Enhanced WEBCORE - XData Integration for Lazy Associations in TXDataWebDataSet and TWebDBLookupComboBox

BIZ BIZ Feature Requests
1

Subject: Feature Request: Enhanced XData Integration for Lazy Associations in TXDataWebDataSet and TWebDBLookupComboBox for WEB CORE

Context: We are developing a large-scale project featuring hundreds of forms and a multi-layered architecture. The backend is powered by a TMS Sparkle/XData server, while the web client utilizes WEB CORE - TXDataWebConnection and TXDataWebDataSet. We have specifically chosen these components over the generic TWebClient equivalents to ensure seamless, automatic integration with the XData framework.

Current Architecture: Our client-side forms utilize TXDataWebDataSet components bound to TWebDBEdit controls. To manage entity relationships, we use TWebDBLookupComboBox.

Proposed Enhancements for TXDataWebDataSet: Based on a comparative analysis with the VCL/FMX TAureliusDataset, I suggest implementing the following functionalities to improve the Web Core developer experience:

  • Model-Based Field Definitions: Allow TXDataWebDataSet to load field definitions automatically, derived directly from the XData data model metadata.

  • Support for Lazy Associations: Provide built-in management for relational data fields (Lazy associations) published via @xdata.proxy. This should function similarly to the Internal Entity Field ("Self") found in TAureliusDataset.

  • Automated Updates: Enable TXDataWebDataSet to include @xdata.proxy association fields automatically in PUT and PATCH requests, eliminating the requirement for manual JSON patching or custom boilerplate code.

Proposed Enhancement for TWebDBLookupComboBox:

  • Lookup Integration: Enable TWebDBLookupComboBox to utilize the proposed "Self" entity field as the KeyField property when linked to a ListSource, allowing for direct object-to-object mapping in the UI.

I have attached a demo comparing the functionality of TXDataWebDataSet with the existing Aurelius components for Web Core.

TMS Components XData-Aurelius-WebCore.zip (181.4 KB)

Other comments:

https://support.tmssoftware.com/t/easy-way-to-create-a-ui-to-edit-one-record-with-xdata-proxy-field-lazy-association-table/26780

Easy way to create a UI to edit one record with @xdata.proxy field (LAZY association table)
Problem updatind data field with TWebDBLookupComboBox