Interfaces

An Interface is a group of attributes that can be added to business objects as well as connections to provide additional classification capabilities. When an Interface is created, it is linked to previously-defined attributes that logically go together. Interfaces are defined by the Business Administrator and are added to business object or relationship instances.

For more information, see MQL Command Reference: interface Command.

You must be a Business Administrator to add or modify interfaces.

You might want to organize data under more than one classification type. For example, a Part could have a classification based on its function, which is most typical, but it might also require classification on other issues such as production process, manufacturing location, and so on. For each classification type, there is typically a collection of attributes that can be defined for each instance of the classification type and used for searching.

An Interface can be derived from other Interfaces, similar to how Types can be derived. Derived Interfaces include the attributes of their parents, as well as any other attributes associated with it directly. The types or relationships associated with the parents are also associated with the child.

The primary reason to add an interface to a business object or a connection is to add the attributes to the instance that were not defined on the type. Moreover, when you add an interface to a business object or a connection, it gives you the ability to classify it by virtue of the interface hierarchy.

Attribute values that come from interfaces cannot be used in a create access rule because the interfaces are not applied until AFTER the create access checks.