Constants – managing literals and application configuration
Constants are used in Appian to store specific typed values used in an application. Constants allow you to create a defined set of values for a given use case. Referencing a constant instead of typing the value repeatedly reduces the error rate and the effort required for debugging and maintenance.
When looking at your application, you will notice that you already created several constants. Most of them are of type Text and hold values used for status tracking and process control. In some of my projects, about a third of the several hundred application objects are constants. So, why so many, and what to use them for?
String literals
The biggest use case for constants is to store values for status tracking and decision-making in processes. Here, using a constant helps to assign the correct values, but also when displaying the status to the user; and in decisions, expression rules, and queries, you can reference...
