Features of Force.com code and distinguish between Force.com code and other programming languages.

Welcome to the dynamic world of Force.com, where innovation meets accuracy in application development. Imagine a programming environment beyond the ordinary, designed exclusively to elevate your creations within the Salesforce ecosystem. Step into Apex, the heartbeat of the Force.com platform, where your code doesn't just run; it orchestrates seamless interactions with Salesforce data, responds to real-time events, and propels your applications to new heights.

In this realm, you're not just coding; you're sculpting solutions with the prowess of an object-oriented language built for the cloud. Apex isn't just a language; it's the conduit to unleash Salesforce's full potential, tightly integrating your creations with the platform's vast array of services.

Before discussing the features of Force.com code and its key differences from other programming languages, we shall discuss what Force.com is.

What is Force.com?

Force.com, Salesforce's brainchild, is a cutting-edge cloud platform that revolutionizes application development. Offering a unique blend of power and simplicity, it lets developers create robust enterprise applications without the hassle of infrastructure management. 

When engaging in application development on the Force.com platform, there is no requirement for additional hardware or software or the allocation of resources towards configuration and maintenance, specifically regarding databases and hardware. The Force.com platform offers three predefined application categories, encompassing Salesforce.com CRM apps. The primary classifications are as follows:

Sales Cloud

Service Cloud

Chatter

At its core is Apex, an object-oriented language tailored for the cloud that seamlessly integrates with Salesforce services. Force.com stands out with its event-driven programming, employing triggers that respond to real-time data changes. It's a realm where declarative development coexists with code, setting the stage for a dynamic and efficient application-building experience.

 In essence, Force.com is your ticket to a world where innovation meets ease, unlocking the full potential of cloud-based development. Here are key features of Force.com code (Apex) and distinctions from other programming languages. Before reading Salesforce's features further, we should understand the architecture of the Force.com platform.

The architecture of the Force.com platform

Force.com's optimized metadata-driven architecture delivers outstanding performance, scalability, and customization for on-demand, multitenant applications. Moreover, it provides additional advantageous features in the cloud computing model. We can pay only for the hardware and software we use because we can obtain Force.com as a platform as a service.

Key features of Force.com platform

The following are the key features of the Force.com platform:

Multitenancy

Application services

Force.com metadata

MVC architecture

Programming language

Integration

Force.com sites

AppExchange

Multitenancy

Multitenancy in Force.com refers to the architectural design where multiple organizations or tenants share the same software instance while keeping their data and configurations isolated. In the context of Force.com, different companies or users can utilize the Force.com platform simultaneously, each having its distinct data, configurations, and applications. 

Advantages of multitenancy

Efficiency

Scalability

Cost-Effective

Resource Sharing

Centralized Maintenance

Application services

In the traditional project development method, we need to integrate or build additional applications for support, such as e-mail functions, login, UI (User Interface), validations, testing, and integration. Moreover, you are required to create supporting applications based on the projects. 

The launch of the Force.com platform provided Multitenant application support for different projects—these integrated application support aid developers in developing business-based applications. 

Example: Force.com platform has various integrated features for automating business processes such as e-mail functions,  login, UI - User Interface,  validations, testing, and integration. With the aid of the Salesforce platform services, developers can build an application quickly. 

Force.com metadata

Force.com metadata refers to the configuration and customization information that defines the structure and behavior of applications built on the Force.com platform. 

This metadata includes settings, objects, fields, page layouts, workflows, and other elements that determine how the application functions and appears to users. Unlike data, which represents the information stored in the application, metadata describes the instructions on how the application should operate and be structured. Force.com metadata is crucial for defining the architecture, business logic, and user interface of applications developed on the platform.

Advantages of the metadata-driven model

Flexibility

Configurability

Efficiency

Consistency

Collaboration

MVC architecture

MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture separates an application into three interconnected components—Model (data and business logic), View (user interface), and Controller (handling user input)—to enhance modularity and maintainability.

Programming language

The Force.com platform provides programming languages, markup, query, and search languages.

Apex

It is the most demanding programming language of the Force.com platform. Apex is object-oriented, but its syntax is similar to  C# and Java.

Developers can construct the logic of their applications by interacting with the platform's pre-existing capabilities. Apex is categorized as a controller component based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. This is due to its utilization in developing controller classes and triggers on the Force.com platform. Apex possesses the capability to be utilized for:

Create custom controllers/Controller extensions

Develop triggers automatically executed within records, encompassing actions like insertion, modification, deletion, and restoration of particular objects.

Access and invoke external web services

Create batch jobs

Visualforce

Visualforce is a software framework that embodies the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. Within the Force.com platform, it is possible to create Force.com applications that incorporate customized and standard objects. Each object has a predefined user interface with one or more page layouts. However, utilizing conventional page formats for complex specifications is not feasible. Visualforce is a significant component in this context.

Visualforce is a web-centric framework for creating user interfaces that can construct intricate, visually appealing, and interactive custom user interfaces. Visualforce enables developers to leverage widely used web development tools, including jQuery, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5. Hence, developing visually appealing user interfaces (UIs) for many applications, including those designed for mobile devices, is feasible. 

