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

Metadata TypesMetadata Components and TypesMetadata TypeWorkflowAllows Wildcard (*)? DescriptionYesRepresents the metadata associated with a workflow rule. A workflowrule sets workflow actions into motion when its designated conditionsare met. You can configure workflow actions to execute immediatelywhen a record meets the conditions in your workflow rule, or set timetriggers that execute the workflow actions on a specific day.Metadata Components and TypesMetadata components are not based on sObjects, like objects in the API. Instead, they are based on metadata types, such asApexClass and CustomObject, which extend Metadata. A component is an instance of a metadata type. For example,CustomObject is a metadata type for custom objects, and the MyCustomObject__c component is an instance of a customobject.A metadata type can be identified in the metadata WSDL as any complexType that extends the Metadata complexType. AcomplexType that is a metadata type includes the following element in its WSDL definition:CustomObject and BusinessProcess extend Metadata so they are metadata types; ActionOverride doesn't extend Metadataso it's not a metadata type.You can individually deploy or retrieve a component for a metadata type. For example, you can retrieve an individualBusinessProcess component, but you can't retrieve an individual ActionOverride component. You can only retrieve anActionOverride component by retrieving its encompassing CustomObject component.Metadata components can be manipulated by asynchronous Metadata API calls or declarative (or file-based) Metadata APIcalls.Most of the components can be accessed using Force.com IDE. Exceptions are noted in the description of the object.Field Data TypesEach component field has a specific field type. These field types can correspond to other components defined in the WSDL,or primitive data types, like string, that are commonly used in strongly typed programming languages.These field data types are used in the SOAP messages that are exchanged between your client application and the API. Whenwriting your client application, follow the data typing rules defined for your programming language and developmentenvironment. Your development tool handles the mapping of typed data in your programming language with these SOAPdata types.For more information about primitive data types, see the SOAP API Developer's Guide.Enumeration FieldsSome component fields have a data type that is an enumeration. An enumeration is the API equivalent of a picklist. The validvalues of the field are restricted to a strict set of possible values, all having the same data type. These values are listed in thefield description column for each enumeration field. The XML below shows a sample definition of an enumeration of typestring in the WSDL.75