Glossary
This page provides an overview of concepts and tips and tricks for using Accode.
Concepts
Common terminology and concepts that are used throughout the app and documentation.
Action
The main building block of a workflow. A unit of business logic that operates on entities passed through the action. Read more here:
Action log
A record of an entity entering (and optionally exiting) an action. Also includes action output data (if there is any or if the action passes along the output of a previous action). If the entity has errored in the action, the action log contains the error message and stack trace.
Dashboard
A dashboard is a set of widgets that can be organized and sized to create a control panel for a specific workflow, process or dataset. Dashboards are a tool for creating cohesive views of your data and processes.
Entity
A specific row of data that corresponds to a data model. Entity data can be nested within other entities, sometimes multiple levels deep.
Model
Defines a data structure (i.e. which fields are present) and a method of storage (i.e. which database plugin to use). Read more here:
Also called a Data model.
Patch
A patch describes a distinct change operation on an entity. A patch can have an operation of create, update or delete, which describes a corresponding change of an entity (or a nested entity). A snapshot of an entity is generated by mapping through the generated patches up to the selected point in time. An entity is essentially generated by mapping through all of the patches for that entity.
Snapshot
A read-only point in time depiction of an entity, either based on a timestamp or based on a position in a workflow (i.e. how did this entity look at this point in time). A snapshot is generated out of entity Patches.
Task
Tasks are used to include a human intervention element in a workflow. The Task action can be added to a workflow in order to block entities from passing that action until they are manually approved or declined by a user. The task user interface itself is configurable based on the type of data and depending on the nature of the task that needs to be accomplished.
Widget
The main building block of a dashboard. A widget is a customizable user interface for visualizing and displaying data in various forms. Also enables various methods of data input to Accode. Widgets can be used to create charts and graphs, documentation pages, authentication forms, and embedding other websites into Accode.
Workflow
Workflows pass data through a set actions, which can accomplish a broad variety of use cases.
Workspace
A workspace is a standalone environment that contains workflows, dashboards, data and other components that you have added to it. Each workspace has a separate set of user permissions and roles.