Visualforce is a web-centric framework for building user interfaces that can create intricate, visually appealing, and interactive custom user interfaces. Visualforce enables developers to leverage widely used web development tools, including jQuery, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5. Therefore, we can build rich UIs for any app, including mobile apps. 

SOQL

The Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) enables data retrieval from Salesforce objects. Its syntax is simpler than that of SQL. As an illustration, it is worth noting that SOQL incorporates the SELECT keyword. However, it does not encompass the INSERT or UPDATE keywords. The key difference from SQL is that SOQL doesn't have the JOIN keyword. SOQL may be utilized in Apex programs and provides a powerful tool for manipulating and processing data.

Integration

Integration in the Force.com platform refers to the seamless connection and interaction between Salesforce applications and external systems, enabling data exchange and processes. Linking Salesforce with other applications, databases, or services allows real-time collaboration, improved workflow automation, and a unified experience.

Using an open Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) web service, the Force.com API provides access to all the data stored in the application. 

There are integration benefits as follows

It takes less time to integrate Force.com technology than traditional integrations.

The Force.com platform-based API enables direct, low-level access to Salesforce application data and metadata.

There are numerous possibilities for selecting integration technologies and solutions that will work with their existing system.

Proven platform and integration

Force.com sites

Force.com sites enable us to build public websites with Salesforce.com data, Visualforce, and conventional web technologies like CSS, JavaScript, and jQuery. Because Force.com sites are directly integrated with Salesforce, user identification using the Salesforce login and password is not required. 

A Force.com site has the following features and benefits

Data from selected organizations can be publicly available via your domain URL.

Force.com sites are hosted on Salesforce servers. Thus, there are no integration problems.

It can be built using Visualforce pages

You can turn the user registration on or off according to the requirement.

AppExchange

AppExchange on Force.com is Salesforce's marketplace for discovering, installing, and integrating third-party applications that extend and enhance the functionality of the Force.com platform. It offers a diverse range of certified apps and provides users with tools, components, and services to tailor their Salesforce experience.

Force.com (Apex) key features

Object-Oriented: Developers can represent things in the real world and encapsulate data and behavior within objects using the object-oriented programming language Apex.

Integration with Salesforce Platform: Apex exhibits a high level of integration with the Salesforce platform, enabling effortless and persistent access to Salesforce data and services. Developers can write triggers, classes, and methods to engage with and manipulate Salesforce records.

Governor Limits:  Force.com sets governor restrictions to ensure adequate resource utilization. These constraints govern how much data and resources a transaction can utilize while ensuring the platform's stability.

SOQL and SOSL: Apex uses Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) to query data and Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) to search multiple objects. This simplifies data retrieval and manipulation.

Event-Driven Programming: The Apex programming language provides support for triggers and event-driven code, which can be executed either before or after records are inserted, edited, deleted, or undeleted. This functionality allows software developers to effectively react and adapt to modifications occurring within the Salesforce database.

Web Services Integration: The Apex platform offers functionality for seamless integration of external web services, enabling developers to utilize and interact with SOAP and RESTful web services efficiently.

Distinctions from Other Programming Languages

Force.com code, predominantly written in Apex, distinguishes itself from other programming languages through its specialized focus on cloud-based development within the Salesforce ecosystem. Unlike general-purpose languages, Apex is tightly integrated with Salesforce services, emphasizing seamless access to Salesforce data and efficient event-driven programming through triggers. Its proprietary nature limits its use outside the Salesforce platform, making it highly specialized. With features like governor limits for resource efficiency and a declarative development approach, Force.com code is uniquely tailored for building scalable, enterprise-level applications in a cloud-centric environment, setting it apart from more versatile but less platform-specific programming languages.

Now, we shall see some of the unique distinctiveness in detail. 

Proprietary Nature: The Apex programming language is exclusive to Salesforce and explicitly designed for use on the Force.com platform. In contrast to more universally adaptable programming languages, this language has limited applicability, as it can only be utilized within Salesforce contexts.

Tightly Integrated with Database: Apex is tightly integrated with Salesforce's database structure, making it especially efficient for interacting with Salesforce data. However, this tight integration may limit its versatility in non-Salesforce contexts.

Declarative Development: A programming language, Apex, is further supported by Force.com, which supports declarative development with tools such as Process Builder and Flow. In software development, it is common for developers to employ a hybrid approach that combines both declarative and programmatic methodologies.

Governor Limits: The imposing governor limits are unique to the Force.com platform. While it ensures efficient resource usage, developers must be mindful of these limits when designing and executing code.

Designed for Cloud Environments: Apex is highly optimized for cloud-based, multitenant systems, harmonizing with Salesforce's architecture centered on cloud computing.

In conclusion, Force.com code, predominantly fueled by Apex, is a specialized and powerful tool for crafting applications within the Salesforce ecosystem. Its distinctiveness lies in its seamless integration with Salesforce services, efficient event-driven programming, and a focus on cloud-based development. 

While other programming languages offer versatility across various platforms, Force.com code excels in its precision and optimization for Salesforce, making it the go-to choice for developers navigating the unique challenges and opportunities of cloud-centric, enterprise-level application development.