EntityInstanceReference Class
Represents a reference to an External Item.
Inheritance Hierarchy
System.Object
System.MarshalByRefObject
Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime.EntityInstanceReference
Namespace: Microsoft.BusinessData.Runtime
Assembly: Microsoft.BusinessData (in Microsoft.BusinessData.dll)
Syntax
'Declaration
Public NotInheritable Class EntityInstanceReference _
Inherits MarshalByRefObject
'Usage
Dim instance As EntityInstanceReference
public sealed class EntityInstanceReference : MarshalByRefObject
Remarks
EntityInstanceReference (EIR) allows applications to create a reference to an External Item, which can be stored as a string value. The applications can use the string value to keep track of relevant External Items. For example, an application can ask the user to specify an External Item to be associated with a document, then store the EIR as a string value in the document to remember this relationship. When needed, the application can get the External Item back using the EIR. EIR can also be used to send references to External Items to other machines or processes.
Note
The string representation of the EntityInstanceReference is case sensitive.
Note
The EntityInstanceReference identifies the external content type by name and namespace. Therefore the reference is valid only within a group of Metadata Stores that are controlled together. For example, it is safe to send EIRs between the users of a SharePoint farm; however, it is not safe to send EIRs across the Internet.
Thread Safety
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.