Data Types

Data types control how property values are stored, validated, and displayed. Every [Property<T>] attribute references a data type as its generic parameter.

Type Hierarchy

DataTypeBase (abstract)
├── StringDataTypeBase
│   └── Text (max 100)
│       ├── IdText (max 15, uppercase, barcode-safe)
│       ├── MultilineText (unlimited)
│       ├── ProperNoun (max 50, auto title-case)
│       ├── Title (max 80)
│       ├── Email (max 50, validates format)
│       ├── Phone (max 25, auto-formats USA numbers)
│       ├── Url (max 500, validates URL)
│       └── Website (max 200, validates URL)
├── DecimalDataTypeBase
│   └── Decimal (2 stored / 2 visual decimals)
│       ├── Currency (2 decimals)
│       └── PositiveDecimal (2 decimals, rejects negative)
├── Boolean
│   └── DefaultTrueBoolean (defaults to true)
├── Integer
├── DateTime
├── DateOnly
└── Enum

Core String Types

Type	CLR Type	Max Length	Auto-Correct	Validation
Text	string	100	Trims whitespace	—
IdText	string	15	Uppercases, removes non-barcode characters (Code 39)	—
MultilineText	string	Unlimited	Trims whitespace	—
ProperNoun	string	50	Converts to Title Case	—
Title	string	80	Trims whitespace	—
Email	string	50	Trims whitespace	Validates email format
Phone	string	25	Formats USA 10-digit numbers to (XXX) XXX-XXXX, supports extensions	—
Url	string	500	Trims whitespace	Validates URL format
Website	string	200	Trims whitespace	Validates URL format

Global using alias

You may want to create a global alias in your model's project so your entity code can use DataTypes.* everywhere. This avoids naming conflicts and simplifies code.

Example project file setup:

<ItemGroup>
    <Using Include="Benevia.Core.Events.DataTypes">
        <Alias>DataTypes</Alias>
    </Using>
</ItemGroup>

Usage

[Property<DataTypes.IdText>("SKU")]
public partial string Sku { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.ProperNoun>("Full name")]
public partial string FullName { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.Email>("Email")]
public partial string Email { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.MultilineText>("Notes")]
public partial string Notes { get; set; }

Core Numeric Types

Type	CLR Type	Stored Decimals	Visual Decimals	Validation
Decimal	decimal	2	2	—
Currency	decimal	2	2	—
PositiveDecimal	decimal	2	2	Rejects values < 0
Integer	int	—	—	—

Decimal types automatically round values to their stored precision.

Usage

[Property<DataTypes.Decimal>("Unit weight")]
public partial decimal UnitWeight { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.Currency>("Shipping")]
public partial decimal ShippingAmount { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.PositiveDecimal>("Factor")]
public partial decimal Factor { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.Integer>("Current Count")]
public partial int CurrentCount { get; set; }

Core Boolean Types

Type	CLR Type	Default Value
Boolean	bool	false
DefaultTrueBoolean	bool	true

Usage

[Property<DataTypes.Boolean>("Require integer quantities")]
public partial bool RequireIntegerQuantities { get; set; }

Core Date Types

Type	CLR Type	Description
DateOnly	DateOnly?	Date without time component
DateTime	DateTime?	Date and time

Usage

[Property<DataTypes.DateOnly>("Order date")]
public partial DateOnly? OrderDate { get; set; }

[Property<DataTypes.DateTime>("Closed date")]
public partial DateTime? ClosedDate { get; set; }

Enum Type

Type	CLR Type	Description
Enum	Any C# enum	Stores enum values by their underlying integer

Usage

public enum SalesOrderStatus
{
    Draft = 0,
    Open = 1,
    Fulfilled = 3,
    Closed = 5
}

[Property<DataTypes.Enum>("Status")]
[DefaultValue(SalesOrderStatus.Open)]
public partial SalesOrderStatus Status { get; set; }

Create your own data types

These are custom data types defined in the ERP Model project for domain-specific needs. They demonstrate how to extend the type system (see Creating Data Types).

Type	CLR Type	Stored Decimals	Visual Decimals	Defined In
ProductQuantity	decimal	10	2	Benevia.ERP.Model
ProductUnitPrice	decimal	10	2	Benevia.ERP.Model
ProductUnitCost	decimal	10	2	Benevia.ERP.Model

Type	CLR Type	Max Length	Defined In
PriceFormula	string	75	Benevia.ERP.Model
UomName	string	10	Benevia.ERP.Model

Usage

[Property<ProductUnitPrice>("Cost")]
public partial decimal Cost { get; set; }

[Property<ProductQuantity>("Quantity (Each)")]
public partial decimal Quantity { get; set; }

Auto-Correct vs Validation

Data types can provide two kinds of behavior:

• Auto-correct runs immediately when a property is set. It transforms the value silently (e.g., IdText uppercases, ProperNoun title-cases, Phone reformats digits).
• Validation runs before save. It rejects invalid values with an error message (e.g., Email checks format, PositiveDecimal rejects negatives).

Both are implemented through the Events system in [Logic] classes associated with the data type.