Apex Class 298 Testing the Missing Timecard Feature 299 Summary 300 10 Integration with Force.com 301 Apex Callouts 301 Calling RESTful Services from Apex 302 Calling SOAP Services from Apex 304 Calling into Force.com Using REST 306 Getting Started with Force.com REST API 306 Force.com REST API Walk-Through 308 Creating Custom Apex REST Web Services 312 Calling into Force.com Using SOAP 314 Understanding Force.com SOAP API 314 Using the Enterprise API 322 Creating Custom Apex SOAP Web Services 326 Sample Application: Anonymous Benchmarking 329 Visualforce Page Design 330 Visualforce Controller Design 331 Integrating the SOAP Web Service 333 Sample Implementation 335 Summary 338 11 Advanced Integration 339 Introduction to the Force.com Streaming API 340 Overview 340 Getting Started with Force.com Streaming API 341 Working with the Force.com Bulk API 344 Overview 345 Importing Records 346 Exporting Records 347 Getting Started with Force.com Canvas 349 Overview 349 Getting Started with Force.com Canvas 350 Introduction to the Force.com Tooling API 354 Overview 355 Getting Started with Force.com Tooling API 355 Understanding the Force.com Metadata API 360 Overview 360 Getting Started with the Metadata API 361 Sample Application: Database Integration 363 Integration Scenario 363 Implementation Strategy 363 Sample Implementation 364 Summary 366 12 Social Applications 369 Overview of the Chatter Data Model 370 Chatter Posts 370 Chatter Comments 374 Feed-Tracked Changes 376 Followed Records 376 Using Chatter in Apex 378 Introduction to the Chatter REST API 379 Working with Chatter Visualforce Components 380 Sample Application: Follow Project Team 382 Summary 386 Index 387