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Common Types and Aspects ​

@sap/cds/common


CDS ships with a prebuilt model @sap/cds/common that provides common types and aspects for reuse.

Why Use @sap/cds/common? ​

It's recommended that all applications use the common types and aspects provided through @sap/cds/common to benefit from these features:

  • Concise and comprehensible models → see also Conceptual Modeling
  • Foster interoperability between all applications
  • Proven best practices captured from real applications
  • Streamlined data models with minimal entry barriers
  • Optimized implementations and runtime performance
  • Automatic support for localized code lists and value helps
  • Extensibility using Aspects
  • Verticalization through third-party extension packages

For example, usage is as simple as indicated in the following sample:

cds
using { Country } from '@sap/cds/common';
entity Addresses {
  street  : String;
  town    : String;
  country : Country; //> using reuse type
}

Outcome = Optimized Best Practice ​

The final outcomes in terms of modeling patterns, persistence structures, and implementations is essentially the same as with native means, if you would have collected design experiences from prior solutions, such as we did.

TIP

All the common reuse features of @sap/cds/common are provided only through this ~100 line .cds model. Additional runtime support isn't required. @sap/cds/common merely uses basic CDS modeling features as well as generic features like localized data and temporal data (which only need minimal runtime support with minimal overhead).

In effect, the results are straightforward, capturing best practices we learned from real business applications, with minimal footprint, optimized performance, and maximized adaptability and extensibility.

Common Reuse Aspects ​

@sap/cds/common defines the following aspects for use in your entity definitions. They give you shortcuts, for concise and comprehensible models, interoperability and out-of-the-box runtime features connected to them.

Aspect cuid ​

Use cuid as a convenient shortcut, to add canonical, universally unique primary keys to your entity definitions. These examples are equivalent:

cds
entity Foo : cuid {...}
cds
entity Foo {
  key ID : UUID;
  [...]
}

The service provider runtimes automatically fill in UUID-typed keys like these with auto-generated UUIDs.

Learn more about canonical keys and UUIDs.

Aspect managed ​

Use managed, to add four elements to capture created by/at and latest modified by/at management information for records. The following examples are equivalent-

cds
entity Foo : managed {...}
cds
entity Foo {
  createdAt  : Timestamp @cds.on.insert : $now;
  createdBy  : User      @cds.on.insert : $user;
  modifiedAt : Timestamp @cds.on.insert : $now  @cds.on.update : $now;
  modifiedBy : User      @cds.on.insert : $user @cds.on.update : $user;
  [...]
}

TIP

modifiedAt and modifiedBy are set whenever the respective row was modified, that means, also during CREATE operations.

The annotations @cds.on.insert/update are handled in generic service providers so to fill in those fields automatically.

Learn more about generic service features.

Aspect temporal ​

This aspect basically adds two canonical elements, validFrom and validTo to an entity. It also adds a tag annotation that connects the CDS compiler's and runtime's built-in support for Temporal Data. This built-in support covers handling date-effective records and time slices, including time travel. All you've to do is, add the temporal aspect to respective entities as follows:

cds
entity Contract : temporal {...}

Learn more about temporal data.

Common Reuse Types ​

@sap/cds/common provides predefined easy-to-use types for Countries, Currencies, and Languages. Use these types in all applications to foster interoperability.

Type Country ​

The reuse type Country is defined in @sap/cds/common as a simple managed Association to the code list for countries as follows:

cds
type Country : Association to sap.common.Countries;

Here's an example of how you would use that reuse type:

cds
using { Country } from '@sap/cds/common';
entity Addresses {
  street  : String;
  town    : String;
  country : Country; //> using reuse type
}

The code lists define a key element code, which results in a foreign key column country_code in your SQL table for Addresses. For example:

sql
CREATE TABLE Addresses (
  street NVARCHAR(5000),
  town NVARCHAR(5000),
  country_code NVARCHAR(3) -- foreign key
);

Learn more about managed associations.

Type Currency ​

The type for an association to Currencies.

cds
type Currency : Association to sap.common.Currencies;

It's the same as for Country.

Type Language ​

The type for an association to Languages.

cds
type Language : Association to sap.common.Languages;

It's the same as for Country.

Type Timezone ​

The type for an association to Timezones.

cds
type Timezone : Association to sap.common.Timezones;

It's the same as for Country.

Common Code Lists ​

As seen in the previous section, the reuse types Country, Currency, and Language are defined as associations to respective code list entities. They act as code list tables for respective elements in your domain model.

Note: You rarely have to refer to the code lists in consuming models, but always only do so transitively by using the corresponding reuse types as shown previously.

Namespace: sap.common ​

The following definitions are within namespace sap.common...

