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Entity operations and actions
This topic explains the following fundamental concepts which form the basis for a request
originating from any connector:
Entity
Operation
Action
All the Integration Connectors provide a layer of abstraction for the objects of
the connected application. You can access an application's objects only through
this abstraction. The abstraction is exposed to you as entities, operations, and actions.
Entity: An entity can be thought of as an object, or a collection of properties, in the
connected application or service. The definition of an entity differs from a connector to a
connector. For example, in a database connector, tables are the entities, in a
file server connector, folders are the entities, and in a messaging system connector,
queues are the entities.
However, it is possible that a connector doesn't support or have any entities, in which case the
Entities list will be empty. For example, the Pub/Sub connector
doesn't have any entity, but only has the publishMessage action.
Operation: An operation is the activity that you can perform on an entity. You can perform
any of the following operations on an entity:
List
Get
Create
Update
Delete
Selecting an entity from the available list, generates a list of
operations available for the entity. For a detailed description of the operations, see the Connectors task's
entity operations.
However, it is possible
that a connector doesn't support any entity operations, in which case the Operations list will be empty.
Action: An action is a first class function that is made available to the integration
through the connector interface. Actions let you make changes to an entity or entities, and
vary from connector to connector. However, it is possible
that a connector doesn't support any action, in which case the Actions list will be empty.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-26 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eEntities, operations, and actions are the core concepts for requests originating from any connector, providing an abstraction layer to access application objects.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAn entity is an object or collection of properties within a connected application, varying in definition across different connectors, such as tables in a database or folders in a file server.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eOperations represent activities performed on an entity, including listing, getting, creating, updating, and deleting, though some connectors may not support entity operations.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eActions are functions available through the connector interface to modify entities, with the specific actions available differing from connector to connector, and some connectors not supporting any actions.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eConnectors may not support entities, operations or actions, resulting in an empty respective list.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Entity operations and actions\n=============================\n\nThis topic explains the following fundamental concepts which form the basis for a request\noriginating from any connector:\n\n- Entity\n- Operation\n- Action\n\n\nAll the Integration Connectors provide a layer of abstraction for the objects of\nthe connected application. You can access an application's objects only through\nthis abstraction. The abstraction is exposed to you as entities, operations, and actions.\n\n- **Entity:** An entity can be thought of as an object, or a collection of properties, in the connected application or service. The definition of an entity differs from a connector to a connector. For example, in a database connector, tables are the entities, in a file server connector, folders are the entities, and in a messaging system connector, queues are the entities.\n\n However, it is possible that a connector doesn't support or have any entities, in which case the\n `Entities` list will be empty. For example, the Pub/Sub connector\n doesn't have any entity, but only has the `publishMessage` action.\n- **Operation:** An operation is the activity that you can perform on an entity. You can perform any of the following operations on an entity:\n - List\n - Get\n - Create\n - Update\n - Delete\n\n Selecting an entity from the available list, generates a list of\n operations available for the entity. For a detailed description of the operations, see the Connectors task's\n [entity operations](/application-integration/docs/configure-connectors-task#config-prop).\n However, it is possible\n that a connector doesn't support any entity operations, in which case the `Operations` list will be empty.\n- **Action:** An action is a first class function that is made available to the integration through the connector interface. Actions let you make changes to an entity or entities, and vary from connector to connector. However, it is possible that a connector doesn't support any action, in which case the `Actions` list will be empty."]]
