Why your Barista is Happy about the easy Entity Creation and Change Feature

I love mendix. If I’m not modelling then my mind is thinking about things I can model all the time. When the opportunity allows for it I hang out at a local Vida e Cafe, have a couple of awesome coffees and smash out some model solutions or pet POC’s.

Some times my coffee arrives while I’m in the middle of a Microflow, to leave the Microflow in order to grab my coffee would break my concentration putting a potential delay on the modelled solution. The other option is to ignore my coffee until the Microflow has been completed. Luckily for me Mendix 4 comes with some new features that make modelling solutions even quicker than before.

Create then Change – the Barista’s Frustration

In previous Mendix Modeller versions if you had to create an entity that required the population of data then you would have to do it in two separate action activities. You would have to create an blank and empty entity before creating a change activity which enabled you to populate that entity with specific data. These two actions meant it took slightly longer to complete a Microflow putting the enjoyment of your coffee at higher and higher risk depending on the number of entities created and changed per Microflow.

Enjoying my Coffee with Create And Change

Mendix 4 has changed that. You can now create and change entities in a single activity. I no longer have to create an entity, which is destined for change in any case, before creating a second activity to do so. The result is more elegant, refined and quicker 1 step create and edit process instead of a 2 step process.

Why this is Really Good News

1. The obvious thing is that Microflows can be completed quicker and have a more natural, even easier to understand, flow which is great when working directly with a business level client to create a business Microflow.

2. The thing to really get excited about is how responsive the Mendix dev community is. The modeller is already a shiny, good quality product however they’re not stopping there. Each release brings with it something small that makes the product even better. Signs of a bright future for modellers and Mendix clients everywhere.

3.  The last thing is that obviously there’s now less chance of my coffee getting cold.

Do you have any favourite features on Mendix v4? We’d love you hear more about it in the comments section below!