1.8.1 Key Concepts

Put simply, Routes let a user open a Canvas that hosts Controls. Controls pull data from Datasets. Datasets assemble data via Resources. Fields are the granular pieces that connect those resources to what the user actually sees and edits on screen.

• Routes

  • Define menu items.

  • Can be hierarchical (sub-menus).

  • Each route references a canvas="..." from the <canvases> section.

• Canvas

  • A “page” within the Dashboard.

  • May contain any number of “controls.”

• Controls

  • Specific UI components such as tables, charts, widgets, forms.

  • Each control fetches data from one or more datasets.

• Datasets

  • In the manifest, you specify data resources (e.g., an entity in Datanest).

  • You can also define bridging resources for M:N relationships.

• Resources

  • Inside a dataset, <resource from="..." resourceType="..." as="..."> sets up the data source.

  • You can link multiple resources with “on” to define how they join.

• Fields

  • Define the individual data attributes that flow from your data resources into the Dashboard UI.

  • Fields are the smallest addressable pieces of data (columns / properties) that a control can display, edit, sort, or filter.

  • Controls (tables, forms, charts, etc.) reference these fields to know which values to render, which inputs to show, and how to bind user interactions back to the underlying data.

  • Key attributes:

    • name – machine-friendly identifier used in bindings.

    • resource – name of resource taken from resource ... "as" value.