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Configure the behavior of Offline OData

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Configure the behavior of Offline OData

By Robin van het Hof

Configure the behavior of the Offline OData Service

Details

You will learn

In this tutorial, you will learn to use configure your application and SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations to utilize the offline OData functionality.

To use the Offline OData service, it is not necessary to to add any specific configuration to your application. In that case, SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations will apply defaults that will make a good amount of applications run smoothly.

However, the Offline OData service can be configured to best meet the needs of your use cases.

  • Configure indexes on properties
  • Configure data to be cached on server
  • Change delta determination

Note: Offline configuration is created in a file and uploaded to SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations application configuration and is only required to change default behavior

The Offline OData service configuration file is made up of one or more end point configurations, each of
which has one or more defining request configuration.

End point configuration allows:

  • Set indexes on entity properties
  • Configure what data will be allowed in the database initially sent to device
  • Configure if data is cached or not
  • Refresh interval on cached data

Defining request configuration allows:

  • Set if data is cached or not
  • Refresh interval on cached data
  • Delta tracking behavior

A full list of Offline Data configuration options is available on https://help.sap.com/saphelp_smp307sdk/helpdata/en/f5/a25877c16f4fc384c44fcf0b92dab8/content.htm.

To define what to use offline, you now create an Application Configuration File

Step 1: Create Application Configuration File

On your laptop, create a file application-config.ini.

Add the following content to this file:

[endpoint]
Name=com.sap.tutorial.demoapp.Demo
prepopulate_offline_db=SHARED-ONLY
prepopulate_offline_db_interval=1440

[defining_request]
name=Product
is_shared_data=Y
refresh_interval=15

[defining_request]
name=ProductCategory
is_shared_data=Y
refresh_interval=15

Note: It is not necessary to specify all defined requests in your configuration file. You only need to specify the defined request for which you want to change default behavior.

In this configuration file, you have specified the following:

End point configuration:

Properties (endpoint) Description
name The name of the OData connection, as specified in SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations
prepopulate_offline_db Indicated what data to include in database delivered to device when it if first created
prepopulate_offline_db_interval Database refresh interval for the shared data. The default value is 1440 minutes (one day)

Defining request configuration:

Properties (defining_request) Description
name The name of the entity set query Product
is_shared_data Specifies if data is shared between users or not and prevents sending the same query to the originating OData service for each user if it is set to Y
download_interval Database refresh interval for the shared data. It is set to 15 minutes, meaning that SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations will try to update the products data every 15 minutes

Note: Since the purchase orders and sales orders are more subject to change than for instance products and customers, you have set the refresh interval for these to 15 minutes; the other entities will be refreshed each day by default.

Done
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Step 2: Configure application definition

In SAP Cloud Platform mobile service for development and operations, navigate to Application > com.sap.tutorial.demoapp and select Configure.

Configuration

Navigate to Offline Configuration. The links next to the connection name should be disabled, since no offline configuration exist yet. Click the Import button.

Upload application-config.ini file
Done
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Step 3: Upload Application Configuration File

Browse to the application-config.ini file you created earlier.

Upload application-config.ini file

Click Upload. If everything goes well, the formerly disabled links are now enabled.

Upload application-config.ini file
Done
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Step 4: Examine uploaded configuration

Click through the now-enabled links, and you should be able to review the setting you have supplied in the application-config.ini file:

Upload application-config.ini fileUpload application-config.ini file
What is the purpose of the application-config.ini file?
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Step 5: Finalize upload

Click OK to close the dialog, and click Save to store the changes.

Done
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Next Steps

Updated 07/11/2018

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Time to Complete

15 Min.

Intermediate

Tags

Intermediate SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS iOS SAP Cloud Platform Mobile

Prerequisites

  • Development environment: Apple iMac, MacBook or MacBook Pro running Xcode 9 or higher
  • SAP Cloud Platform SDK for iOS: Version 2.0
  • Tutorials: Introduction to Offline OData

Next Steps

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