Defining a BPM Object Group

In a BPM object, you implement arrays or collections of attributes by using groups. A group can contain one or more attributes.

The ExpenseReport object requires only one group, for the item list. Each item has four attributes, listed in the following table:

Name	Type	Special Properties
description	String	Storage Constraints = Not Null
description	String	Maximum Length = 80
date	Time	Time Precision = Date Only
amount	Decimal	Decimal Digits = 2
receiptChecked	Bool	Default Value = False

To define the group:

In the Project Navigator, right-click on the ExpenseReport BPM Object (), and click New > Group (). The Group dialog box appears.
In the Group Name field, enter the word items, and click OK. The items group is created. It contains an object called Items, that in turn contains a method by the same name.
To create an attribute, right-click on the Items object (), and click New > Attribute. The Attribute dialog box appears.
Enter the word description in the Name field, and set the Type list to String. The attribute editor for the description attribute opens.
Set the Maximum Length to 80 and under Storage Constraints check Not Null.
Save and close the editor.
Following steps 3 to 5, define the remaining three attributes setting their properties as indicated by the table above.

You have now defined the items group. In the Project Navigator, you should see the following:

Figure 1. ExpenseReport BPM Object Items Group

In the next task, you add a virtual attribute. This returns the total value of the expense report.