Programming Guides › Programming Guide for Java › Logical Attribute API › Logical Attributes and Physical Attributes › Logical Representation of Physical Attributes

Logical Representation of Physical Attributes

Logical attributes and physical attributes do not necessarily correspond on a one-to-one basis. Logical attributes can represent physical attributes in the following ways:

• One logical attribute representing one physical attribute, as in the case of task screen input being stored in coded form. For example, an AccountType attribute might contain a value of Gold, Silver, or Bronze on the task screen, but 1, 2, or 3, respectively, in the data store.
• One logical attribute representing multiple physical attributes. For example, the logical attribute Cost may represent the product of the physical attributes UnitPrice and Quantity.
• Multiple logical attributes representing one physical attribute. For example, a password challenge question and answer can be stored as one delimited physical attribute, but represented by two logical attributes, question and answer.
• A logical attribute with no corresponding physical attribute. For example, a user who self-registers can enter a code to gain access to specific information, such as special promotions. In this case, the user-supplied code is a logical attribute that tells CA Identity Manager the organization in which to create the user’s profile. The code is not written to the data store.