Apex Decoder Ring
We all want to be Awesome Admins.
But, for anyone that fell in love with Salesforce and has no programming experience...Apex can be intimidating at first.
You need a Decoder Ring to figure it all out!
Here's some basics that I've put together that have really helped me get started with development.
Example:
public class ThisIsTheClassName <-First Line of Class
{ <-Braces denote the beginning of a code block
Public ThisIsTheMethodName <-First Line of Method
{ <-Braces denote the beginning of a code block
YOUR CODE GOES HERE
} <-Braces denote the end of a code block (method)
} <-Braces denote the end of a code block (class)
Methods, Classes and Attributes - Oh my!
Attributes are characteristics of a class. Picture your home. A window, the door color, etc. are examples of attributes of your home.
Methods are things that a class can do. A home can shelter, store, protect, etc.
Governor limits ensure that everyone gets the same performance out of their Salesforce Org. What that means is that you need to be smart when creating triggers in your Org, so that you don't hit a limitation when your data is trying to process. Think of your home again. Someone uses the hot water for 2 hours. Will the person after get any hot water or has it all been used up? Limits protect us all and need to be carefully considered.
I've gotten started by reviewing existing code and working to understand the pieces. I've come across a few tips that have been helpful along the way:
Attribute names are typically nouns and start with a lowercase letter
Constants are capitalized & sometimes include an _
Methods are typically verbs & use camel case
Keywords have predefined actions and cannot be used as a name (ex. today)
Classes always start with an uppercase and are followed by curly braces
Statement: single line of code terminated by a semicolon
Block: includes multiple statements enclosed between curly braces
Some code examples can be found in the Developer library