Aspect CodeList ​

This is the base definition for the three code list entities in @sap/cds/common. It can also be used for your own code lists.

cds
aspect sap.common.CodeList {
  name  : localized String(111);
  descr : localized String(1111);
}

Learn more about localized keyword.

Entity Countries ​

The code list entity for countries is meant to be used with ISO 3166-1 two-letter alpha codes as primary keys. For example, 'GB' for the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, it's defined as String(3) to allow you to fill in three-letter codes, if needed.

cds
entity sap.common.Countries : CodeList {
  key code : String(3); //> ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes (or alpha-3)
}

Entity Currencies ​

The code list entity for currencies is meant to be used with ISO 4217 three-letter alpha codes as primary keys, for example, 'USD' for US Dollar. In addition, it provides an element to hold the minor unit fractions and for common currency symbols.

cds
entity sap.common.Currencies : CodeList {
  key code  : String(3); //> ISO 4217 alpha-3 codes
  symbol    : String(5); //> for example, $, €, £, ₪, ...
  minorUnit : Int16;     //> for example, 0 or 2
}

Entity Languages ​

The code list entity for countries is meant to be used with POSIX locales as defined in ISO/IEC 15897 as primary keys. For example, 'en_GB' for British English.

cds
entity sap.common.Languages : CodeList {
  key code : sap.common.Locale; //> for example, en_GB
}

Learn more on normalized locales.

Entity Timezones ​

The code list entity for time zones is meant to be used with primary keys like Area/Location, as defined in the IANA time zone database. Examples are America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires, Europe/Berlin, or Etc/UTC.

cds
entity sap.common.Timezones : CodeList {
  key code : String(100); //> for example, Europe/Berlin
}

Learn more about time zones in Javascript

Learn more about time zones in Java

SQL Persistence ​

The following table definition represents the resulting SQL persistence of the Countries code list, with the ones for Currencies and Languages alike:

sql
-- the basic code list table
CREATE TABLE sap_common_Countries (
  name NVARCHAR(255),
  descr NVARCHAR(1000),
  code NVARCHAR(3),
  PRIMARY KEY(code)
);

Minimalistic Design ​

The models for code lists are intentionally minimalistic to keep the entry barriers as low as possible, focusing on the bare minimum of what all applications generally need: a unique code and localizable fields for name and full name or descriptions.

ISO alpha codes for languages, countries, and currencies were chosen because they:

  1. Are most common (most projects would choose that)
  2. Are most efficient (as these codes are also frequently displayed on UIs)
  3. Guarantee minimal entry barriers (bringing about 1 above)
  4. Guarantee best support (for example, by readable foreign keys)

Assumption is that ~80% of all apps don't need more than what is already covered in this minimalistic model. Yet, in case you need more, you can easily leverage CDS standard features to adapt and extend these base models to your needs as demonstrated in the section Adapting to your needs.

Aspects for Localized Data ​

Following are types and aspects mostly used behind the scenes for localized data.
For example given this entity definition:

cds
entity Foo {
  key ID : UUID;
  name   : localized String;
  descr  : localized String;
}

When unfolding the localized fields, we essentially add .texts entities in these steps:

  1. Add a new entity Foo.texts which inherits from TextsAspects:

    cds
    entity Foo.texts : sap.common.TextsAspects { ... }

    Which in turn unfolds to:

    cds
    entity Foo.texts {
  key locale : sap.common.Locale;
}

  2. Add the primary key of the main entity Foo:

    cds
    entity Foo.texts {
  key locale : sap.common.Locale;
  key ID : UUID; 
}

  3. Add the localized fields:

    cds
    entity Foo.texts {
  key locale : sap.common.Locale;
  key ID : UUID;
  name   : String; 
  descr  : String; 
}

Namespace: sap.common ​

The following definitions are with namespace sap.common...

Aspect TextsAspect ​

This aspect is used when generating .texts entities for the unfolding of localized elements. It can be extended, which effectively extends all generated .texts entities.

cds
aspect sap.common.TextsAspect {
  key locale: sap.common.Locale;
}

Learn more about Extending .texts entities.

Type Locale ​

cds
type sap.common.Locale : String(14) @title: '{i18n>LanguageCode}';

The reuse type sap.common.Locale is used when generating .texts entities for the unfolding of localized elements.

Learn more about localized data.

SQL Persistence ​

In addition, the base entity these additional tables and views are generated behind the scenes to efficiently deal with translations:

sql
-- _texts table for translations
CREATE TABLE Foo_texts (
  ID NVARCHAR(36),
  locale NVARCHAR(14),
  name NVARCHAR(255),
  descr NVARCHAR(1000),
  PRIMARY KEY(ID, locale)
);
sql
-- view to easily read localized texts with automatic fallback
CREATE VIEW localized_Foo AS SELECT
  code,
  COALESCE (localized.name, name) AS name,
  COALESCE (localized.descr, descr) AS descr
FROM Foo (
  LEFT JOIN Foo_texts AS localized
    ON localized.code= code
    AND localized.locale = SESSION_CONTEXT('locale')
)

Learn more about localized data.

