User properties
31.08.2015
Most of server systems work with an entity of account or user. It is an object to which access rights are assgined. This object has properties that were created by the system developer. If we are interested in systems that enables us to model various objects of the real world like ObjectGears, we have to ask, whether these systems can also modify the entity of user.
When using a system you may have already come across the idea to record some other user properties, not only those that the system author had in mind when creating the system. This is why because it is hard to anticipate all the possible specific needs in advance. If somebody tried to do that, the system would be too complex. A lot of needless fields confuses the user and makes comprehension more difficult. Power of simplicity applies also here.
Let`s show this on ObjectGears example.
User object contains only several elementary properties necessary for the system functioning. These are mainly:
- User account name
- Displayed name
- Email
- Logon enabled
- User language
- User default page
You can definitely think of other properties that are not shown above but would be suitable according to the intended system use:
- mobile phone
- fixed line phone
- fax
- work address
- number of workplace
- default printer
- picture
- position
- organizational unit or team in which the user belongs to
- manager
- information wheather the user wants to receive notifications via SMS
All these data and whatever further ones can be added by means of extended user properties. For each of the added properties you can set wheather it shall be displayed on the User information page and wheather the users shall be allowed to edit it themselves. More complex access rights requirements can be ensured by means of standard ObjectGears resources - organization structures, pages etc.