What Are Application Objects (AOs) in Outsystems?

In OutSystems, Application Objects (AOs) are a measure of the complexity and resource usage of an application. Each AO represents a component of your application that consumes OutSystems platform resources. Understanding how AOs are calculated helps you design applications that stay within licensing limits and avoid unexpected costs as you scale.

How Are AOs Calculated?

Here’s a breakdown of how different components in OutSystems contribute to your AO count:

1. Entities

• Entities are your database tables or data structures in OutSystems.
• Each entity counts as 1 AO.
• This includes static entities (enumerations) as well. Note: Review your data model regularly to ensure that entities are optimized and relevant to your application’s needs.

2. Web Screens

• Each web screen contributes 1 AO.
• This applies to both Reactive Web and Mobile applications.
• Modularize your components and reuse them wherever possible to reduce the number of screens and blocks.

3. SOAP/REST APIs

• Each SOAP or REST API method that you expose adds 1 AO.
• Consuming a method from an external API also counts as 1 AO per method.
• Plan your API integrations carefully, and avoid consuming methods that are not strictly necessary.

Monitoring AO Usage in OutSystems

OutSystems provides built-in tools to track your AO usage:

1. Service Center: Navigate to the Service Center in your environment, go to Factory > Applications, and select the application you want to check. Here, you’ll see the AO usage for each component. 2. Environment Health: The Monitoring > Environment Health section in the Service Center helps you keep an eye on the overall AO consumption across the environment.

Best Practices for Managing AO Usage

- Modular Design: Break down your application into modules based on functionality. This ensures that you reuse components efficiently and avoid unnecessary AO counts. - Optimize Data Models: Design entities thoughtfully and avoid storing excessive data in single tables. - Focus on API Management: Only expose and consume the API methods you truly need. Simplifying integrations can save a significant number of AOs. - Review Regularly: Regularly review your application architecture to identify opportunities for optimization.

Conclusion

Understanding and managing AOs is key to scaling your OutSystems applications effectively. It helps you stay within your licensing limits and ensure that your applications are built with performance in mind. By carefully designing your application architecture, optimizing data models, and keeping track of AO usage, you can deliver better, more efficient solutions to your users.

Have you faced challenges with AO management in your OutSystems journey? Share your experiences or tips in the comments — I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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