Providing Initial Data ​

You can provide initial data for the code lists by placing CSV files in a folder called data next to your data models.

The following is an example of a csv file to provide data for countries:

csv
code;name;descr
AU;Australia;Commonwealth of Australia
CA;Canada;Canada
CN;China;People's Republic of China (PRC)
FR;France;French Republic
DE;Germany;Federal Republic of Germany
IN;India;Republic of India
IL;Israel;State of Israel
MM;Myanmar;Republic of the Union of Myanmar
GB;United Kingdom;United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
US;United States;United States of America (USA)
EU;European Union;European Union

Learn more about the database aspects of Providing Initial Data.

Add Translated Texts ​

In addition, you can provide translations for the sap.common.Countries_texts table as follows:

csv
code;locale;name;descr
AU;de;Australien;Commonwealth Australien
CA;de;Kanada;Canada
CN;de;China;Volksrepublik China
FR;de;Frankreich;Republik Frankreich
DE;de;Deutschland;Bundesrepublik Deutschland
IN;de;Indien;Republik Indien
IL;de;Israel;Staat Israel
MM;de;Myanmar;Republik der Union Myanmar
GB;de;Vereinigtes Königreich;Vereinigtes Königreich Großbritannien und Nordirland
US;de;Vereinigte Staaten;Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika
EU;de;Europäische Union;Europäische Union

Learn more about Localization/i18n.

Using Tools like Excel ​

You can use Excel or similar tools to maintain these files. For example, the following screenshot shows how we maintained the above two files in Numbers on a Mac:

This screenshot is explained in the accompanying text.

Using Prebuilt Content Package ​

Package @sap/cds-common-content provides prebuilt data for the entities Countries, Currencies, Languages, and Timezones.

Add it your project:

sh
npm add @sap/cds-common-content --save

Use it in your cds files:

cds
using from '@sap/cds-common-content';

Learn more about integrating reuse packages

Adapting to Your Needs ​

As stated, the predefined definitions are minimalistic by intent. Yet, as @sap/cds/common is also just a CDS model, you can apply all the standard features provided by CDS, especially CDS' Aspects to adapt, and extend these definitions to your needs.

Let's look at a few examples of what could be done. You can combine these extensions in an effective model.

TIP

You can do such extensions in the models of your project. You can also collect your extensions into reuse packages and share them as common definitions with several consuming projects, similar to @sap/cds/common itself.

Learn more about providing reuse packages.

Adding Detailed Fields as of ISO 3166-1 ​

cds
using { sap.common.Countries } from '@sap/cds/common';
extend Countries {
  numcode : Integer; //> ISO 3166-1 three-digit numeric codes
  alpha3 : String(3); //> ISO 3166-1 three-letter alpha codes
  alpha4 : String(4); //> ISO 3166-3 four-letter alpha codes
  independent : Boolean;
  status : String(111);
  statusRemark : String(1111);
  remarkPart3 : String(1111);
}

Value lists in SAP Fiori automatically search in the new text fields as well.

Protecting Certain Entries ​

Some application logic might have to be hard-coded against certain entries in code lists. Therefore, these entries have to be protected against changes and removal. For example, let's assume a code list for payment methods defined as follows:

cds
entity PaymentMethods : sap.common.CodeList {
  code : String(11);
}

Let's further assume the entires with code Main and Travel are required by implementations and hence must not be changed or removed. Have a look at a couple of solutions.

Programmatic Solution ​

A fallback, and at the same time, the most open, and most flexible approach, is to use a custom handler to assert that. For example, in Node.js:

js
srv.on ('DELETE', 'PaymentMethods', req=>{
  const entry = req.query.DELETE.where[2].val
  if (['Main','Travel'].includes(entry))
    return req.reject(403, 'these entries must not be deleted')
})

Using Different Foreign Keys ​

Let's assume you prefer to have references to the latest code list entries without adjusting foreign keys. This can be achieved by adding and using numeric ISO codes for foreign keys instead of the alpha codes.

cds
namespace your.common;
using { sap.common.Countries } from '@sap/cds/common';

// Extend Countries code list with fields for numeric codes
extend Countries {
  numcode : Integer; //> ISO 3166-1 three-digit numeric codes
}

// Define an own Country type using numcodes for foreign keys
type Country : Association to Countries { numcode };

You can use your own definition of Country instead of the one from @sap/cds/common in your models as follows:

cds
using { your.common.Country } from './your-common.2';

entity Addresses {
  //...
  country : Country;
}

Mapping to SAP S/4HANA or ABAP Table Signatures ​

cds
using { sap.common.Countries } from '@sap/cds/common';
entity Countries4GFN as projection on Countries {
  code as CountryCodeAlpha2,
  name as CountryShortName,
  // ...
}
entity Countries4ABAP as projection on Countries {
  code as LAND,
  // ...
}

These views are updatable on SAP HANA and many other databases. You can also use CDS to expose them through corresponding OData services in order to ease integration with SAP S/4HANA or older ABAP backends.

