Basic Concepts

Development environment

You can develop and configure logical modules in this environment to build different applications. The default domain name is appcube.cn-north-4.huaweicloud.com.

Understanding the Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Environments

Sandbox environment

You can use this environment to test new applications and set up data. The default domain name is appcubesandbox.cn-north-4.huaweicloud.com.

A sandbox environment is an isolated environment. It protects your system from application that might not be safe. In this environment, you cannot access the Internet, real systems, or input devices. Changes made in this environment will not affect your operating system.

• Purchasing a Sandbox Instance
• Understanding the Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Environments

Runtime environment

You can run applications in this environment, which is the official place for them. Once an application is tested, it is moved here for portal users to access. The default domain name is appcuberun.cn-north-4.huaweicloud.com.

The free edition does not include a runtime environment. To get this, buy the professional edition.

• Purchasing Commercial Instances
• Understanding the Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Environments
• How Do I Resolve One-Click Application Deployment Failures?

User

A user is a developer who manages applications and portal users. The account that buys the Huawei Cloud Astro Zero instance has all permissions by default. It is an administrator and can add other users and set their permissions.

• Adding Developer Profile to IAM Users
• Adding Developer Profile to WeLink Users
• How Do I Control User Permissions During Collaborative Development?
• How Do I Grant Developer Permissions to a Subuser After Authorization Fails?

Portal user

A portal user is a user who uses service applications. Users can create, delete, view, and edit portal users, and assign permissions to them in Configuration Center.

• Creating a Portal User for an Application
• Setting the Password and Login Policies for Portal Users
• Accessing Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Applications as a Portal User

Namespace

Tenants can package and share data. To avoid duplicate names for objects, applications, and flows, tenants should create a namespace first.

Each tenant has one namespace only. Setting a namespace is a one-time action. You are advised to use your company or team's short name as the namespace. This namespace will be placed at the start of all your elements, such as applications, data, scripts, flows, and pages. If your namespace is CNAME, all the applications and their elements (such as objects, scripts, and pages) that you create will start with CNAME__.

• Restrictions
• Creating a Blank Application

Object

Objects are similar to tables in regular databases. They store the required configuration and service data for service systems.

• Object Overview
• Associating Customer Information with Order Data and Synchronizing the Modification
• Adding, Deleting, and Modifying Object Data in Frontend Tables
• How Do I Distinguish Database Objects of Different Accounts?
• What Users Are Recorded by the owner Field Preset in a Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Custom Object?

Event

Events are important changes of a service process. Once you define an event, you can send it out, sign up to receive it, and analyze the event's data.

• Event Overview
• Creating a Custom Event

Structure

Structures can restrict the use of input, output, and internal variables during application development. You can use structures for external inputs, output parameters, and variable structures in flows, connectors, and BPMs. Structures are limited to the current application and can be packaged with it.

• Structure Overview
• Creating a Structure

Script

A script is a set of instructions that a computer can run, following certain rules and formats. You can develop TypeScript scripts for complex service logic.

• Script Overview
• Limiting Form Submissions with Scripts
• Adding and Deleting Table Data with Scripts
• How Do I Return the Content of a ZIP File in the Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Script?
• How Do I Use Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Scripts to Export an XLS File for Users to Download?

Flow

You can use a flow to build services with drag-and-drop and parameter settings. You can also use a flow to rearrange services. In the flow editor, you can build services fast and add more features using a visual setup. Plus, you can connect services to APIs to offer them to other systems.

• Flow Overview
• Creating a Blank Flow
• Why Cannot Referenced Resources Be Edited in Flows?

Trigger

You can set a trigger in the GUI. When certain conditions or events happen, it runs code automatically. The system will then do the task by itself.

• Trigger Overview
• Creating a Trigger

BPM

You can use the platform's Business Process Management (BPM) system. It follows BPMN 2.0 industry rules to model business processes. The BPM engine is the part that runs these processes.

• BPM Overview
• Creating a Business Trip Approval Workflow Using Templates
• Implementing the Priority Approval Function with User Activities in BPMs

Scheduled task

A scheduled task runs automatically at set times in the system background. You can create, view, and remove these tasks, and check how they perform.

