Namespaced Metadata: Everything You Need to Know

The Salesforce is a very flexible solution which lets the user modify their orgs very widely using metadata – the information about other data and their functioning within Salesforce.

As mentioned earlier when dealing with Salesforce metadata, there is something known as namespaced metadata that appears often.

This blog will be all about what namespaced metadata is, how it operates, the significance of its integration in Salesforce development, and when this is applicable.

What is Namespaced Metadata?

Namespaced metadata are fields which contain a certain prefix that helps to identify them as not belonging to Salesforce or other packages installed in the same org. When you subscribe to Salesforce, you get a default set of metadata stored in Salesforce’s multi-tenant architecture. 

This ‘native’ metadata is used to build the Salesforce environment and are the foundational objects, some of which include Accounts, Contacts, and Leads. Like development and production objects, this standard metadata has no suffixes or prefixes; for example, the API name of the standard Account object is just “Account. ”

However, when you deploy metadata from a namespaced Package either from AppExchange or Private Exchange listing, the metadata will be having a unique namespace in its API Name.

What is and How to Use Namespaces in Salesforce?

Namespace refers to a 1-15 character alphanumeric string that helps in differentiating your package and its components from other packages along with metadata in your org.

The API name also serves the purpose of creating a differentiation between similar components from other packages and also prevents different components having same names by mistake.

There is always a namespace prefix that is associated to every component within a particular package at the time of package creation. 

After a namespace has been given to a package, it cannot be changed and this means that there can never be conflicts in case the package changes over time. Namespaced packages enable developers to distinguish the components to a specific package; this eliminates the chances of API name clashes within a Salesforce context when working on large organizations with multiple packages.

Why Use Namespaced Packages?

As to whether or not one should use a namespaced package is the development strategy, working team, and the demands on scalable and orderly structured metadata. Below, we outline scenarios in which using or avoiding namespaces might be beneficial:Below, we outline scenarios in which using or avoiding namespaces might be beneficial: 

Use No-Namespace Packages If:

• Migrating Metadata from Unpackaged to Unlocked Packages: If  you are desiring to upgrade the org’s present metadata into less complicated unlock packages, the no-namespace method offers simple and autonomous ways of arranging and disseminating these metadata.
• Retaining API Names: If you have to retain the API names from before the metadata was unpacked and no longer want them packed as fully qualified names, then you have no other option but to use no-namespace packages. This is especially useful in large orgs where there are current processes; this tool, integrations, or how it is configured is based on certain names for metadata.
• New to Packaging: If putting into practice Salesforce packaging for the first time though using packages in a phased manner and if adopting these packages in stages then it is better to start without a namespace in order to avoid as many complications that may appear during the learner’s transition phase.

Use Namespace Packages If:

• Multiple Development Teams: When several development teams are present in the organization, namespaces may help to avoid formation of API names that could be similar in the work of different groups. Each team is able to create its own namespace, thus eliminating the chance of one type overwriting another or of confusions. 
• Adopting a Staged Packaging Approach: When gradually incorporating packages into an already established org, we are able to make use of namespaces as a means of demarcating packaged metadata from mere unpackaged elements. This differentiation reduces the management decision-making process and the tracking of packaging progress.
• Simplified Development and Sharing: Being confined with a single namespace makes the designing easier. Interoperability of packages that belong to the same namespace also becomes easy because code and components can also be easily utilized more often.
• Enhanced Security and Control:  with the help of namespaced packages the control over the certain metadata components increases and the probability of its unauthorized modification or deletion decreases, which is useful in the large and strongly-interconnected Salesforce systems.

Conclusion

As a tool to keep things orderly, avoid conflicts and make work in large Orgs easier for developers, Salesforce offers namespaced metadata.

To achieve the objective of making metadata easily recognizable and secure while at the same time allowing it to remain deterministic even as the Salesforce org becomes large, Salesforce assigns a namespace to every package.

Knowing when to use packages with namespace and when not will assist the developers in being able to better manage the available Salesforce environments, ensure high quality and efficient and effective scaling to suit the organizations need.

Share this article
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn