Salesforce Ninja: An Elite Blog about Salesforce.com

Salesforce External Objects is a new tool that has caught my attention in recent times. Those who spend their day listening to words like REST, SOAP, Integration etc. the following information for you. Salesforce External Objects is nothing but the out-of-box implementation of ODATA architecture. ODATA is a open-source data transfer standard backed up by the Empire Microsoft (they are good guys now). Instead of an architecture of sending messages back and forth using HTTP like REST, ODATA focuses on the content of the message over HTTP. ODATA can also be compared with ATOMPUB format (RSS feed format). However ODATA is useful in sending tabular or data over HTTP, that example can also be sorted, searched, filtered and other URI conventions. In this second post on Lighting series I am going to delve deep into how Lighting Connect lets you access external data right into Salesforce. If you were living under the rock or in some place with no internet connect, here is the summary

The first computer I ever saw in my life was a desktop that my father gifted to me during my second year of computer engineering. The specifications were a 1 GB of RAM, 40 GB HDD, a modest LG monitor, an Intel P5 Dual Core processor and an Inverter (this came separately and since we were in India, a battery inverter was necessary). The installation was so space consuming that we had to invest in a computer table (no other place could accommodate this machine) that had options of keeping CPU and inverter and Printer under the table, a foldable keyboard and mouse holder and a monitor. This was ten years ago and by the standards back then, my father had purchased the best computer in town. My father is a perfectionist, and hence he insisted on building a shelf/ library over the table that would complete the look of a decent computer workstation. This was the computer that accompanied me during my engineering days. The endless hours spend over playing with MS Paint, writing hacks in