The BA diagram is designed to model the application flow and provide a high-level overview of the application to be generated.
The BA diagram can include various entities: Programs, Forms: CRUD and Zoom, Reports, Web Services and Web Service Servers. Relations connect the entities and specify the relationships between them. Each entity has properties to specify all the information needed to generate the code.
- Programs
- A Program entity contains the information needed to generate the main logic to drive the application.
- CRUD Forms
- A CRUD Form entity generates the user interface for the program. CRUD forms are used to Create, Read, Update, and Delete data from a database.
- Zoom Forms
- A Zoom form generates a form used to select a value from a list and return the value to the program. It is generally related to a CRUD form field to assist the user with completing the form data entry.
- Reports
- A Report entity generates the logic to retrieve data from the database and run a report based on a defined data definition and report layout.
- Relations
- A Relation entity is used to define a relationship between entities on the BA diagram.
- Webservice Servers
- A Webservice Server entity contains the main logic to publish services. It listens for incoming requests and executes the relevant service operation.
- Webservice
- A Webservice entity generates a standalone Webservice.
- CRUD Form and Webservice
- A CRUD Form and Webservice entity generates a CRUD form and a standalone Webservice.
- Zoom Form and Webservice
- A Zoom Form and Webservice entity generates a read only Zoom form and a standalone Webservice.
Figure 1. Business Application diagram
In this BA diagram, the application is mapped to have two programs: Account and Order. The program flow shows that the Account program opens a form (AccountForm). The AccountForm calls a report (AccountReportData). The Order program calls OrderForm. OrderForm can call two Zoom forms (AccountZoom and ItemZoom) and can also call a report (OrderReportData). BA diagrams can also include Webservice Servers and Webservices.
Until implemented, the entities on the diagram are simply icons. Once implemented, files are created that represent the information and relationships about the entity. These files are used to generate the application code.