OpenACS Object Type

The table "acs_object_types" includes meta-information about ]po[ object types, such as the object type's main database table. "Object Type" is actually not a real object type.

Object Type Fields

• Object Type:
  The system name of the object type, such as "acs_object" or "im_project".
• Supertype:
  The name of the object's supertype. For example, "im_project" is a sub-type of "acs_object", so "acs_object" is the supertype.
• AbstractP:
  Is this an abstract object type? Abstract types should not have any instances.
• Pretty Name:
  Human readable name of the object type. Example: "Project".
• Pretty Plural:
  Plural form of the human readable object type. Example: "Projects".
• Table Name:
  The name of the object's main database table. Example: "im_projects".
• ID-Column:
  The name of the main database table's column containing the object's ID. Example: "project_id".
• Package Name:
  Which package has created the object? Example: "intranet-core".
• Name Method:
  The name of the PL/SQL name function that returns the object's name.
  
• Type Extension table:
  Name of a database table with sub-types for the object. Not used by ]po[.
  
• DynamicP:
  Not used in ]po[.
• TreeSortkey:
  The [tree sortkey] hierarchical index containing denormalized information about the object's position in the object type hierarchy.
• Status Column:
  Name of the database column in the "type_status_table" containing the ]po[ object status. Only defined for ]po[ [business objects].
• Type Column:
  Same as status column, just for the object's status.
• Status Type Table:
  Name of the database table containing the status and type columns. This field is normally indentical to the "table name". Examples are ]po[ sub-types such as expense, where the expense type and status is stored in the "im_costs" table of the super-type financial item. 
• Type Category Type:
  "category_type" of the category representing the object sub-type. Example: "Intranet Project Type".
  

Structure of the acs_object_types table:

 ­

        Column        |          Type           |       Modifiers
----------------------+-------------------------+------------------------
 object_type          | character varying(1000) | not null
 supertype            | character varying(100)  |
 abstract_p           | boolean                 | not null default false
 pretty_name          | character varying(1000) | not null
 pretty_plural        | character varying(1000) | not null
 table_name           | character varying(30)   | not null
 id_column            | character varying(30)   | not null
 package_name         | character varying(30)   | not null
 name_method          | character varying(100)  |
 type_extension_table | character varying(30)   |
 dynamic_p            | boolean                 | default false
 tree_sortkey         | bit varying             |
 status_column        | character varying(30)   |
 type_column          | character varying(30)   |
 status_type_table    | character varying(30)   |
 type_category_type   | character varying(50)   |

Note

• Please note that acs_object_type is not a real object type, because it is lacking the field "object_type_id references acs_objects".