Methods

Methods define custom actions on entities beyond standard CRUD operations. They are exposed as OData actions on the entity's API endpoint.

[Method]

Declares a custom action on an entity.

[Method("Display label", MethodType)]
public partial ReturnType MethodName(ParameterType parameters);

Methods must be partial — the source generator creates the API action and the implementation is provided by business logic.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
label	string	Yes	Display label for the action
type	MethodType	Yes	Whether the method reads or modifies data
Description	string?	No	User-facing description
Technical	string?	No	Developer notes

MethodType

Value	Description	Return Type
MethodType.Read	Reads data without side effects	Must have a return type
MethodType.Modify	Changes entity state	Typically void

Modify Methods

Use MethodType.Modify for actions that change data:

//TODO: Remove parameter classes in examples

[ApiEntity]
public partial class SalesOrder : EntityBase
{
    [Method("Update order status", MethodType.Modify)]
    public partial void UpdateStatus(StatusParams statusParams);

    [Method("Copy order from another order", MethodType.Modify)]
    public partial void ReorderFrom(ReorderParams sourceOrder);

    [Method("Create details from accessory products", MethodType.Modify)]
    public partial void CreateDetails(AccessoryParameter parameter);
}

Read Methods

Use MethodType.Read for data retrieval actions. These must return a value:

[ApiEntity]
public partial class Customer : EntityBase
{
    [Method("Get destination contacts", MethodType.Read)]
    public partial IQueryable<Contact> GetDestinationContacts();
}

Parameter Classes

Method parameters are plain C# classes with public properties. No special attributes are needed.

public class StatusParams
{
    public SalesOrderStatus NewStatus { get; set; }
}

public class ReorderParams
{
    public Guid SalesOrderGuid { get; set; }
}

public class AccessoryParameter
{
    public Guid ProductGuid { get; set; }
    public decimal Quantity { get; set; }
    public Guid[] SelectedAccessories { get; set; } = [];
}

For simple actions that need no parameters, omit the parameter entirely:

[Method("Recalculate totals", MethodType.Modify)]
public partial void RecalculateTotals();

Nested Parameter Classes

Parameter classes can contain complex types:

public class GenerateProductionsParams
{
    public bool OverrideBreedTemplate { get; set; }
    public List<BreedProductionTemplate> Templates { get; set; } = [];
}

Where Is the Implementation?

The entity model only declares the method signature. The actual implementation lives in a [Logic] class in the appropriate business logic project. See the Events documentation for how to implement method handlers.

Complete Example

namespace Benevia.ERP.Model.Hatchery;

[ApiEntity]
public partial class Flock : EntityBase
{
    [Required]
    [Property<DataTypes.IdText>("ID")]
    public partial string ID { get; set; }

    [Method("Generate Flock Productions", MethodType.Modify)]
    public partial void GenerateFlockProductions(GenerateProductionsParams parameters);

    [Method("Save Breed Production Template", MethodType.Modify)]
    public partial void SaveBreedProductionDatas(SaveProductionsParams parameters);
}

// Parameter classes — plain C# POCOs
public class GenerateProductionsParams
{
    public bool OverrideBreedTemplate { get; set; }
    public List<BreedProductionTemplate> Templates { get; set; } = [];
}

public class SaveProductionsParams
{
    public List<FlockProductionTemplateData> ProductionDatas { get; set; } = [];
}