FAQ
Contents |
Frequently Asked Technical Questions
What is the difference between the Enterprise WSDL and the Partner WSDL?
The Force.com API comes in two 'flavors', which are functionally equivalent and share the same operations, but differ in how developers interact with them. The first, referred to as the Enterprise WSDL, is a strongly typed version of the API, meaning that an object in force.com will have an equivalent object in Java, .NET or whatever environment is accessing the API. In this model, where your code is compiled against a particular schema, has the benefits of generally being easier to code in (as you don't need to deal with any underlying XML structures), and safer in the sense that data and schema dependencies are resolved at compile time, not at runtime.
The downside of that strongly typed model is that it only works on a single force.com account's schema, as it is bound to all of the unique objects and fields that exist in that account's data model. So what if you are creating a solution that you want to be able to work across multiple accounts from different customers? In that case, you need a weakly typed representation of the data, which is precisely what the Partner WSDL provides. In this model, the developer is responsible for marshaling data in the correct object representation (which typically involves diving into the XML), but the developer is freed from being dependent on any particular data model or force.com account.
Put simply, if you are a company using the API exclusively on your own account, you'll typically want the Enterprise WSDL, and if you are an ISV using the API across many accounts, you'll typically want the Partner WSDL.
developer.force.com Program Questions
What is the developer.force.com?
The developr.force.com (DFC) is Salesforce.com's free developer program. The DFC website is a free community-based online portal for developers, where developers can learn, access key resources, and discuss a diverse set of topics anchored around the Force.com platform. These topics include Native Frameworks, Composite Frameworks, APEX Code, API’s and Packaging and Distribution of your applications.
Who is the Force.com Developer Community?
The Force.com Developer Community comprises primary of a technical body of developers and architects, system administrators and IT management.
How can DFC help you?
The primary goal for DFC is to promote community, learning and conversations. This is done through articles, the blogging community and its blogs, tech notes, sample code, providing a FREE Developer Edition account, together with discussion boards, RSS feeds, documentation, webinars, on-demand sessions, newsletters, event calendar and wikis.
To help drive conversation, DFC publishes several articles every month, the blogging community contributes its own, less formal, content. Note that you will also be able to contribute via the wiki.
How can I participate in the DFC Community?
There are a number of ways in which you can participate in DFC:
- Signup for a FREE Developer Edition account by being part of the Force.com Developer community.
- Read and contribute articles, tech notes and white papers and comment on them too using the wiki.
- Download and contribute sample code to DFC using the wiki.
- Read our blogs, subscribe to our RSS feeds or become a blogger yourself.
- Read and contribute to the DFC Discussion Boards.
- Read the Force.com Developer News email newsletter.
- Register for an event in our event calendar or watch and listen to archived multimedia events.
- Participate in special programs such as developer previews to get a first hand look at what's coming.
- Watch technical webinars that help you get up to speed with new features.
Finally, you can become a registered member of DFC itself. Registered users can comment on articles, blogs and tech notes, post on the discussion boards, use the wiki, signup for a FREE Developer Edition account and enjoy various discount programs.
developer.force.com Site Questions
Where do I start?
Join DFC and subscribe to RSS feeds to keep updated on new developer.force.com content.
How do I login to the Wiki?
You will need a Developer Edition (DE) account, which you get for free when you join the developer.force.com. Simply login using your DE login and password. (If you're not yet an member, you can sign up here.)
How do I get a DE account?
Navigate to this link and sign up: http://wiki.apexdevnet.com/events/regular/registration.php. A Developer Edition account is a benefit of developer.force.com membership.
How do I use the wiki to contribute?
It's easy. You'll need to login using your usual Developer Edition login name and password, then you can use the wiki menu that appears in the upper right of every wiki page, or any of the section edit buttons that appear within pages. If you are logged in right now, go ahead and give it a try by editing this page. The Wiki Help section provides more information on editing, Wiki syntax, templates, and Wiki best practices.
What is Wiki?
The Wiki is implemented using the "MediaWiki" engine. Wiki is software, which powers a web site that contains user-editable pages. That means any developer.force.com member can log in and add new content, edit pages, and help build the Force.com developer resource collection. edit
How do I navigate the developer.force.com site?
- Most of the article, documentation, tech notes and multimedia on-demand content are filed into one or more topics. For example, the APEX code topic contains a subset of our articles and blogs relevant to APEX code. It also contains RSS feeds that allow you to subscribe to just this information as well as resources, sample code and tools for the APEX code topic. See our “Wiki” for an overview. More details can be found in the Help area: Help.
- The Discussion Boards are categorized by Announcements, General, as well various products, standards and technologies development topics.
- Finally, if you can't find what you are looking for, try our search!
How do I provide feedback to the Force.com team?
Email the Force.com team at dfc@salesforce.com with your comments and suggestions. If you find an error or other content mistake, you can also make edits and annotations on selected articles and tech notes using the wiki.