What type of data is typically used for identifying records within an Entity in OutSystems?

In OutSystems, entities are used to represent data models, and each record within an entity needs a unique identifier to distinguish it from others. The most common type of data used for this purpose is a Long Integer.

Using a Long Integer for record identification is advantageous because it provides a very large range of unique values, reducing the risk of running into duplicate keys. Long Integers are efficient for indexing and operations related to records in a database, which contributes to effective data retrieval and manipulation.

In contrast, while String, Boolean, and Decimal data types can be used for various purposes within entities, they do not typically serve as primary keys for uniquely identifying records. Strings may represent names or identifiers but can introduce complexities, such as variations in format and potential difficulty in indexing. Boolean values, representing true or false conditions, do not provide the uniqueness needed for record identification. Similarly, Decimal values, while useful for numeric data, do not typically serve the role of a primary key in the same effective manner as Long Integers do. Thus, using a Long Integer for record identification is standard practice within OutSystems development.