Implement a custom additional feature

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This article covers the additional feature behavior relevant for Creatio version 8.0.2 Atlas and later. If you use an earlier Creatio version, follow the guide in a separate article: Feature Toggle mechanism.

Feature toggle is a software development technique. The purpose of the feature toggle is to manage the additional feature status in a live application.

Feature toggle lets you use continuous integration while preserving the working capacity of the application and hiding features you are still developing. Learn more about developing custom features in a separate article: Manage an existing additional feature. Use the Feature toggling page to manage the additional feature status.

To implement a custom additional feature:

  1. Add a custom feature.
  2. Register the custom feature.
  3. Implement the business logic of the custom feature.
  4. Set up the custom feature status for Creatio users.

1. Add a feature 

  1. Open the Feature toggling page.

  2. Click the Add button on the page toolbar and fill out the properties of the feature to add:

    • Code is the code of the custom additional feature to add. Required.
    • Source is the source of the custom feature to add. By default, Creatio adds the feature to the [Feature] database table.
    • Description is the description of the custom feature to add.

  3. Turn on the additional feature.

  4. Click Save.

As a result, Creatio will add the custom feature to the Feature toggling page list. The source of the feature will be set to DbFeatureProvider. Learn more about feature sources in a separate article: Manage an existing additional feature.

2. Register the feature 

Register the feature in the back-end using a Source code schema.

To register a feature:

  1. Create a Source code schema. To do this, follow the guide in a separate article: Source code (C#).

  2. Register the custom feature in the Source Code Designer. To do this, implement a custom class that inherits from the FeatureMetadata class. You can use the template below.

    Template to register a custom feature
    #region Class: SomeNewFeature
internal class SomeNewFeature : FeatureMetadata {

    #region Constructors: Public
    public SomeNewFeature() {
        IsEnabled = true;
        Description = "Some feature description";
    }
    #endregion

}
#endregion

    If you want to implement multiple features, use a grouping class. In this class, register a custom class for each feature. This lets you reduce the time required to implement the mechanism that retrieves the feature statuses. You can use the template below.

    Template to register a custom feature collection
    class SomeModuleFeatures {
    class SomeNewFeature1 : FeatureMetadata {}
    class SomeNewFeature2 : FeatureMetadata {}
}
Features.GetIsEnabled<SomeModuleFeatures.SomeNewFeature1>()
  3. Click Save on the Source Code Designer's toolbar to save the changes to Creatio metadata temporarily.
  4. Click Publish on the Source Code Designer's toolbar to apply the changes to the database level.

3. Implement the business logic of the feature 

Implement the custom feature in the block of the conditional operator that checks the feature status (i. e. the [FeatureState] column value from the [AdminUnitFeatureState] database table).

You can implement the business logic of the custom feature in the following ways:

Implement the business logic of the feature in the front-end 

  1. Create a view model schema. To do this, follow the guide in a separate article: Client module.

  2. Add the source code in the Module Designer. The source code of the module schema contains the additional feature block and the conditional operator that checks the feature status and specifies Creatio behavior for each status. You can use the template below.

    Template to implement a custom feature
    /* Method that defines the feature. */
someMethod: function() {

    /* Check the custom feature status. */
    if (Terrasoft.Features.getIsEnabled("SomeNewFeature")) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute, if the custom feature is turned on. */
        ...
    }

    /* Check the custom feature status. */
    if (Terrasoft.Features.getIsDisabled("SomeNewFeature")) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute, if the custom feature is turned off. */
        ...
    }

    /* Implement the method. */
    ...
}

    The getIsEnabled() method in the front-end checks if the custom feature is turned on. The feature name is SomeNewFeature in the template above.

    The getIsDisabled() method in the front-end checks if the custom feature is turned off. The feature name is SomeNewFeature in the template above.

    The business logic to execute depends on the retrieved value.

  3. Click Save on the Module Designer's toolbar.

Refresh the page to add the custom feature to the client code and display the feature on the browser page.

Implement the business logic of the feature in the back-end 

  1. Create a Source code schema. To do this, follow the guide in a separate article: Source code (C#).

  2. Implement the custom feature in the Source Code Designer. The application source code contains the additional feature block and the conditional operator that checks the feature status and specifies Creatio behavior for each status.

    The Terrasoft.Configuration.FeatureUtilities class provides a set of extension methods to the UserConnection class. These methods let you use the Feature toggle functionality in the source code schemas of the Creatio back-end.You can use the template below.

    Template to implement a custom feature
    /* The namespace that lets you toggle a feature. */
using Terrasoft.Configuration;
...
/* The method to implement a feature. */
public void AnyMethod() {

    /* Check the custom feature status. */
    if (Features.GetIsEnabled("SomeNewFeature")) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute if the custom feature is turned on. */
        ...
    }

    /* Check the custom feature status. */
    if (Features.GetIsDisabled("SomeNewFeature")) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute if the custom feature is turned off. */
        ...
    }

    /* Implement the method. */
    ...
}

    The GetIsEnabled() method in the back-end checks if the custom feature is turned on. The feature name is SomeNewFeature in the template above.

    The GetIsDisabled() method in the back-end checks if the custom feature is turned off. The feature name is SomeNewFeature in the template above.

    The business logic to execute depends on the retrieved value.

    If you use a grouping class, implement a custom feature collection using the template below.

    Template to implement a custom feature
    /* The namespace that lets you toggle a feature. */
using Terrasoft.Configuration;
...
/* The method to implement a feature. */
public void AnyMethod() {

    /* Check the custom feature statuses that are registered in the class. */
    if (Features.GetIsEnabled<SomeModuleFeatures>()) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute if the custom feature is turned on. */
        ...
    }

    /* Check the custom feature statuses that are registered in the class. */
    if (Features.GetIsDisabled<SomeModuleFeatures>()) {
        /* Implement the business logic to execute if the custom feature is turned off. */
        ...
    }

    /* Implement the method. */
    ...
}

    The GetIsEnabled() method in the back-end checks if the custom features that are registered in the grouping class are turned on. The class name is SomeModuleFeatures in the template above.

    The GetIsDisabled() method in the back-end checks if the custom features that are registered in the grouping class are turned off. The class name is SomeModuleFeatures in the template above.

    The business logic to execute depends on the retrieved value.

  3. Click Save on the Source Code Designer's toolbar to save the changes to Creatio metadata temporarily.
  4. Click Publish on the Source Code Designer's toolbar to apply the changes to the database level.

4. Set up the feature status for Creatio users 

To set up the custom feature status for Creatio users, follow the guide in a separate article: Manage an existing additional feature.

See also
Feature Toggle mechanism
Manage an existing additional feature
Source code (C#)
Client module