Database.com Metadata API Developer's Guide - Salesforce.com

CRUD-Based CallsreadMetadata()PermissionsYour client application must be logged in with the “Modify All Data” permission.Basic Steps for Reading Metadata ComponentsUse the following process to read metadata components:1. Determine the metadata type of the components you want to read, and the fullName of each component to read. SeeMetadata for more details on the fullName field. You can read only components of the same type in a single call.2. Invoke the readMetadata() call. For the first argument, pass in the name of the metadata type. The metadata type mustmatch one of the values returned by the describeMetadata() call. For the second argument, pass in an array of fullnames corresponding to the components you wish to get. The full names must match one or more full names returned bythe listMetadata() call.3. A ReadResult is returned that contains an array of Metadata components. Cast each returned Metadata object to themetadata type you specified in the call to get the component’s properties.Sample Code—Javapublic void readCustomObjectSync() {try {ReadResult readResult = metadataConnection.readMetadata("CustomObject", new String[] {"MyCustomObject1__c", "MyCustomObject2__c" });Metadata[] mdInfo = readResult.getRecords();System.out.println("Number of component info returned: "+ mdInfo.length);for (Metadata md : mdInfo) {if (md != null) {CustomObject obj = (CustomObject) md;System.out.println("Custom object full name: "+ obj.getFullName());System.out.println("Label: " + obj.getLabel());System.out.println("Number of custom fields: "+ obj.getFields().length);System.out.println("Sharing model: "+ obj.getSharingModel());} else {System.out.println("Empty metadata.");}}} catch (ConnectionException ce) {ce.printStackTrace();}}ArgumentsNamemetadataTypefullNamesTypestringstring[]DescriptionThe metadata type of the components to read.Array of full names of the components to read.Limit: 10.You must submit arrays of only one type of component. For example, you could submitan array of 10 custom objects or 10 profiles, but not a mix of both types.ResponseReadResult49