• Creating a Scheduled Task
• Managing Scheduled Tasks in Applications

Standard page

You can drag widgets to a canvas to build a standard page. You can set up this page with little or no code. This way, you can quickly build a front-end page. Standard pages work well for applications such as leave requests, travel expenses, and voting. They do simple tasks: add, delete, change, and look up data. And they have simple front-end designs.

• Standard Page Overview
• Adding Links to Data in Standard Page Tables
• Adding Calculation Capabilities, Such as Summation, to Standard Page Tables
• Displaying Images in Standard Page Tables
• How Do I Call a Flow or Script on a Standard Page?
• How Do I Set a Drop-Down List with Filtering Function on a Standard Page?
• How Do I Implement the Asynchronous Pull-up Data Loading on Mobile Devices on a Standard Page?

Advanced page

An advanced page consists of one or more widgets. You can build advanced pages with widgets. These pages support many frameworks and coding methods. They are ideal for complex designs.

• Advanced Page Overview
• Creating Multi-Device Compatible Advanced Pages
• Referencing Third-Party Libraries to Develop Advanced Pages
• Using Petal Charts to Display Order Data on Advanced Pages
• What Should I Do If the Modified JavaScript File Is Not Working in an Advanced Page Custom Widget?
• How Do I Set Drop-Down List Options When Configuring a Bridge Instance of an Advanced Page Widget?

Report

A report gives a quick overview of your data. Reports show you what is good about your services and what needs to be better.

Creating a Report

Open API

Open APIs are custom RESTful APIs for external systems. You can turn scripts and flows into open APIs. Then third-party systems can call them.

• Customizing APIs
• Authenticating APIs
• Adding a Service Permission Credential to Control the API Access Permission
• Customizing API Error Codes

Connector

You can use a connector to link with third-party services, such as OBS, MinIO, Redis, and Elasticsearch. You only need to set the service address and authentication details. This lets you quickly add these services to your flows or scripts.

• Overview
• Uploading and Recognizing ID Card Images with a Connector
• Uploading Files With Connectors
• Connecting to Third-Party Databases with a Connector

Message access

Message access lets you get and process data from outside sources. You can get data from outside. Process it. Turn it into events. Send events to Kafka or ROMA Connect. For example, you can get data from IoT OneNET. Process the data and turn it into events. Then, send the events to Kafka.

Integrating Message Data into Huawei Cloud Astro Zero Through the Data Access Function

Picklist

You can use a picklist to set the values for an object field. It is like a drop-down list with enumerated values.

Managing Picklists in Applications

System parameter

System parameters change often. They go with the environment and service needs. This platform has one page to manage them. If a parameter changes, update it once. The new one will be used everywhere.

Setting System Parameters

Template

This platform helps you make Word, Excel, Email, and SMS templates quickly. This speeds up document creation and keeps them consistent.

• Adding an Invoke Template Diagram Element to a Flow
• Using the File Template Function to Generate Contracts

Role

Roles separate users by what they can do. Each role can have different page and data permissions. In no-code applications, there are system roles and custom roles.

• Application Roles
• Creating a System Role
• Customizing a Role for an Application
• Adding Members to a Role

Form

A form is made up of widgets such as text boxes, option buttons, and drop-down lists. It collects user data. You can create multiple forms in an application. Each form is for a data type.

The no-code workbench provides two types of forms: Form and Process. A process lets you design how the form moves between users for approval.

• Creating a Blank Form
• Creating a Form from Excel
• Processes

Widget

A widget stores data. A form is made up of many widgets. Each widget type stores a different type of data. For instance, text widgets save text, and date widgets save dates.

No-Code Widgets

View

Views are pages that show service data. They can be made for different user roles or services, showing data in different ways. When you create an application on the no-code workbench, a table view called All is created. It shows all the data. A form can have many views. All views of the same form share the same data. Any changes to the data will update across all these views.

View Customization

Report

You can create statistics pages. Use widgets such as pie charts, bar charts, and totals to see, study, and sum up the data.

Statistical Reports

External link

You can create an external link to add an external page into a no-code application for display.

Creating an External Link

Automation

On the no-code workbench, you can create tasks that run by themselves. These tasks can update data, send emails, and more. If you add data to a form and it meets certain rules, it can update another form's data on its own.

Automated Tasks for Intelligent Operations