Mendix Rapid Developer key terms

The visual blueprint of an application's data layer in Studio Pro, containing entities, their attributes, and the associations that connect them. It defines what information the app stores and how records relate.

A data object type in the domain model, roughly comparable to a table in a database. Each entity holds attributes and can participate in associations with other entities.

A single named property of an entity, such as a name, date, or price. Each attribute has a data type and optional validation rules that constrain the values it may hold.

A relationship between two entities in the domain model. It can be one-to-one, one-to-many, or many-to-many, and it may carry an owner, which determines where the reference is stored.

An inheritance relationship in the domain model where a specialized entity inherits attributes and associations from a more generic parent entity. It supports polymorphism and reuse in data design.

A built-in entity provided by the Mendix runtime, such as User, FileDocument, and Image. These supply standard behavior like user accounts and file storage without custom modeling.

A container that groups related domain model, pages, microflows, and other documents into a logical unit. Modules also define module roles and are the unit of sharing and versioning.

The tree view in Studio Pro that lists all modules and their documents, including pages, microflows, entities, and layouts. It is the main navigation surface for editing app content.

The desktop modeling environment used to build Mendix applications. It provides editors for the domain model, pages, microflows, and integrations, and it connects to the Team Server for version control.

A user interface document that presents data and controls to the end user. Pages are built from widgets, bound to a layout, and can accept parameters passed from navigation or microflows.

A reusable page template that defines shared structure such as headers, menus, and placeholders. Pages based on a layout fill its placeholders with their own content, keeping the UI consistent.

A configurable UI component placed on a page, such as a text box, data grid, or button. Widgets expose properties that control appearance and behavior without writing code.

A widget that binds a page section to a single context object, letting child widgets display and edit that object's attributes. It typically receives its object as a page parameter.

A reusable fragment of page content that can be inserted into multiple pages. Snippets reduce duplication when the same UI block appears in several places.

A visual, server-side business logic flow composed of activities such as retrieve, create, change, and call service. Microflows can return values and are triggered by events, buttons, or other flows.

A client-side logic flow that runs in the browser, reducing server round trips for simple operations. Nanoflows support a subset of activities and cannot use some server-only features.

A single step inside a microflow or nanoflow, such as retrieving objects, showing a page, or calling a service. Activities are connected by sequence flows that define execution order.

A branching activity in a microflow that evaluates a boolean expression and routes execution down one of two outgoing paths. It implements conditional logic visually.

The arrow connecting activities in a microflow that determines which step executes next. Multiple outgoing flows from a decision represent alternative branches.

A formula written in Mendix expression language that produces a value, used in decisions, validation rules, and conditional visibility. It can reference attributes, variables, and built-in functions.

A query language used in Mendix to retrieve entities from the database with constraints. XPath expressions filter on attributes and associations and are used in retrieves, data sources, and access rules.

A filter applied to a retrieve operation or data source that limits which objects are returned. Constraints are written in XPath and can combine attribute comparisons and association checks.

A rule attached to an entity attribute that checks values before an object is committed. Rules can enforce required fields, ranges, or custom expressions and produce user-facing error messages.

Logic that runs automatically at defined moments in an object's lifecycle, such as before or after commit, create, or delete. Handlers enforce business rules consistently across the app.

The operation that persists changes to an object in the database. Until an object is committed, its changes exist only in memory within the current session or flow.

A named role defined inside a module that grants access to that module's entities, pages, and microflows. Module roles are mapped to app-level user roles to determine what a user can do.

An application-wide role assigned to users that bundles one or more module roles. It represents a job function such as Administrator or Employee and drives navigation and permissions.

A rule on an entity that specifies which module roles may create, read, update, or delete objects, optionally limited by an XPath constraint. It enforces data-level security.

The part of security that controls object-level permissions per entity and module role. It determines whether a role can view, edit, create, or remove records and under which conditions.

An integration interface that exchanges JSON or XML over HTTP using standard methods. In Mendix, published REST services expose logic, while consumed REST services call external APIs.

An integration interface that exchanges XML messages defined by a WSDL contract. Mendix can publish or consume SOAP services, mapping messages to entities through XML mappings.

A document that defines how incoming XML or JSON is transformed into Mendix objects. It maps message elements to entities and attributes and is used by consumed services and import activities.

A document that defines how Mendix objects are converted into XML or JSON for outgoing messages. It is used when publishing services or calling external APIs.

The hosted version control repository that stores Mendix project history and supports collaboration. Developers commit and update changes through Studio Pro, enabling branching and merging.

A unit of work in the Mendix sprint backlog describing a user need and its acceptance criteria. Stories are estimated, prioritized, and tracked through the development lifecycle.

A fixed time box, commonly one or two weeks, in which a team completes a set of prioritized stories. Sprints structure iterative delivery and end with a review and retrospective.

User-submitted comments or issues captured from a running app and routed to the team for triage. Feedback items can be linked to stories and resolved in later sprints.

A deployed instance of an application, such as development, acceptance, or production. Each environment has its own database, configuration, and access settings.

The process of packaging a project and running it on a target environment. It includes building the deployment package, configuring constants, and starting the runtime.

A named configuration value that can differ per environment without changing the model. Constants commonly hold service endpoints, feature flags, or credentials referenced by logic.