Index() or dot notation?

Jamal Case

Certified Lead Developer

over 7 years ago

Hi All,

I just wanted to know what's Appian best practices when it comes to retrieving data from a data subset. Should I index into the data subset or use dot notation? I noticed that when I use index() it doesn't throw an error for a null result set but does throws an error if I use dot notation. I know dot notation would cause a pink screen error on the tempo interface but debugging this would be quite simple since we know exactly where the error is coming from. For index(), this wont throw an error on tempo but will be harder to debug and would be a silent fail if a user doesn't raise the issue that that data is coming null when it shouldn't.

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Mike Schmitt over 7 years ago +3
Certified Lead Developer

I personally prefer to use property() to retrieve dot properties, and reserve index() for retrieving indexes (i.e. from an array) -- even though the two functions are functionally identical, i stress that…
coreyd146 over 7 years ago in reply to Mike Schmitt +2
Certified Senior Developer

Hello Mike, I agree with your use of property(). I prefer to use property() when I am referencing a specific CDT field and index() when looking for specific indices.
Mike Schmitt over 3 years ago in reply to joelj +2
Certified Lead Developer

The easiest example of a case where it's necessary is the results of a!queryEntity where the possibility exists that the resulting query data set will contain zero rows (i.e. an empty set). It's usually…

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Mike Schmitt
Certified Lead Developer
over 7 years ago

I personally prefer to use property() to retrieve dot properties, and reserve index() for retrieving indexes (i.e. from an array) -- even though the two functions are functionally identical, i stress that it can help for comprehension, review, and troubleshooting purposes to have their uses segregated such.

For instance, think of a time when you want to get a certain property from a certain index in an array... multiple-nested index() functions can get pretty hard to read pretty quickly.
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Mike Schmitt
Certified Lead Developer
over 7 years ago

I personally prefer to use property() to retrieve dot properties, and reserve index() for retrieving indexes (i.e. from an array) -- even though the two functions are functionally identical, i stress that it can help for comprehension, review, and troubleshooting purposes to have their uses segregated such.

For instance, think of a time when you want to get a certain property from a certain index in an array... multiple-nested index() functions can get pretty hard to read pretty quickly.
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coreyd146
Certified Senior Developer
over 7 years ago in reply to Mike Schmitt

Hello Mike,

I agree with your use of property(). I prefer to use property() when I am referencing a specific CDT field and index() when looking for specific indices.
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