resources

Every child of crud_objects must contain a resources child property. In turn, this object contains one custom property per REST resource. These properties become columns in NIM Data tables. Each resource has a name and a value. Values can contain nested resources, thus permitting a tree structure if the external system requires it. Thus, each value must be one of the following:

type specifier: End node of the resource tree. A text value that describes the type of the resource, with optional prefix and postfix specifiers. For example: _:string*
child object: Child resource that is a single object. Can be nested to any depth.
child table: Child resource that is a array of similar objects. Can only exist at the first level, directly under the resources property.

Example JSON taken from the Google connector, showing several type specifiers, a child object (name) and a child table (emails):

"resources": {
	"id": "string*",
	"primaryEmail": "string*",
	"name": {
		"fullName": "string*",
		"familyName": "string*",
		"givenName": "string*"
	},
	"emails": [
		{
			"address": "string*",
			"type": "string*",
			"customType": "string*",
			"primary": "boolean*"
		}
	]
}

type specifier

Each type specifier in the resource tree consists of three parts:

_: prefix (optional)
type (required)
* postfix (optional)

For example: _:string*

_: prefix

Use the _: prefix to differentiate multiple resources that share the same name.

For example, in the JSON below, the addresses resource has multiple child resources with city and street names. The _: prefix prevents collisions and other unpredictable behavior.

In the NIM Studio (e.g., in Data tables and Mappings), the resource's name is displayed as the concatenation of all names leading to the end node, separated by underscores.

addresses_mailing_city
addresses_mailing_street
addresses_physical_city
addresses_physical_street

"resources":{
	"id": "number*",
	"local_id": "string*",
	"student_username": "string*",
	"state_province_id": "number*",
	"addresses":{
		"mailing":{
			"city":"_:string",
			"street":"_:string"
		},
		"physical":{
			"city":"_:string",
			"street":"_:string"
		}
	},

type

The type specifies the data type of the resource value.

Note

Currently data types are not used when adding the system to NIM.

string
number
boolean
date
datetime

* postfix

The * postfix makes a resource a default resource. A default resource is automatically marked for Collection when a system is first added in the NIM Studio.

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NIM