Adding Own Code Lists ​

As another example of adaptations, let's add support for subdivisions, that means regions, as of ISO 3166-2 to countries.

Defining a New Code List Entity ​

cds
using sap from '@sap/cds/common';

// new code list for regions
entity Regions : sap.common.CodeList {
  key code : String(5); // ISO 3166-2 alpha5 codes, like DE-BW
  country  : Association to sap.common.Countries;
}

// bi-directionally associate Regions with Countries
extend sap.common.Countries {
  regions : Composition of many Regions on regions.country = $self;
}

Regions is a new, custom-defined code list entity defined in the same way as the predefined ones in @sap/cds/common. In particular, it inherits all elements and annotations from the base definition sap.common.CodeList. For example, the @cds.autoexpose annotation, which provides that Regions is auto-exposed in any OData service that has exposed entities with associations to it. The localization of the predefined elements name and descr is also inherited.

Learn in our sample how an own code list can be used to localize enum values.

Defining a New Reuse Type ​

Following the pattern for codes in @sap/cds/common a bit more, you can also define a reuse type for regions as a managed association:

cds
using { Regions } from './your-common.4.1'; /*>skip<*/
// Define an own reuse type referring to Regions
type Region : Association to Regions;

Using the New Reuse Type and Code List ​

This finally allows you to add respective elements, the same way you do it with predefined reuse types. These elements receive the same support from built-in generic features. For example:

cds
using { Country, Region } from './your-common.4.2';
entity Addresses {
  street  : String;
  town    : String;
  country : Country; //> pre-defined reuse type
  region  : Region; //> your custom reuse type
}

Code Lists with Validity ​

Even ISO codes may change over time and you may have to react to that in your applications. For example, when Burma was renamed to Myanmar in 1989. Let's investigate strategies on how that can be updated in our code lists.

Accommodating Changes ​

The renaming from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, was reflected in ISO 3166 as follows (the alpha-4 codes as specified in ISO 3166-3 signify entries officially deleted from ISO 3166-1 code lists):

NameAlpha-2Alpha-3Alpha-4Numeric
BurmaBUBURBUMM104
MyanmarMMMMR104

By default, and with the given default definitions in @sap/cds/common, this would have been reflected as a new entry for Myanmar and you'd have the following choices on what to do with the existing records in your data:

  • (a) Adjust foreign keys for records so that it always reflects the current state.
  • (b) Keep foreign keys as is for cases where the old records reflect the state effective at the time they were created or valid.

Exclude Outdated Entries from Pick Lists (Optional) ​

Although outdated entries like the one for Burma have to remain in the code lists as targets for references from historic records in other entities, you would certainly want to exclude it from all pick lists used in UIs when entering new data. This is how you could achieve that:

1. Extend the Common Code List Entity ​

cds
using { sap.common.Countries } from '@sap/cds/common';
extend Countries with { validTo: Date default '9999-12-31'; }

2. Fill Validity Boundaries in Code Lists: ​

codenamevalidTo
BUBurma1989-06-18
MMMyanmar9999-12-31

3. Model Pick List Entity ​

Add the following line to your service definition:

cds
entity CountriesPickList as projection on sap.common.Countries where validTo >= $now;

Basically, the entity Countries serves all standard requests, and the new entity CountriesPickList is built for the value help only. This entity is a projection that gives you only those records that are valid right now.

4. Include Pick List with Validity on the UI ​

This snippet equips UI fields for a countries association with a value help from the CountriesPickList entity.

cds
annotate YourService.EntityName with {

  countries @(
    Common: {
      Text: country.name , // TextArrangement: #TextOnly,
      ValueList: {
        Label: 'Country Value Help',
        CollectionPath: 'CountriesPickList',
        Parameters: [
          { $Type: 'Common.ValueListParameterInOut',
            LocalDataProperty: country_code,
            ValueListProperty: 'code'
          },
          { $Type: 'Common.ValueListParameterDisplayOnly',
            ValueListProperty: 'name'
          }
      ]
      }
    },
  );
}
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