Static Entities
Static entities store reusable reference data used throughout an application.
When to use a static entity
Section titled “When to use a static entity”Use a static entity when your app requires:
- Controlled reference values,
- Dropdown lists,
- Account, department, or configuration lookups,
- Currency lists, and
- Controlled reference data that should be reused consistently.
Key characteristics
Section titled “Key characteristics”Static entities provide the following characteristics. They:
- Store reusable reference data independently from transactional data,
- Support both manually maintained and dynamically loaded entries,
- Can be referenced throughout the application runtime, and
- Provide consistent lookup structures across screens, workflows, and integrations.
How static entities are used
Section titled “How static entities are used”Static entities are commonly used to:
- Populate dropdowns and selection lists,
- Standardize controlled business values,
- Validate user input against known reference data,
- Share reusable lookup data across workflows and screens, and
- Create consistent relationships between transactional and reference data.
Static entity source types
Section titled “Static entity source types”Static entities support three source types:
| Source type | Description | Typical use cases |
|---|---|---|
| Static | Entries are created and maintained manually through the static entity editor. | Currencies, countries, workflow statuses, cost centers |
| Dynamic (running on server and client) | Entries are loaded dynamically at runtime using a script that can execute on both the server and client. | Lightweight dynamic lookup data available in browser-based interactions |
| Dynamic (needs to run on server) | Entries are loaded dynamically at runtime using a server-side script. | Large datasets, XLS/CSV imports, database queries, or integrations that require server-side execution |
Dynamic static entities optionally support both server-side and client-side caching to control how long dynamically loaded entries are reused before the source data is reloaded.
Tip
Changing the source type from Static to a dynamic source enables the Dynamic Entries Script section in the static entity editor.