describeSObjects

---

An array-based version of describeSObject; describes metadata (field list and object properties) for the specified object or array of objects.

:: Note

Use this call instead of describeSObject.

Syntax

DescribeSObjectResult [] = sfdc.describeSObjects(string sObjectType [] ); 

Usage

Use describeSObjects to obtain metadata for a given object or array of objects. You can first call describeGlobal to retrieve a list of all objects for your organization, then iterate through the list and use describeSObjects to obtain metadata about individual objects. The describeSObjects call is limited to a maximum of 100 objects.

Your client application must be logged in with sufficient access rights to retrieve metadata about your organization's data. For more information, see Factors that Affect Data Access.

Sample Code-Java

 
private void describeSObjectsSample() 
{ 
  try { 
    DescribeSObjectResult[] describeSObjectResults = 
      binding.describeSObjects(new String[] {"account", "contact", "lead"}); 
    for (int x=0;x<describeSObjectResults.length;x++) 
    { 
      DescribeSObjectResult describeSObjectResult = describeSObjectResults[x]; 
      // Retrieve fields from the results 
      Field[] fields = describeSObjectResult.getFields(); 
      // Get the name of the object 
      String objectName = describeSObjectResult.getName(); 
      // Get some flags 
      boolean isActivateable = describeSObjectResult.isActivateable(); 
      System.out.println("Object name: " + objectName); 
      // Many other values are accessible 
      if (fields != null) 
      { 
        // Iterate through the fields to get properties for each field 
        for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) 
        { 
          Field field = fields[i]; 
          int byteLength = field.getByteLength(); 
          int digits = field.getDigits(); 
          String label = field.getLabel(); 
          int length = field.getLength(); 
          String name = field.getName(); 
          PicklistEntry[] picklistValues = field.getPicklistValues(); 
          int precision = field.getPrecision(); 
          String[] referenceTos = field.getReferenceTo(); 
          int scale = field.getScale(); 
          FieldType fieldType = field.getType(); 
          boolean fieldIsCreateable = field.isCreateable(); 
          System.out.println("Field name: " + name); 
          // Determine whether there are picklist values 
          if (picklistValues != null && picklistValues[0] != null) 
          { 
            System.out.println("Picklist values = "); 
            for (int j = 0; j < picklistValues.length; j++) 
            { 
              if (picklistValues[j].getLabel() != null) 
              { 
                System.out.println(" Item: " + 
                    picklistValues[j].getLabel()); 
              } 
            } 
          } 
          // Determine whether this field refers to another object 
          if (referenceTos != null && referenceTos[0] != null) 
          { 
            System.out.println("Field references the following objects:"); 
            for (int j = 0; j < referenceTos.length; j++) 
            { 
              System.out.println(" " + referenceTos[j]); 
            } 
          } 
        } 
      } 
    } 
  } catch (Exception ex) { 
    System.out.println("\nFailed to get object descriptions, error message was: 
\n" + ex.getMessage()); 
  } 
} 
 

Sample Code-C#

private void describeSObjectsSample()  
{ 
    sforce.DescribeSObjectResult[] describeSObjectResults = 
binding.describeSObjects(new string[] {"account", "contact", "lead"}); 
    for (int x=0;x<describeSObjectResults.Length;x++)  
    { 
        sforce.DescribeSObjectResult describeSObjectResult = 
describeSObjectResults[x]; 
        // Retrieve fields from the results 
        sforce.Field[] fields = describeSObjectResult.fields; 
        // Get the name of the object 
        String objectName = describeSObjectResult.name; 
        // Get some flags 
        bool isActivateable = describeSObjectResult.activateable; 
        // Many other values are accessible 
        if (fields != null)  
        { 
            // Iterate through the fields to get properties for each field 
            for (int i = 0; i < fields.Length; i++)  
            { 
                sforce.Field field = fields[i]; 
                int byteLength = field.byteLength; 
                int digits = field.digits; 
                string label = field.label; 
                int length = field.length; 
                string name = field.name; 
                sforce.PicklistEntry[] picklistValues = field.picklistValues; 
                int precision = field.precision; 
                string[] referenceTos = field.referenceTo; 
                int scale = field.scale; 
                sforce.fieldType fieldType = field.type; 
                bool fieldIsCreateable = field.createable; 
                // Determine whether there are picklist values 
                if (picklistValues != null && picklistValues[0] != null)  
                { 
                    Console.WriteLine("Picklist values = "); 
                    for (int j = 0; j < picklistValues.Length; j++)  
                    { 
                        if (picklistValues[j].label != null)  
                        { 
                            Console.WriteLine(" Item: " + 
                                picklistValues[j].label); 
                        } 
                    } 
                } 
                // Determine whether this field refers to another object 
                if (referenceTos != null && referenceTos[0] != null)  
                { 
                    Console.WriteLine("Field references the following objects:"); 
                    for (int j = 0; j < referenceTos.Length; j++)  
                    { 
                        Console.WriteLine(" " + referenceTos[j]); 
                    } 
                } 
            } 
        } 
    } 
} 
 

Arguments

The describeSObjects call takes in an array of sObjects.

Name	Type	Description
sObjectType	string	Object. The specified value must be a valid object for your organization. For a complete list of objects, see List of Standard Objects.

Response

DescribeSObjectResult

Faults

InvalidSObjectFault

UnexpectedErrorFault

See Also

describeSObject

describeGlobal

Using API Calls

Using the Partner WSDL