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The EOAccess Framework


Framework: /System/Library/Frameworks/EOAccess.framework
Header File Directories: /System/Library/Frameworks/EOAccess.framework/Headers

Introduction

The EOAccess framework is one of a group of frameworks known collectively as the Enterprise Objects Framework. The classes and protocols that make up the EOAccess framework allow your applications to interact with database servers at a high level of abstraction. These classes make up what is known as the access layer. The access layer is divided into two main parts:

Working with the access layer allows you to have a finer level of control over database operations.


EOAccess Framework Class Hierarchy

The EOAccess class hierarchy is rooted in the Foundation Framework's NSObject class. The remainder of the EOAccess Framework consists of several related groups of classes, a few miscellaneous classes, and a number of protocols.


The Adaptor Level

The adaptor level deals with database rows packaged as dictionaries. The adaptor level is primarily made up of the following classes:


The Database Level

The database level is where enterprise objects are created from the dictionaries retrieved by the adaptor level. It's also where snapshotting is performed. The database level is primarily made up of the following classes:


The Modeling Classes

A model defines, in entity-relationship terms, the mapping between enterprise object classes and a database. The following are the principal modeling classes in the EOAccess framework:


Faulting

These classes implement or are used to implement object faulting:


Additions to Other Frameworks

The EOAccess framework adds methods to a number of classes in different frameworks:


Extensions of EOControl Classes

The EOAccess framework also has a number of other useful classes, including:


Delegates

A number of EOAccess classes delegate behavior. The delegate methods are defined in these protocols:


Miscellaneous Classes and Protocols


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